Is a bump steer kit the answer? alignment issues

[drobbins]

Hi XViper at all,

Is the S2000 prone to going out of alignment under certain conditions?

I'm having a problem with my car where it is going out of alignment much too quickly. I do believe it is related to a particular country road I drive on (this is my best theory so far.) I am *not* taking the car off-road, but it is an older paved road and has developed an irregular pattern on it. Nothing horrible but it seems to make the S2000's light rear end jiggle up and down.

My car does not seem to respond well to this particular irregularity -- there is unusual shaking particularly in the rear. On other cars, I can drive 60+ MPH on this road, but on the S2000, it feels very gnarly at 60 and still feels pretty nasty at 40 MPH. This is with a good, factory alignment.

I am wondering if an anti-bump steer kit in the rear will help me. My theory is that these particular irregularities are inducing some poor suspension geometry which is allowing my alignment to get pulled out of spec much earlier than it should be. Normally I would avoid the road but this happens to be about 10 miles of a really great drive between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I'd like to get my car to the point where it can handle old country roads while staying composed in the rear.

Currently, I'm blaming that particular stretch of road for my alignment woes, but I'd be interested in any issues with the S2000 that might be causing my rear's alignment to go out early.

I had a good alignment, and after about 2000 miles everything was out of whack again. Then I got a new alignment, the car felt great, and I went on this road, and now the car feels OK but the alignment is definitely not as dialed in as it used to be.

Also considering some rear bracing, and would appreciate suggestions of what bracing might help me.

Appreciate any insight from those more experienced than me :)

-Daniel

[repiv]

I can't comment on the bump steer kit as I know very little about them. I'll leave that to those who are more experienced with them.

If you hit pot holes hard enough or enough times, alignment can go off. Regular driving on "corrugated" road surfaces can play havoc with alignment. It can go off because of things being bent or the actual adjustments can slip. They can slip especially if wheel alignments are done often enough to make the locking nuts and bolts no longer bite effectively, in which case, perhaps replacement of those nuts or the use of a low stick locking compound may be in order. My car is 9 years old and I must confess that I have yet to do a wheel alignment. My tire wear and handling is a good indication that the original alignment is still adequate for my needs. However, I do have past evidence to suggest that those who do alignments often, can have issues with adjusters slipping due to pot holes, rough roads or excessive curbing, more so than those who do an alignment once in a while.

[drobbins]

That is how I would describe this road - it is a "corrugated" surface as it has developed wobbles due to aging. It's about a 10-mile stretch.

This is my second alignment since purchasing the vehicle used with 10,000 miles - it now has 17,000 miles. It makes sense that an alignment shop isn't going to tighten things as much as at the factory, and that the bolts can get worn.

Unfortunately, this "corrugated" 10 mile stretch is in the middle of an otherwise great drive.

[repiv]

You're basically driving your car through a 10 mile blender. I don't know what the solution may be except to drive it extremely slowly or pick a different route.

[Nippon]

Hey Viper, I'm curious about that low stick adhesive you referred to. What would you suggest? Atlanta has a duality of great and horrible roads. Whats funny is, you have to go on mountain runs up on the appalacians to get the most consistant good roads. Or a track... hah.

[repiv]

Hey Viper, I'm curious about that low stick adhesive you referred to. What would you suggest? Atlanta has a duality of great and horrible roads. Whats funny is, you have to go on mountain runs up on the appalacians to get the most consistant good roads. Or a track... hah.

There are numerous brands and types of thread locking compounds. Loctite comes to mind. Go to their site and you will see a whole range of products with varying degrees of permanancy, ranging from very low lock, easily removable to what they call "permanent" locking compound. You might ask the alignment shop if they would consider something like this if you have a car that tends to go out of alignment due to repeated suspension shock from driving over very rough road surfaces. I think even the "permanent" type can be coaxed into letting go by using heat. In the long run, this method would only be a stop gap measure and replacement of the fasteners in question may be the better resolution.
PS. Hopefully, it's not something more catastrophic like bent suspension or frame members.

[starchland]

just wondering how much tread you have lost after 2500 miles of motoring? Is it possible the tire is wearing unevenly enough to throw off alignment a bit?

what about tire pressure?

[repiv]

just wondering how much tread you have lost after 2500 miles of motoring? Is it possible the tire is wearing unevenly enough to throw off alignment a bit?

what about tire pressure?

I am tending towards the alignment going off, then causing uneven tire wear rather than the other way around. So long as the alignment remains correct and does not alter, tire wear should be symmetrical and even from side to side. I've generally used tire wear patterns as an indication of misalignment. Of course maintaining correct pressures are important as well as having no odd tire deformity or defect.

[drobbins]

The stock shocks on my '05 20,000 mile S2000 really sucked compared to other S2000's I've driven in. Very underdamped and imprecise -- damping curves seemed to be out of spec.

I just recently had some Bilstein PSS9's installed in the car and suspension is a lot more controlled and consistent now. The car is lowered a bit - not too much - and I have around 2 degrees of negative camber in the rear. I have not tried the offending road recently but I would bet that the car would handle things a lot better.

WIth the PSS9's, when I go over a speed bump in a parking lot, the suspension *absorbs* the shock wonderfully, as it should. The OEM parts would start to absorb and then do a noticable pogo-bounce. Just didn't feel right. Just seemed like the damping was wrong.

Right now I have the suspension at 4 or 5 (where 1 is full stiff) and tire pressures right around 35 PSI all around, with Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 tires. Very comfortable and controlled.

Working up my courage to try a bit of the irregular country road just to see how it does....