I can remember reading somewhere about moving the bracket for the rear inner tierods outwards a few inches and shortening them to reduce bumpsteer.

Anyone have more insight? I tried searching but only wind up on topics on everything else.

Already have solid cradle bushing and poly everywhere else. New gabriel struts. Im going to be replacing tierods all around and figured i might look into this.

Bump steer is not bad as most think...
See my Cave, Bump Steer

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Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top and bottom of every forum page...)

Ogre is certainly correct...bumpsteer is not as bad as most people think. Under normal driving conditions, it doesn't affect the car's handling. But under the right conditions, it does exist, and it IS a major problem. Personally...I push my car to it's limits on tight mountain roads. If losing control of the car will cause me to go over the side of a cliff...I don't think that is where I want to experience the effects of bumpsteer. If I hit a bump mid-corner, I CAN feel it get squirrely. I have never noticed it when driving at VIR (Virginia International Raceway)....their curves are smooth.

So...what to do about it. The method you described is how it was done with the RCC Bumpsteer Kit (which is no longer available...RCC closed shop). Before we go any further...

quote Stolen from theogre's article: Some efforts to "solve" bump steer actually increase the amount of steering at the far ends of wheel travel.

The method you described is also the method he is referring to. I don't remember the exact numbers...but according to RCC's research, their kit significantly reduces the toe angle change for all but roughly the last 1.5-2" of travel. At that point, the angle change per inch of suspension travel becomes worse than factory...but the overall from neutral to fully extended is still less than factory, and the only time you will see the last 2" of travel (especially with performance springs and sway bars) is if you are lifting the car off the ground.

Here is a photo of an RCC bumpsteer kit that is going into my 85 GT next to the original tie rod that came out...just to give you an idea of what I am referring to here.



It is the pivot point that matters to the suspension geometry, not the actual mount location. The pivot point on the original tie rod is roughly 1.5" from the mount on the cradle (roughly...I didn't yank apart a tie rod to get an exact measurement). The pivot point on the RCC Bumpsteer Kit is 4.625" from the mount. That should give you an idea of how much change is needed to get what you are looking for. This should give you something to think about...if you have specific questions, I will try to answer them. Unfortunately, the car is not back on the road yet, so I can't tell you the results of the change.

So what if someone made a type of spacer that moved the tierods outward? Just a simple block that the rod mounted to and then mounted to the original location? Then just shorten the inner rod by way of hacksaw and cleaning the threads. Wouldnt it work the same?


My only reason for earching this out is because the roads in my area are really rough. Most highway curves have divots from big rigs and accidents. Used to have a rear sway bar and the car handled like it was on rails. W/o the bar i feel it seeming loose in the rear.

Before anyone says (install the bar back on) i put a 2.5" exhaust on and the bar wont clear it.

quote Originally posted by outlawfiero17: So what if someone made a type of spacer that moved the tierods outward? Just a simple block that the rod mounted to and then mounted to the original location? Then just shorten the inner rod by way of hacksaw and cleaning the threads. Wouldnt it work the same?

In theory, yes. Beyond engineering a "spacer" that will work for this situation, there is one other major issue. If you shorten that inner tie rod 3.125", you will completely eliminate the factory threads....so you will not be cleaning the threads, you will be cutting the threads. Now...perhaps if you found an inner tie rod from a different car that is naturally shorter...