Why does it feel like Im floating down the track?

[chrisheltra]

First let me state my suspension mods.

JDM drag springs cut 1.75 coils w/o iso's
QA1's set on 3 up front
JDM long bars
Hotchkis leafs
Strange's set on 6d and 8p in the rear
Hoosier 28" slicks @ 18 psi on AR bajas
Stock front runners

Recently when going to the track Ive noticed that my truck seems to float/wander down the track and I have a hard time keeping it in a straight line. If I make corrections they have to be very small and deliberate. It feels as though the weight is coming of off the front tires and the rears are wandering everywhere. Its almost like the rear is steering me down the track. Its actually a pretty gnarly ride (not in a good way). Im not sure if its something loose in my suspension or not aligned properly or if possibly its my Detroit TT but I could use some insight from guys with similar issue. I just dont want to stuff this truck in the wall.

[05Saleen]

First let me state my suspension mods.

JDM drag springs cut 1.75 coils w/o iso's
QA1's set on 3 up front
JDM long bars
Hotchkis leafs
Strange's set on 6d and 8p in the rear
Hoosier 28" slicks @ 18 psi on AR bajas
Stock front runners

Recently when going to the track Ive noticed that my truck seems to float/wander down the track and I have a hard time keeping it in a straight line. If I make corrections they have to be very small and deliberate. It feels as though the weight is coming of off the front tires and the rears are wandering everywhere. Its almost like the rear is steering me down the track. Its actually a pretty gnarly ride (not in a good way). Im not sure if its something loose in my suspension or not aligned properly or if possibly its my Detroit TT but I could use some insight from guys with similar issue. I just dont want to stuff this truck in the wall.

Did you ck the ubolts on your rear springs? I noticed one side was different then the other side as far as the center bolt was aligned with the top plate. You had almost a 1/4" difference from the two.

[chrisheltra]

Did you ck the ubolts on your rear springs? I noticed one side was different then the other side as far as the center bolt was aligned with the top plate. You had almost a 1/4" difference from the two.

I havent yet but its on the check list. Thats why I mentioned alignment previously but I cant help but think that when the rear was all jacked up from the caltracs that it could be any worse now with the long bars.

[1998ta__1991rs]

it may just be the slicks, i know on my old 28's my car floated everywhere, and it was slow as balls back then

[Bradleyrj]

Does the truck have a sway bar at all? My 96 F-150 was no where near the power your truck, but I noticed when I put larger tires on ( no matter what pressure ) it wanted to move around alot.. I put the rear sway bar from a 1 ton 4x4 on the rear ( same body style ) and it helped a lot with moving around and traction.

[chrisheltra]

Does the truck have a sway bar at all? My 96 F-150 was no where near the power your truck, but I noticed when I put larger tires on ( no matter what pressure ) it wanted to move around alot.. I put the rear sway bar from a 1 ton 4x4 on the rear ( same body style ) and it helped a lot with moving around and traction.

Yes I have a Hotchkis swaybar in the rear and the 28" slicks arent any bigger than the stock tires. I may try to make a pass with the hankooks to see what its does. I never seem to have this problem on the road when I leave a traffic light aggressively.

I know bias ply slicks wander some especially at lower pressures but Ive never have felt it this bad after years of using them. Maybe its due to the extra power Im trying to put down to the track now?

[BigdaddyDupree]

thats my guess. you have alot of power

[White00gt]

something to look at real quick also, guys are saying more power? Check the bump steer by jacking the frontend up if your makeing more power. While your there check all your parts. ie. tie rods, ball joints, hubs. whatever you got going on under there.

If nothing has changed there something is moving around on the rearend. What truck are we actually talking about? anyway you could snag a pic so I could see it? Is it leafs back there? Look for signs of something shifting or moving.

[chrisheltra]

something to look at real quick also, guys are saying more power? Check the bump steer by jacking the frontend up if your makeing more power. While your there check all your parts. ie. tie rods, ball joints, hubs. whatever you got going on under there.

If nothing has changed there something is moving around on the rearend. What truck are we actually talking about? anyway you could snag a pic so I could see it? Is it leafs back there? Look for signs of something shifting or moving.

Its the truck in my sig. I did a brief visual but need to get more in depth. Ill get some pics if anything looks abnormal. I wish somebody could have gotten a vid from the starting line on sunday. Dave said it was all over the track.

[White00gt]

Its the truck in my sig. I did a brief visual but need to get more in depth. Ill get some pics if anything looks abnormal. I wish somebody could have gotten a vid from the starting line on sunday. Dave said it was all over the track.

Bowman? I was at Dorchester:?. Would of been nice if I could see what it was doing. The Lightning? I need to go find one and look under it to see whats under there.


Lets see if this comes out right....when the truck is drifting around- are you steering to stay with the drift, or when you steer does the truck correct the other way?

[chrisheltra]

Bowman? I was at Dorchester:?. Would of been nice if I could see what it was doing. The Lightning? I need to go find one and look under it to see whats under there.


Lets see if this comes out right....when the truck is drifting around- are you steering to stay with the drift, or when you steer does the truck correct the other way?

Yeah it was at bowman last weekend for the tdl race. Also yes it is the Lightning with a leaf spring suspension out back just like most other trucks except Lightnings came with sway bars. When I steer it corrects the other way and it kinda feels like Im chasing it all the way down the track

[White00gt]

Yeah it sounds like something is moving around on the rear end. if the front end is staying planted and the ass end is wagging around. How old are the slicks? are they stiff sidewall? Could be as simple as tires, or could be something moving around. Is it smooth like silk and vibration free while it's doing it, or is it kinda violent and jerky? How fast, where at on track? Just off the line? gets worse as speed increases? Just started doing it? after what was changed? lol I can do this all day, but with out seeing it. It's all I can do to find it.


You as the driver hold the information. lol

[chrisheltra]

Yeah it sounds like something is moving around on the rear end. if the front end is staying planted and the ass end is wagging around. How old are the slicks? A year to a year and a half old. are they stiff sidewall? They are bias ply and the only drag tire Ive ever used so Im not sure what other tires are like. They do wrinkle pretty good. Could be as simple as tires, or could be something moving around. Is it smooth like silk and vibration free while it's doing it, or is it kinda violent and jerky? Its a smooth wander and usually happens on the second half of the run. How fast, where at on track? 92-98 mph Just off the line? Top end gets worse as speed increases? Not really its pretty consistent. Just started doing it? after what was changed? Started doing it after a significant power increase. lol I can do this all day, but with out seeing it. It's all I can do to find it.


You as the driver hold the information. lol
Unfortuneatly The truck is progressing faster than Im learning.:hysterical:


Answers in red...

[WWhittle]

I'm going to guess that you have just now started putting down enough power to feel the very normal sway of a slick. If you don't already have tubes in them, you can do that and it will help. Also, what width wheel are they one, and what pressure are you running them at?

[chrisheltra]

10" wheels and I was running the slicks at 18 psi.

[WWhittle]

10" wheels and I was running the slicks at 18 psi.

Are you going a good bit faster than before? It's normal for slicks to sway, but that doesn't mean there isn't an issue somewhere else.

[Mike]

Chris did you figure out the noise from this weekend?

[chrisheltra]

Chris did you figure out the noise from this weekend?

No I haven't I plan on taking the TA cover off tomorrow and inspection in there then replace the gear lube. Im also going to retorque the leaf spring u bolts.

[chrisheltra]

Are you going a good bit faster than before? It's normal for slicks to sway, but that doesn't mean there isn't an issue somewhere else.

Im going about 10 mph faster now. I havent ruled out play in the suspension yet.

[FRDnemesis]

First let me state my suspension mods.

JDM drag springs cut 1.75 coils w/o iso's
QA1's set on 3 up front
JDM long bars
Hotchkis leafs
Strange's set on 6d and 8p in the rear
Hoosier 28" slicks @ 18 psi on AR bajas
Stock front runners

Recently when going to the track Ive noticed that my truck seems to float/wander down the track and I have a hard time keeping it in a straight line. If I make corrections they have to be very small and deliberate. It feels as though the weight is coming of off the front tires and the rears are wandering everywhere. Its almost like the rear is steering me down the track. Its actually a pretty gnarly ride (not in a good way). Im not sure if its something loose in my suspension or not aligned properly or if possibly its my Detroit TT but I could use some insight from guys with similar issue. I just dont want to stuff this truck in the wall.


Man, been there and it is an "unnnneasy feeling" on the big end of the 1320', to say the least. I don't know what you have for suspension, so I'm not going to pretend like I know whats going on with your truck. I just know in my case, it was low tire pressure (with a tall biased ply slick) combined with a loose rear suspension component (lower control arm). On one pass, it walked up out of the groove at the 1000' cone (to the right) and I had to chase it almost all the way to the wall then pat and feather the gas to bring it back.

Just take your time and give it a good once over. A second set of eyes might not be a bad idea, its not worth taking anymore chances.

-jeff

[BigHemi]

Another possibility is the differential. I don't know what style of differential comes in the Lightnings, or what you have in yours if you changed it, but a posi style differential will wander down the track. It will make it feel like the rear tires are trying to steer the car/truck since it's not applying the power evenly. A spool drives a LOT better since it evenly distributes power to both rear wheels. Shows up even more on a heavy vehicle with good power such as yours.

[White00gt]

Answers in red...

Thats some good stuff I like that lol. Look around really good pull, pry, push; to see if anything is moving. With that heavy truck making some power, and 1.5yr old slicks you could be starting to drift around on them. If your running a 28x10.5 get you a set of 28x10.5S for stiff sidewall. We run the stiffs and are probably 1000# lighter than you. Heavy weight takes out the bias sidewalls of slicks really quick, and they get real washy on topend.

Something I was thinking about lastnight was my wording on a question.

When it's drifting are you steering with it to keep it straight, as in if you turned the other way would the truck come around. Or is it opposite being that when it tries to come around you have to steer opposite of it to keep it from comeing around, as in the rearend is trying to pass the front end.

I still don't think that came out right but anyway.:confused:

[chrisheltra]

It feels the same as if you had a really heavy weight in the bed. It just has a really light steering feeling but feels as though the rear is wandering. Its just as hard for me to explain it as it is for you to ask it. lol

[Whaler]

Bias ply slicks and radials on front could be making a slight difference in the way it tracks. My truck felt loose when I had the front shocks set that loose. I usually put them on 4 or 5 with the rears on 6 to 8. I tried to keep them within 2 settings of each other(front to rear).
Kenny's car swayed badly with slicks and front radial tires, but tracked better after putting bias plys on the front.

[DolSVT00]

Bias ply slicks and radials on front could be making a slight difference in the way it tracks. My truck felt loose when I had the front shocks set that loose. I usually put them on 4 or 5 with the rears on 6 to 8. I tried to keep them within 2 settings of each other(front to rear).
Kenny's car swayed badly with slicks and front radial tires, but tracked better after putting bias plys on the front.

+1

A smaller front tire or a bias ply front will help. Daryl B has some great knowledge on this subject, maybe he will reply with his fix to the issue.

[Red99T/A]

floating down the track = luxury vehicle.

[bwelch]

Just borrow another "race truck's" slicks for a pass and see if it goes away.

[chrisheltra]

Just borrow another "race truck's" slicks for a pass and see if it goes away.

Can you help and point me in the direction of the nearest race truck?

[clubracergt1]

Just put a radial on it, and ride.

[bwelch]

Non DOT tire= Race truck:poke:

[WTFWSAT]

ive got a set up hoosier inner tubes NIB part number 80 88 15, im not sure if thats the correct size for 28's but if your interested let me know.

[LXtasy]

Just put a radial on it, and ride.

x2.That could fix it and possibly make him go faster :D :hail:

I believe it is the difference in a radial tire up front and the bias ply in the rear. The fox used to do the same thing with only 240 hp when I ran the et streets and radials up front.

Try a drag radial out and see what it does.

[chrisheltra]

Well Im in the process of changing out the diff lube and checked the leaf spring u bolt and found that they werent as tight as they needed to be. They werent loose but they also werent torqued to spec. It also looked like there was some wear on the axle tube where the perches may have been rotating on it also indicating that the u bolts were loose.

I also noticed that due to the lowering in the rear that the bump stops are only about 1.5 inches away from the axle tube. Might have to see if decreased suspension travel is an issue at the track and get some shorter bump stops if necessary.

[98Camarod]

I'm going to go ahead and say its normal. I can feel the same "floating" feeling that your talking about goin down the track. You also have a light ass end, relatively speaking, which might help out your floating sensation.

[LXtasy]

Well Im in the process of changing out the diff lube and checked the leaf spring u bolt and found that they werent as tight as they needed to be. They werent loose but they also werent torqued to spec. It also looked like there was some wear on the axle tube where the perches may have been rotating on it also indicating that the u bolts were loose.

I also noticed that due to the lowering in the rear that the bump stops are only about 1.5 inches away from the axle tube. Might have to see if decreased suspension travel is an issue at the track and get some shorter bump stops if necessary.

Just trim what you have. I.e. cut on the bumpstops. That mod is free.

[Matts94Z28]

Can you help and point me in the direction of the nearest race truck?

There was one at firehouse on Rivers today around 1ish.

[bwelch]

http://columbia.craigslist.org/pts/1762373256.html

[98Camarod]

http://columbia.craigslist.org/pts/1762373256.html

That's a good price on that

[clubracergt1]

Aren't those ET Streets?

[chrisheltra]

There was one at firehouse on Rivers today around 1ish.

:mrgreen:

[Silver-Dollar]

http://columbia.craigslist.org/pts/1762373256.html

These are the ones that I asked about in the Tech section. They have been stored for about 5 years. He also has a DS Loop for a Lightning. He used to have one, I believe.

[DolSVT00]

http://columbia.craigslist.org/pts/1762373256.html

Those tire's are terible for us. I don't think I have ever heard of anyone getting them to work well on a Lightning. and why most of us use Hoosier QTP, full slicks or the MT DR's

[Shane361]

With the MT I ran(jasons) I always floated down the track. It stayed straight luckily though. I thought it was just the nature of the tire. -Shane

[chrisheltra]

Got back under the truck today and found that my driver side leaf spring bolt on the front mount was missing its nut. So the bolt was just floating around in the eyelet. I dont know if this was the cause of my problems but it certainly couldnt have helped anything. I dont know what caused the nut to come off but its fixed now. I also retorqed all the long bar bolts and shock bolts on the rear.

[Illusions]

looks like you may have had a combination of things causing the floating.