Rep Power: 274

now that i have my car lowered lately whenever i go over cracks in the road or small bumps my rear end feels like it is sliding side to side or slips like if i have no rear traction or something, but i dont know what it could be. has anybody ever heard of anything like that or experience anything of that sort?

 
Rep Power: 380

sounds like an alignment problem. Get it checked, if its not that... then are you still on the oem shocks? it could be that they are not dampering the springs enough.. or the tires may be just getting old/worn out.

 
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It could also be your rear end of your car has too stiff a setup. I got konis and if I were to dial them in to the stiffest setting, I get that effect sometimes. Zzyzx, could this be the reason ?

 
Rep Power: 311

i had that problem tooo went away with an alignment

 
Rep Power: 380

Very much so...

Dampers (shocks) in regards to handling, primairly influence corner entry and exit chareteristics. with out getting in to a whole "how to tune your shocks" thread, the basics go like this...

For corner entry increase the rebound valving on the side of the car you want to have stick Less.... so by going to the stiffest setting on the rear, you are making the car want to oversteer on corner entry...

Here are the settings I use for the street (I have Konis too)

Front Full soft, rear 1/4 to 1/2 turn from full soft.

when I autocross i start with

1/4 to 1/2 turn from full soft on the front and 1/2 a turn down from full stiff on the rear, and then adjust for what the course needs.

(you shoud very rarely need to go full stiff with the konis to get the handling you want)

 
Rep Power: 274

well its not my tires and its not my shocks(at least i doubt they are) but i am running on oem shocks but im not bouncing everywhere almost like stock but it could be an alignment issue. ill have it checked out, thanks

 
Rep Power: 380

If you've lowered the car, then you have also put the shocks in a position were they arn't working as well as they should... Tie that in with a higer spring rate........ you are most likely under-dampering the car, which can lead to handilng problems.

BUT... Checking your alignment is cheeper, so do that first.

 
Rep Power: 327

most likely its your Rear Toe is WAY off, did you get it aligned after lowering it? if you were to drive it in the rain, snow, or dirt you would REALLY be in for a ride......

 
Rep Power: 274

well i have a camber kit installed but have not had an alignment yet but i adjusted the wheels mainly by sight and they are pretty straight but not perfect.

 
Rep Power: 327

PRETTY straight ????????? did you measure toe in/ toe out ?

 
Rep Power: 274

no, like i said i mainly just went by sight until i get an alignment

 
Rep Power: 274

hey it looked a whole lot better than what it did when my rears toed in

 
Rep Power: 380

well, a 1/4 of an inch toe in or out can make a Huge difference in how the car handles....

 
Rep Power: 274

yea im gonna have an alignment done tomorrow. you know, i've read that there are settings to adjust your camber so that it is done best for handling or if you just want more of a comfort ride??? something about toe it to a certain degree or something, im not really sure but i read here in this forum, anybody know what im talking about?

 
Rep Power: 380

there is such a thing as a sport alighment vs a street alignment...and even in the sport alignment theres a difference between a street sport and a Road race or autocross alignment..

the differences arnt for comfort, its about handling Vs tire wear.

the stock alignment is your basic street alignment, its pretty much designed to maximize tread life, and cause a bit of understeer (Because understeer is safe).

the sport alignments sacrifice tread life for performance... typically you run a bit of negitive camber (particularly on the front) and then you play with the toe settings to get the handling you want.