Bumpsteer

This is one of my favorite pictures. For one thing there is no better example of bump steer. The condition didn't stop these guys from going out and having a great time, and the condition can be fixed on any car, whether it has single A-arms or double. It cant be eliminated on all chassis, but it can be made almost negligible on most cars. These guys probably have it all fixed up by now and have learned a lot a long the way.

This car is in the same fix. You can tell by looking at the tie rods in relationship to the A-arms. Even though this looks like one of those pictures you take before you dial in your alignment it looks like he will have to cut a painted car in order to correct the condition. I don't know if I have said it enough, but you should dial in your car and drive it several times before you paint it.

This drawing shows the do's and don'ts of tie rod alignment. The rack will be the principle culprit in bump steer. 95% of bump steer is removed by raising or lowering the rack. Only a little bit is found when moving the rack forward and back. When you set up your steering make sure that the tie rods are running as close to parallel to the A-arms. If the steering arms are high on the spindle mount your rack in such a way that the tie rods follow a parallel line.

I started building the A-arms differently a few years ago. I did so to save time building them. The bend at the end of the tube creates a condition that makes a parallel line impossible. When working with this set of arms the tie rod must run parallel to the imaginary line that runs from the A-arm pivot to the center of the rod end at the spindle.