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View Full Version : Why won't my car sit even!?!?!


Thursday7
02-24-2017, 02:58 PM
I'll try and make this detailed without getting too wordy.

It's an S13. Last summer I decided to put S14 FLCA's (with S13 ball joints) and GK tech's RCA brackets on. If you are not familiar with these, these are what they are, only mine are for S13 balljoints: http://www.gktech.com/s14-s15-40mm-roll-center-correction-kit.html

My car had coilovers on it beforehand, and the car sat level and even. While doing this I also got new tie rod ends, and at the time did not know that S14 and S13s were different, and my car had S14's on it. I bought S13's and the number of turns to get it off were not the same, so the toe was all F'd. (I plan on getting stouter S14 tie rods now that I know they're better) This is not my issue, but it's worth mentioning that my toe out was pretty bad after this.

So I installed the S14 LCA's and GKtech RCA kit, dropped the car back on the ground, and instantly saw everything was fucked. The passenger side was straight tucking, and had like 2 degrees more camber. Beforehand, my coils were adjusted to the same exact height and the car sat level. I had to adjust the passenger side up about 2 inches to have it sit level. I will also mention that it seemed like adjusting ride height was not nearly as effective, as I had to adjust it up so much just to get any type of height raise.

So I took the car to get aligned so toe and caster are straight. However there was still a discrepancy in camber, and my camber plates were the same. My alignment guy (a long time Schassis guy) said he didn't want to fuck with the camber and it was my problem. So I get home, my ride height still isn't perfect, but it's ok, my toe and caster are dialed, and my camber is like -4 on the drivers side and -6 on the pass. I pretty much adjusted the camber plate all the way in and it looks alright-ish.

If you look at the car from the front with the bumper removed (noticed this while doing a swap) one LCA is parallel to the ground, and the other is about 20* at a downward angle. I'm sorry if this info is misleading but I do not remember which side is which, but its worth noting as it means the issue is far from fixed.

What I think is worth mentioning:

Upon pressing new bushings into the LCA's I bent one arm a bit. They were not boxed, and the one went from a |_| shape to a /_\ shape, if that makes any sense. Would this be my issue? Only other thing I could think of is I potentially didn't thread the shanks of the LCA kit in completely even, although I'm fairly certain I did.

I'm just so fucking confused. I drove the car like this at an event and it did well. Car drives straight. Handles ok. I just don't know why things go so weird after doing something as simple as LCA's and the GKtech kit.

Pls send help. many thanks.

Jefro240
02-24-2017, 04:42 PM
Upon pressing new bushings into the LCA's I bent one arm a bit. They were not boxed, and the one went from a |_| shape to a /_\ shape, if that makes any sense. Would this be my issue? Only other thing I could think of is I potentially didn't thread the shanks of the LCA kit in completely even, although I'm fairly certain I did.

That is where I'd start... If that LCA is as you say it can definitely cause issues and myself, I'd be swapping out that out. Then I'd go back over the kit and make sure its installed 100% correctly.

gaz_moose
02-25-2017, 02:45 AM
take both LCA's off and put them side by side on a flat surface.

Thursday7
02-26-2017, 03:45 PM
That is where I'd start... If that LCA is as you say it can definitely cause issues and myself, I'd be swapping out that out. Then I'd go back over the kit and make sure its installed 100% correctly.

That's my first plan. I just find it hard to think that a little bit of bending axially would cause major changes laterally....if that makes any sense. Thanks for the reply though, I'm definitely getting new arms.

take both LCA's off and put them side by side on a flat surface.

I'll end up doing this when I change my arms.

Thursday7
10-31-2017, 09:27 PM
UPDATE AFTER A WHILE

First I'd also like to mention that the affected side (RH) also has a bunch of additional track width.

Got new LCA's. problem was still very much apparent as expected. I thought maybe I had the GKtech roll center pieces on wrong or imperfect, but I decided to do away with them entirely for Dang Drifters knuckles. Problem is still apparent. I've taken the car to get aligned and my dude did play with the camber and got it aligned. The car has even toe, castor, and camber. Track is still crazy uneven and the distance between collars on my coils is substantial in order to achieve even ride height.

This issue is truly a mystery. Car was never crashed, and this issue has only become apparent after working on my car that one day. I seriously am out of ideas. I put a spacer on the driver's side to make the track look a little more even but I know that is just makeup on the underlying issue.

Car drives straight, and drifts well. It just looks wonky and something is causing it. Maybe I bent a coilover working on it? Like I'm grasping at straws here.

What could have happened? I don't care how outlandish it may seem, if you guys have ideas, let me hear them.

anthony_240
10-31-2017, 09:44 PM
Post some pics up dude if you get a chance.. a fresh set of eyes sometimes helps


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