Hasty 35's

[Sabyre]

It's been a long while since I have posted and to be honest I have become somewhat of a lurer here. I'm here all the time but usually just as a reader. What can I say, life is hectic, busy, and I just have minimal time.

Anywho... Lifted about 3 inches and got a good deal on some 35x12.50x15 on some 15x10" wheels. Wide, very wide. Not much for backspacing so they stick out considerably.

I'm running the stock radius arms in the stock location. This past weekend we had a wheelin event that required me to drive the truck a good 60 mile round trip. What a horrible experience. Talk about white knuckle driving. Handling was non existent. The slightest bumps or cracks in the road would send the truck careening in different directions.

I would have figured the handling would have improved due to the much wider stance, but such is not the case.

What would be causing this. Stock radius arms? Tires too wide for TTB? Perhaps its the offset on the wheels? I know all the suspension is tight, I check after every wheelin trip.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Sabyre]

Bump... Anyone?

 

[wood1]

All I can offer is a bump and the comment that I know what you are talking about after driving a buddy's car that had wider wheels and tires on it. It was dangerous to say the least.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

I'd make sure the sway bars are in tact and tightened down. Make sure it's all aligned...
Have you upgraded the shocks? Maybe a new set would help with the handling, perhaps with the bigger tires and lift they aren't giving as much benefit anymore.

Not sure if it helps, but I'd definitely look into lifted shocks if you haven't all ready.

 

[Tbars4]

...What you have is commonly known as "Bump Steer"..

...Did you do a suspension lift???(you mentioned 3" lift but not what kind)...Did you add a longer Pitman arm???..When was the last time you replaced your drag link, etc.???..:scratch:

 

[fischerry]

a little secret swap those tires to your original rims...they tuck nicely and if it rubs keep some 88cent black spray bomb in the tool box.check all your bushing...and ball joints.

 

[IZwack]

a little secret swap those tires to your original rims..

Stock rims are I think like 7 or so inches wide -- which might be a wee bit too narrow for 12.50 wide tires.

 

[Sabyre]

Thanks for the replys. Lift is via spacers and shackles. Sway bars have been removed. I didn't figure sway bars would affect the steering. Thought they were more for body roll.

Stock shocks, stop pitman arm. I have never replaced the drag link in this sploder because it doesn't have play in it. I did the ball joints and tie rod ends last year and they are still tight.

The rubbing is actually minimal. Only rubs on when turned hard and flexing. And as stated 12.50 wide tires wouldn't work well with 7" wheels.

The more I think about it, maybe it's the weight of the tires. The increase is substantial. Perhaps a steering stabilizer?

 

[manaen]

get a dropped pitman arm, you are experiencing bump steer, more so now because you just added an additional 20 pounds (or more) to each wheel. Also you may want to look into upgraded shocks, the more rolling weight you have on the wheel the beefier your shocks need to be.

This is the one problem with the TTB, it is tough to maintain the stock angles when you lift it. If you went 3" without drop brackets for the TTB then you will need those as well otherwise you are amplifying the problem.

The goal with the TTB is to have the pitman, the TTB Pivots, and the wheels on one single plain. Any amount off of that and you will have issues with alignment and bump steer. 2" is about the max that the TTB can go before you start to have sever steering issues.


Bottom line, it's not the tires it's your suspension geometry, and the good news it is fixable


Here are a few links to the parts you may need....


Drop Pitman Arm
TTB Brackets

not sure that those ttb brackets will fit your ttb, but it gives you an idea what to look for.

To be honest in the long run it would have been cheaper to buy the entire 4" lift kit that comes with all the springs and brackets and the drop pitman. Hey, I've been there and done that, it's all a part of the learning process

 

[HahnsB2]

Another vote for bad steering angles. At least get a drop pitman arm. I don't undertand how you lifted it 3" without drop brackets, 2" is uaually the max before you run out of camber adjustment.

 

[Tbars4]

...I would like to see a pic of this front end...When you do any type of lift you must get it aligned...

 

[fischerry]

yeah, 3 inch's with stock shocks that sound's fishy...did you install shock mount drops? if you didnt change shock the max lift you could achive is about a 1.5inch lift.if you change to 2 inch lift shocks you rig will have good flex.also when you did the coils did you get the shimsand alignment?try to post some front end pics and we could tell you where to go...
oh IZWACK here is a pic of my ol 88 b2 with a 3"bl and 33x12.5 on stock 2000 ex tear drop rims.They worked well for me as a dd but i went threw a new trans pretty quickly....?

 

[Fordmandan87]

try a steering stabilizer

 

[BLOODBANE]

My Ranger does the same thing as yours does. I have 4" of lift(yes I have a dropped pitman,and all brackets). I run a 35x14.5x15 BOGGER though. If there is a decent sized ridge on the road it will catch those wide tires and throw it around a bit. Mine is flat out wide tires on a short light truck(short bed Ranger).

 

[manaen]

A sabilizer will help to mask the problem a bit, and with bigger tires it will help offroad. However it will not fix the bump steer problem.

If you have all the angles right, or you are lifted too high to get them right. I would go to Superlift, they make a steering correction kit for the TTB that is supposed to remove the bump steer problems. I have heard nothing but good things about it from guys who are lifted 6" (or more). However with only 3" of lift it may not be needed if you get your angles back in check. Also make sure your alignment is good, and for the money (as Dan suggested) I would get a stabilizer as well. Also are you sure your stock shocks can even handle the extra weight of the tires? that is a lot of extra force to put on the stock shocks. All of those factors will just amplify the bump steer even more.

the fact is without some steering mods ALL TTB's have bump steer, it's just that in stock form the angles are aligned well enough and the suspension doesn't give enough to notice it much on the road. When you start to mod things and change the angles, add weight to the wheels etc... things just get progressively worse.

Anyway if I was you my goals would be
1) get the front end angles back in check (using drop brackets and another pitman)
2) get beefier shocks to handle the added rolling weight (why do you think monster trucks have like 10 shocks per axle)
3) steering stabilizer
4) if you still need it, superlift superrunner steering kit, But I doubt you will with all those other mods

 

[Sabyre]

Thanks for the responses once again. I am at work right now, but I will try and get some pics of the front end when I get home.

The shocks that are on it now are OEM replacements and they are bottomed out basically just sitting in the driveway. I know I needed to get some longer shocks. Should I go the air shock route?

I want to emphasize that this is no daily driver and we only use it to wheel with. Eventually it will be a tow rig, but right with nothing to tow it with but a Mazda Protege, 944, or a Buick it is driven to the wheeling locations.

After I lifted it "V"'d the front as it should being a TTB. I did adjust the camber nuts as far as they would allow to try and get it at least close to spec.

I guess I'll start with some new shocks ... Please recommend... Air perhaps? and order a drop pitman arm.

Thanks again.

 

[manaen]

what is your price range?

I know people will poopoo this but if you want to stay cheap I had pretty good luck with these Tough Country shocks on a TTB. They are the bottom line in offroad shocks, with those large wheels and tires you will want heavy duty shocks. Something to hold those big wheels on the ground. Maybe even think about going with a 2 shock setup. If you have a little more money to spend you cannot go wrong with the Rancho adjustable 9000's I had a few friends with them and they worked great as well. Although none of my friends had 35's so you may need a little more beef in there. You don't need air shocks, just a good dampening shock. I'm sure if you called rancho they would hook you up with exactly what you need for the added length and weight of your current setup.

 

[fischerry]

the steering correction kit is made by superlift.It is called ther super lift super runner steering kit.Yeah it is copy cat hass it installed you can search for it on the site.a stabilizer woulnt mask the problem it will dampen the bumps and correct the bumpsteer.the super runner is probley right up you ally call superlift and talk to them.