My steering is too sensitive!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,527
Likes: 1
From: St. Petersburg, Fl///Columbus, Ohio
Racer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 266
Likes: 1
From: S.E. Michigan
St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 15,036
Likes: 79
From: central FL, near the beach.
The third alignment spec - caster - has a great effect on a Corvette's steering. Many alignment shops will get camber and toe-on right and let caster fall where it may - usually 1 or 1 1/2 degrees (ot less!). This will make your car feel "darty". To get stable tracking and give a little heavier feel to the steering, caster should be 3 to 6 degrees. Sometimes this is difficult to achieve in a 25+ year old chassis which has "settled" and this is the reason that van steel and vette brakes offer upper A arms with an offset ball joint location. These parts help compensate for wear and achieve the stability you're looking for.
also, as mentioned by backdoorman use the manual tie-rod hole(i do)
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
This has been rehashed so many times over throug the years, i'ts funny allready.....
the facts are, IF everyone is mechanically home and happy as a clam, with NORMAL tires, the car does fine.....with wider tires the freeway wandering is subjective depending on specific tire, and the roads.....
meaning it's YOUR car, what can YOU TOLERATE???
When I first started driving I was surprised to find it was 'normal' at the time, for all the cars to 'wander' over the roads....no matter the speeds....constant nudging the wheel to the right/left was considered a normal part of driving, and it got worse on higher speeds....and worn roads appearing over time, then as years went by, the interstate freeways made from asphault getting rutted out, the situation got even more sensitive.....now we get wider tires....
and this olde tyme steering added on to a chassis born in the late 50's....is plainly not up to the job.....
CASE CLOSED.....IF the owner is happy with it, fine.....
others notice that problem....
I went to a rack as driving here in Florida is quite a bit differant than Wash DC....much more freeway driving....
and the steering/handling improved night to day....
wheel steady from 0 to 150, on all sorts of problem roads.....
the facts are, IF everyone is mechanically home and happy as a clam, with NORMAL tires, the car does fine.....with wider tires the freeway wandering is subjective depending on specific tire, and the roads.....
meaning it's YOUR car, what can YOU TOLERATE???
When I first started driving I was surprised to find it was 'normal' at the time, for all the cars to 'wander' over the roads....no matter the speeds....constant nudging the wheel to the right/left was considered a normal part of driving, and it got worse on higher speeds....and worn roads appearing over time, then as years went by, the interstate freeways made from asphault getting rutted out, the situation got even more sensitive.....now we get wider tires....
and this olde tyme steering added on to a chassis born in the late 50's....is plainly not up to the job.....
CASE CLOSED.....IF the owner is happy with it, fine.....
others notice that problem....
I went to a rack as driving here in Florida is quite a bit differant than Wash DC....much more freeway driving....
and the steering/handling improved night to day....
wheel steady from 0 to 150, on all sorts of problem roads.....
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 161
Likes: 1
I seem to have the same problem with my 78, after 70 mph I have to hold the wheel rock steady. It feels as if there is no play at all in the steering and the cars front end feels as if it's floating.
I am going to have an alignment check done to see if the caster is off as Rotonda has suggested.
All my pwr steering parts are new from VB+P but my pwr steering pump has been changed with a re-built from a discount parts store. I have no leaks, and the control valve seems to have been adjusted correctly.I cannot steer with one finger with the car sitting still, is there a part I should have swapped out from the original pump to the newer ones? Yellovette, did you change your pump also?
I am going to have an alignment check done to see if the caster is off as Rotonda has suggested.
All my pwr steering parts are new from VB+P but my pwr steering pump has been changed with a re-built from a discount parts store. I have no leaks, and the control valve seems to have been adjusted correctly.I cannot steer with one finger with the car sitting still, is there a part I should have swapped out from the original pump to the newer ones? Yellovette, did you change your pump also?
Last edited by vettephyxer; Aug 24, 2007 at 06:01 PM. Reason: more info
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '03,'11
you need toe in to stabalize things. yea it will wear the tires more. Small price to pay for not wrecking your car.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
If the roads are crappy and rutted you have steering problems with a C3, if the roads are good the steering is good 
There is one road near my home where the Vette goes all over the place, real hard to steer, other than that it's one finger at 100MPH
There is one road near my home where the Vette goes all over the place, real hard to steer, other than that it's one finger at 100MPH
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '03,'11
Tell the alignment shop what you want rather than accepting what they think you need.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,801
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From: Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the women TX
Unless the camber is a magic bullet......
You'll always have to pay a little more attention to keep your AC compressor from getting behind the wheel of that parked car.
Each bump and pot hole will be an unwelcome adventure.
It may never be that long distance highway cruiser you envision.
That being said, my steering is still feral. But the car and I have come to terms. I'll certainly give the camber settings a try when I get it aligned. Not going to do that until I have some suspension equipment swapped/upgraded first tho.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 191
Likes: 1
From: MONTREAL QUEBEC
Please let us know how it goes after they adjust the toe in and caster.
Mine was almost undrivable until I changed over to manual steering. Now it's great at high speed but a little tough in parallel parking. If yours works out after the alignment I may be tempted to hook up my ps again.
Mine was almost undrivable until I changed over to manual steering. Now it's great at high speed but a little tough in parallel parking. If yours works out after the alignment I may be tempted to hook up my ps again.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 10,643
Likes: 8
From: Foxfield CO 1970 Convertible
I have the exact same problem ---- i call it nervous steering. Not a real problem if your're traveling 60 mph or less ---- but at 70 or 80 mph it can make you a nervous wreck in a very short period of time as you are constantly turing the wheel back and forth to keep the car in the lane and little adjustments to the steering wheel seem to ofter go too far and then i have to recompensate. I have given up on this issue and believe I have just gotten used to my BMW and variable ratio steering ---- but if you find a soluton, please let all of us know because many seem to have the same issue
You'll never be able to steer with one finger with the car sitting still. The Vettes don't have the kind of steering associated with Toyotas and minivans. It's more of a "power assisted" steering...
