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Can some of you corvette suspension guys help me out with a question? I need to know "hypothetically" what would happen if I lengthened the steering arm on my front knuckle by 1.0"? Obviously the toe will change (easy fix), I suspect the steering speed will change, the turning radius might change ( I don't know if the bump stops are in the rack on on the knuckle), and there might be a little change in bump steer. But for a car that is street driven would I ever really notice a difference in the handling of the car? Thanks!
Why would you extend the steering arm? This will require a larger steering wheel angle input to turn the wheels comparative to stock essentially slowing down your steering. Not a good thing if you ask me, but would certainly allow you to run a lot more caster without overheating the rack by increasing the moment arm on the knuckle. Active handling will also no longer work properly unless you somehow recalibrate the SWPS.
SaberD ... yeah, completely forgot about the SWPS and active handling issues. So here is the WHY. I am looking at the possibility of changing the front knuckle and the only notable difference between the two is the length of the steering arm. I wanted some input on the ill effects of running the knuckle as-is. Modifying the knuckle to shorten the arm would be a nightmare. I don't know if there is any way to use an offset tie rod or something to compensate for the difference. Just trying to vet the options before I tap out. Don't like giving up.
St. Jude Vendor Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11
The steering ratio would be changed. Longer = less steering per degree of steering wheel movement. Shorter = more (quicker) steering per degree of steering wheel movement.
In addition, your Ackerman would change both ways. In our race cars, we would shorten the steering knuckle to get quicker steering.
Hope this info helps. I personally would not change the steering ratio on a street Corvette.
Thanks
Lou Gigliotti
LG Motorsports
972-429-1963
Photo shows Stock spindle, LG Drop spindle and LG Drag spindle.
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C5Z Suspension Guru requested
