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You will stop having this problem when you learn the proper method for making a sharp turn in a sports car. Instead of using so much steering to make the turn, use more throttle and slide the rear end of the car around in such a way that it points you in the direction that you want to go!
Thanks, Jag. I followed your advice in my garage and wound up in my kitchen.
A combination of the Ackerman steering geometry and the ZP (run flat) tires with stiffer sidewalls is what causes it. Depending on the temps and the degree of turn you'll experience it in slow turns primarily when the road surface and air temps and tire temps are cool.
While it's annoying, it's only when going slow and goes away as the tires warm up and you go faster. It's a small sacrifice that you have to endure to have the incredible handling at pretty extreme speeds. Some have gone to non ZP tires and rid themselves of it but those tires while good are not going to 'stick' like the OEM tires when you really want to see how incredibly good this car can handle. If you've made it to the Ron Fellows course, you'll understand how good they are .
I bought a used 2014 c7 about a week ago and a couple days later I realized when I have the steering wheel all the way to the left or right on low speed (under 4 mph) the car kinda jumps (hard to explain tbh) was wondering if anybody knew anything about this? When I turn with the steering wheel all the way to the right or left over 4-5mph it doesn’t do this.
Gonna take it to the dealership soon, just curious if anybody has had this problem.
Mine too with a kind of crunchy sound--almost like the old differential problem we used to have in some of the C6s until we changed the fluid.
Dealer won't help if they even undersatnd the issue! As we get colder, it gets much worse. The simple comment “normal,” which is what you’ll get from GM does not come close to what you’ll feel below ~40F! Had my C7 Z51 since October 2013. When it got cold (~40 F) in SC it was very concerning when turning full lock backing out of the garage in the morning. A poster said when backing out of a mall parking spot on a cold night the car shook so bad he got out and looked underneath to see what broke! His wife wanted him to call the dealer and have it towed and not drive it! I’m starting to feel the issue at 55 F this year! It only happens at slow speeds and tight turns foward or backward.
After a year and a lot of forum posts I believe the two main causes are the tires (particularly on the Z51) and the fact that the C7 has a 2 foot tighter turning radius than the C6 (C6 had the same tire width and probably similar Ackerman effect.) Folks installing All-Season tires said it goes away! Much worse than my ’08 Z51. Made a 4 page PDF from what I found. Describes Ackerman steering, tire slip angles, etc. http://netwelding.com/Wheel_Chatter.pdf I use a simple solution you’ll want to consider if your have a friend in the car and don’t want them to laugh at your “piece of junk!” Just don’t use full lock when it’s cold, use a K turn! The PDF will help explain what it is and that Chevy says “it’s normal” if you forget, maybe your passenger can explain when he tells your friends, "while laughing!”
Your PDF article is excellent. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
Combination of wide tires and steering geometry. When you turn hard, especially with cold tires, one wheel has to "skip" or "hop" to catch up to the other one. Completely normal and expected. Happens to me across several different Corvettes every time I pull into a parking space.
Even my Charger does this on certain surfaces (tight turns at low speeds, especially when cold). Look up "Ackerman Effect" on the web for an explanation. Essentially, the two front tires are on different arcs in a turn, but there are trade-offs in design to making them follow an exact path at low speeds, especially with wide, sticky tires.
A combination of the Ackerman steering geometry and the ZP (run flat) tires with stiffer sidewalls is what causes it. Depending on the temps and the degree of turn you'll experience it in slow turns primarily when the road surface and air temps and tire temps are cool.
While it's annoying, it's only when going slow and goes away as the tires warm up and you go faster. It's a small sacrifice that you have to endure to have the incredible handling at pretty extreme speeds. Some have gone to non ZP tires and rid themselves of it but those tires while good are not going to 'stick' like the OEM tires when you really want to see how incredibly good this car can handle. If you've made it to the Ron Fellows course, you'll understand how good they are .
I put non-ZP tires on my C6 ((Michelin Pilot Super Sports just like on the C7) and it still skittered and I live in central Florida where it is almost never cold.
Your PDF article is excellent. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
You’re welcome. Enjoy writing them and sharing what I find. The main issue of the tires being the cause was recently reinforced by someone installing Pirelli all seasons and saying the problem went away. I did not have anything like what occurs in the C7 in my ’08 Z51 with the OEM Goodyears and even when I put on Firestone tires that were not good in cold weather but no major “chatter" as GM calls it. The graph on slip angel shows that racing tires have very low slip angle and the Michelins, especially on the Z51, are more like a racing tire with the good and bad characteristics!
You will stop having this problem when you learn the proper method for making a sharp turn in a sports car. Instead of using so much steering to make the turn, use more throttle and slide the rear end of the car around in such a way that it points you in the direction that you want to go!
You will stop having this problem when you learn the proper method for making a sharp turn in a sports car. Instead of using so much steering to make the turn, use more throttle and slide the rear end of the car around in such a way that it points you in the direction that you want to go!
Yep tach it up and slide it over. every time you turn in some where!
You will stop having this problem when you learn the proper method for making a sharp turn in a sports car. Instead of using so much steering to make the turn, use more throttle and slide the rear end of the car around in such a way that it points you in the direction that you want to go!
Excellent response.
Reminds me of driving my 1967 shelby, 👍, Tony
Do the high end foreign sports cars,lambo etc., have this ackerman effect? And if not, why.
See post #24 above and click on my PDF. You'll see this Ackerman Effect was defined in the early 1800's!! The patent was for horse drawn carriages!
All cars use it but it is the tires especially on the Z51 are more like race tires and have a low slip angle which helps high speed performance but causes this isse. When the tires are cold just don't turn as sharp! Other high performance sports cars with racing type tires are similar.