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shock dampers

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tahoe healey

tahoe healey

Yoda
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I have misplace the contacts to Worldwide shock absorber repair people. Or maybe I can get an answer here. At 75 mph I get a lightness in the steering that makes me compensate. Wont stay straight ahead. Very little but it feels dangerous. I have new tires and tight bushes. Not a big problem cause I seldom get to drive that fast. All I can think of is the shocks and wanted to ask if there is any test for them. No residual movement when I press on either fender. Rear were rebuilt by Worldwide a few years ago.
Thanks.
TH
 
tahoe healey said:
I have misplace the contacts to Worldwide shock absorber repair people. Or maybe I can get an answer here. At 75 mph I get a lightness in the steering that makes me compensate. Wont stay straight ahead. Very little but it feels dangerous. I have new tires and tight bushes. Not a big problem cause I seldom get to drive that fast. All I can think of is the shocks and wanted to ask if there is any test for them. No residual movement when I press on either fender. Rear were rebuilt by Worldwide a few years ago.
Thanks.
TH
Click to expand...
Did you check your shock tower bolts to see if they're tight?
 
TH,

I know and get the same feeling at high speed and also seem to have good shocks, true wheels, and new tires. When driving my Acura, I can go 90 and feel like I’m at 60. On the other hand, I can go 60 in my Healey and get the thrill of going 120. Since my car has handled this way for so long and I seldom go above 70, like scuttle shake, I never thought to look that deeply into the issue….or at my brake drums for the cure.

Although I don’t think the shocks have anything to do with the light feeling of the car when at high speed, I would like to know what your research uncovers. I have found that I can improve speed stability by lowering the front tire pressure a few lbs. Also, as some can better advise, I would expect that altering the alignment of the car in some manor would improve high speed handling.

Ray (64BJ8P1)
 
tahoe healey said:
At 75 mph I get a lightness in the steering that makes me compensate. Wont stay straight ahead. Very little but it feels dangerous. I have new tires and tight bushes. Not a big problem cause I seldom get to drive that fast.
TH
Click to expand...

I sure hope you don't drive that fast with all that luggage you got on the back rack :smile:

Plus your boot is chock full, as seen at the car show. Congrats on winning!

No wonder the front end is light with all that weight back there :smile:
 
Are the anti-roll bar (sway bar) link rods in perfect condition, because this can cause a little instability and tail happiness.

Also, as the rear springs sag, so the steering becomes heavier and the car tends to wander.

The steering boxes are pretty worn now and can leave you without much control at higher speeds.

Ash
 
Steering box is tight. I tightened the anti-roll bar 3 months ago. Rear shocks and springs less than 2 years ago (drives very flat on curves). I noticed this wondering first when I got rid of my Michelins earlier this year, now on Verds.
I do get a lot of stuff in the boot and that was a question of mine too. (you should have seen it when we went to Rendezvous in June for ten days.) I think it also happens when empty but I don't get to go that fast up here. We are headed to "Fall Colors' tour the end of this month and will have a light boot.
Roger, thanks for the congrats. Did I hear you were one of the judges and if so that's why you couldn't win? That or there were a lack of red cars. Judging is so fickle, two weeks before I didn't place in the top five 3000s and the next day I get first at another all British show on our way to Yosemite. Then again last weekend,wow. It is really about the driving (500 miles last weekend) and the friends.
I will call Worldwide today and see what they think.
Thanks, all.
TH
 
Here is my .02 on this issue.

1. Big Healeys are actually tail heavey. Hard to beleive, I know, but an old road test in Road and Track confirmed that for me.

2. The cars have positive camber from the factory.

3. The cars are usually set up by their owners at 0 degrees of toe in, or very close to 0.

These three factors together will result in a car that gets lighter at speed. In your case, I would start by removing everything from the trunk and then reevaluate. I assume your ride height is correct, but you should check that while you are at it. If the steering is still too light, check the toe setting and if you are at or near 0, add some toe in. I think you can go to 1/4 inch and still be within the specs. Toe in keeps the car tracking straight and will add a bit of weight to the steering with one tire pushing a bit against the other. If the front end is still too light, try the offset shock bushings and dial in a degre or two of negative camber.

I doubt that the shocks are the problem. They control up and down movement. The only way they would impact steering feel at speed would be if they were lose or if the arms or bushings were worn.
 
I had the offset bushing installed 9 years ago and they were suppose to be set -1 degree. (This caused more wear on the inner tire tread)I discussed this with Nock a few weeks ago and he said that would be right. I have not checked the tow in and will do that next weekend. The toe in measurement has always been a real pain for me to preform. Any "easy" methods out there? I use a couple of carpenter 90 degrees set on the floor against the tire, measuring across, first back then front of the tire. Problem is where on the tire do I measure from. Everyone tells me something different. One fellow I know just turns the adjustment 1/4 turn on each side and drives until it feels "right". Thanks.
 
I made one with plans from steveg. Check the archives. 1/8" toe in works for me.
 
Put a piece of tape on the "front" of each tyre and make a mark. Use your framing square to drop those marks to the floor and measure. Roll the car forward or back to place the tape at the "back" of the tyre. Repeat measurement. Subtract the front measurement from the back and you have the toe in. The 1/4" toe in spec might be OK for bias ply tyres but my experience is handling feels best with radial tyres at close to 0 toe in. I set mine to 1/8' just to accommodate any measurement errors and be sure I don't have toe out..

We did 100 miles in our BT7 this last weekend and saw a true 85mph more that once.

https://arizonaroadrunner.yolasite.com/2011-arizona-roadrunner.php

The car was rock steady with no wander or float. This is a low mileage (37k miles) unrestored car with Worldwide Auto shocks on the front. Running Vreds on tubeless Dayton wires.

Marv J
 
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