BUMP STEER

IGHT GUYS THIS QUESTION ISNT ABOUT A MAZDA BUT IM ALMOST AT A LOST. MY WIFES CAR IS FRONT WHEEL DRIVE, I JUST PUT SOME 17X71/2'' ENKI SPIDERS ON IT, WELL EVER SINCE IT FEELS AS IF IT HAS A LOT OF BUMPSTEER. NOW IVE BEEN A MECH. MOST OF MY LIFE AND IM A A.S.E MASTER TECH. SO IM NOT COMPLETLY DUMB TO THE FACT. IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE IT HAS TOO MUCH POSITIVE CASTER. NOW MOST OF YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO YOU CANT REALLY ADJUST THE CASTER ON MOST FWD CARS. IM JUST ASKING FOR SOME IMPUT BECAUSE I KNOW ONE PERSON CANT KNOW IT ALL AND YOULL ALWAY LEARN. SOME KINDA HELP? AND I KNOW THE GYRO OF THE WHEEL ISNT TO GREAT LIKE IT WOULD BE ON LARGER WHEELS, IT DOESNT DO IT WITH THE STOCK ONES JUST THESE.

I guess my ? would be what kind of car?I have Enkis on my Volvo S40 and they are fine. Some front wheel drive cars (Volvo and Mazda to name 2) can have both the caster and camber adjusted and if they have ind. sprung rear suspensions (Volvo and Mazda) the rear c&c can be adjusted as well.I would take it to a good alignment shop and have a 4 wheel alignment done .BJ

its a saturn, has a solid rearend, but as soon as i posted this i took it to my shop and i check it and everything was fine. i was almost thinking of lowering about an inch or two to correct the bumpsteer but i almost plan on puttin strutbags on it later so i really dont want to go through the trouble of lowering it

in my opinion, the reason is that the difference in tire's coefficient of friction. the softer compound low profile tire obviously have a higher coefficient. the tire grabs more, so the slightest bump will sometimes cause the bumpsteer.

another thing to consider is the tire's sidewall flex. the sidewall will flex more on the stockers obviously. the tire's deformation causes loss in steering response, but now with the new tires with a smaller sidewall, you have less deformation and a wider tire will help to lessen deformation, which improves steering response. the bumpsteer you are feeling is mostlikely just improved traction and response.

i've felt the exact same changes in all the truck's i've installed slightly larger wheels to. on my ranger, my mazda, etc.

even my dad's 89 mazda with 16inch wheels and tires that are equal in diameter of the stockers, now has a tighter steering and a very quick steering response just by installing a tire with a smaller sidewall. and these arent even "big" wheel upgrades.

just my 2cents

sounds logical to me. Might watch the tires real close for a couple of weeks and see if u notice any abnormal wear and align the car if u do. BJ

yeah i felt the same way about the tire issue, oh well ill just burn it to the ground and get another mini, my wife has stole my f-150 anyway, i dont ever get to drive it anymore:)