Caster - need to understand.... (1 Viewer)

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StressPuppy

StressPuppy

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May 28, 2004
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Richmond, VA
I have the OME medium duty lift kit on and now the new Nitto 305/70-16. Looks GREAT. Pictures to come in another thread.

But I have not installed the caster correction kit yet. I will get to that tomorrow, I think.

I was hoping someone could give me an understanding of caster and what the problems are with having it out, either negative or positive. I have searched here and on the web and not found something that will help my pea-brain latch on.

I understand camber and toe in, no problem. These are obvious to see and understand the effects of.

Caster eludes me for some reason (maybe it was all the energy I expended installing the shocks, springs and :mad: steering stabilizer).

Thanks!!
 
I searched some more and found more information about what it is. But I still don't understand the ups and downs of having the caster wrong.

This all stems out of putting the OME kit on (2" lift) and having not yet put the caster correction bushings on.

What is the caster now, positive or negative? Is that good or bad or neither? Since the bushings can be pushed in at any degree of caster you want, what is optimal for a 97 with the OME 2" med. duty lift and 305/70-16s on stock rims??
 
Simple explanation: Caster can be explained by talking about the rake on a bicycle's front fork. Road bikes have more caster than mountain bikes due to their straightness of the fork. Ever notice how the mountain bikes are more twitcy than an old Schwinn road bike with a long, curved front fork?

Technical explanation: Go here: http://www.stockcarproducts.com/align11a.htm

Typically, as we lift our vehicles, we get more "twitchy", a little more wandering on the hwy and light feeling on the wheel. Caster bushings tend to regain some of the caster back by rotating the axle.

Hope all of this made some sense!
 
>> Since the bushings can be pushed in at any degree of caster you want <<

not really true. The when you install the bushings you are basically trying to get as much caster as the offset will give you. It really only goes in one position and is not variable.

alia176 - thanks for the bike example. as I was riding my mountain bike tonight with the kids (going no hands), I recalled that when I was a kid, it was a lot easier. I wasn't sure why. For a minute I thought it was my age but I'm glad it's the caster. :bounce:
 
Good info from you both! Thanks.

And I was thinking it was my age not allowing me to get my hands around caster! :rolleyes:

So, other than "twitchiness", is there any harm that is done by not putting the bushings in? I'm going to put them in, just curious.
 
How much loss of caster you can endure is totally subjective. You will get used to the hwy wandering, more vague steering feel or even slow return to center. If you drive very long distances, then too much lost caster will require lots of steering input and that definitely gets old and you end up experiencing more drivers' fatigue. You'll also need to think about other people driving your vehicle and it affects on them! 2.5" of lift isn't too bad on the caster that I've noticed. Try it and see before worrying about the bushings. I still haven't installed mine yet.

Later.
 
I would not let anyone else drive the vehicle as they may not be able to handle it. Mine was un-predictable but I was aware of why and what to do about it. I would not let my wife drive it as I did not want her to wreck it and herself.
 
cruiserdan said:
I would not let anyone else drive the vehicle as they may not be able to handle it. Mine was un-predictable but I was aware of why and what to do about it. I would not let my wife drive it as I did not want her to wreck it and herself.
Click to expand...

and this is with only 2" lift?

E
 
OME 850 + a one inch packer. Adding the packer took it from not bad to very twitchy
 
Dan,

When you added the spacer, did you notice any driveline vibes? Sorry for the hijack!
 
Nope.
 
Took a trip today to meet up with some friends. The rig was quite "twitchy" on the interstate and definitely made me pay attention to what was going on. No relaxing there!!

I'll be doing the caster bushings as soon as I can, but I am also going to do the rod ends and after all of that, if it is still funny, I'll start looking at the steering box and stuff.

I read somewhere here that lift and tires will magnify any problems. The steering was a bit loose and such before, so I will start eliminating some things, hoping to find the problem.
 
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