Squirmy car......?

[Earwig 89]

Hey guys and gals.

My car is feeling a little bit suirmy. That is probably the best I can describe it :-(

Most notable under hard breaking when the nose wants to squirm to the left and right. It's not much but just feels a little unsettled.

Also when corenering at high speeds it can feel as if the nose is again sniffing left and right accross the road which gives the impression the back end is always one step behind....And by high speed I mean 100Mph +

Car is a '98 VR Highline and has been lowered 35Mm all round on Eibach springs/Shocks and also full Eibach Anti-Roll bars front and rear.

It's only something I have noticed recently but something I am not to happy with, it can make hard driving a little more hairy than it needs to be and not so much fun.

Any ideas what it could be?

Bushes? Uprated ones would be better? Would a StrutBrace improve things?

I am hoping it is not the suspension itself as that is something I cannot really afford at the moment :-( But at all other times suspension itself seems fine.

Advice is appreciated.

Many thanks.

Mark. !lol

[dubloke 4]

how old is the suspension kit fella? does the backend feel very light during the squirmy sessions? i cant imagine its the suspension set up as its a reknowned set up that works, especially with the arb's as well. maybe your wishbones bushes need doing and maybe the rear beam bushes too if it feels like its getting a little "drifty" out back! have you ever had the set up aligned, and thena agin since it that was a few miles ago, cmaber and tracking need doing periodically to keep the setup working as it should as things do wear!

[Eat this 2]

wishbone bushes would be my first sugestion

[Earwig 89]

Suspension Kit is probably 4 years old now. Maybe getting on for 5 years. It's done about 40K since it was all fitted. On the whole the suspension still feels fery firm. Taking roundabouts and fast speed results in hardly an body roll and it grips very well but as soon as you take a long sweeping bend at 90-100Mph you can feel the un-easiness start to creep in :-(

As you guys both said it could be buches which I think are all standard from new. The car is now coming up on 125K.

Are these expensive to change? Is it worth getting ALL the bushes changed rather than just the wishbones? I would like to get the uprated ones if I can whcih I see Club members get a nice little discount on :-)

I rarely look under my car so how many are needed all round?

Thanks again for your time guys :-)

Mark.

[stuey 0]

Hi, my bushes need changing, i am going to get the rear beam bushes done along with the front wishbone rear bushes uprated to powerflex. This should sort out the rear, and some if not all of the squirmy feel under heavy braking at the front. I think it will be about £400 all in from somewhere like Stealth or The Phirm.

[Seademon 0]

Hi mate - my car used to do exactly the same thing - I had powerflex bushes fitted by the phirm and its so much better now - uprating the bushes is probably 1 the best mods you can do. I also had a strut brace fitted and already had Eibach roll bars. My car feels much better when Im doing some real speeds and under hard braking I dont have to wrestle with the steering wheel any more.

[Earwig 89]

Hi mate - my car used to do exactly the same thing - I had powerflex bushes fitted by the phirm and its so much better now - uprating the bushes is probably 1 the best mods you can do. I also had a strut brace fitted and already had Eibach roll bars. My car feels much better when Im doing some real speeds and under hard braking I dont have to wrestle with the steering wheel any more.

Looks like i'm gonna get all me bushes done then.... :-)

Don't premium members get discounts on these items? If so I will wait until membership is back up to take advantage of it or is it not to expensive for a full set?

Mark.

[stuey 0]

The bushes themselves aren't that expensive, i think the front wisbone rear bushes are about £30ish, and if you want the rear axle bushes they are about £45-50. I'm not sure about the rear bushes though, opinion seems divided on standard type replacements or the uprated ones. Its the labour that is the expense in this job, but i'm looking forward to a more positive driving feel once its done

[Guest fingermouse1911]

I would get yourself under the car with 4 good axel stands and lever the suspension to see which joints give visibly. My 4mo is uneasy at the rear under hard braking (which I do far too often) but I think that is maybe the brakes as they do lock sometimes at the rear even with ABS and EBD etc etc.

I have the ABS fuse removed from mine most of the time, so I still get the AWD grip but without the diff locks and ASR/ESP.