Twitchy Steering

[coco79]

Particularly on some motorways, the car seems to suddenly veer to the left or right, not sure if it's just poor roads, inclines/declines..I seem to have to fight to get the steering straight! Thanks

[RM75]

Very common problem, although mine isn't too bad. I'd start with checking your tyre pressures. Handbook says 22psi front and 24 rear, but mine feels better if they're a bit higher than that.

http://www.mytuscan.co.uk/problems_main.php#tramli...

"The original suspension and geometry set up of factory Tuscans often left a lot to be desired. A common problem is 'tramlining', where the car will 'fall' into grooves on the road and can make the ride very twitchy and cause loss of control.

Although the Tuscan S has stiffer suspension and generally a better setup, there are many things that can be done to improve the handling of all the Tuscan range.

First thing to get checked is the geometry settings as this can make a great difference. Improved shock absorbers such as Nitrons, improved suspension, tyre pressures and different tyres have all been known to help. "

[GG33]

Check the ride height. If it's set too low the front lower wishbones will be at an angle which can cause tramlining. They should be more or less horizontal.

[alinton]

I echo this.

Correct geometry is essential. My car went from REALLY twitchy to A LITTLE twitchy after a good geo alignment.

See my other thread for the settings I ended up with.

Decent tyres are also essential, Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics are the ones I got recently, no tramlining from them.

Also ensure your shocks are up to it, I wouldn't recommend the original Bilsteins or Gaz shocks on the Tuscan.

A.

[so called]

Mine went from frightening to fantastic with geo set up and new shocks and springs.
It can be fixed and was the most dramatic improvement. Money well spent.

[m0ssy]

alinton said:

I echo this.

Correct geometry is essential. My car went from REALLY twitchy to A LITTLE twitchy after a good geo alignment.

See my other thread for the settings I ended up with.

Decent tyres are also essential, Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics are the ones I got recently, no tramlining from them.

Also ensure your shocks are up to it, I wouldn't recommend the original Bilsteins or Gaz shocks on the Tuscan.

A.

I agree with the geo comments and getting tyres you are comfortable with but to classify Gaz shocks together with standards is a bit harsh.

I know GAZ have come under critism on this forum recently and the discussion is absolutely justified but when I changed from standard shocks to GAZ gold pros I was very impressed with the difference it made. My car is planted, I can control the backend in a variety of situations and do not find them difficult at all to handle. To be fair I do have them set quite hard (10 front, 12 rear) but that suits my driving style and preference.

coco79, I have read a few of your posts, and without trying to sound patronising or critical in any way you have been interested in installing a starter button, changing the steering wheel and other bits which is obviously your choice but this money is going to be much better spent on getting the car planted on the road with 'New Shocks', 'geo done', and various other bits to ensure it's safe and not a struggle to drive.

The first things I bought for my Tuscan following purchase, was upgraded suspension and getting the geo done. I often had the feeling the back end want to swap with the front on the odd occassion with use of the loud pedal in the wet and it didn't feel stable.

As said these days Im very happy with the setup, minimal tramlining, very planted, and am not afraid to use the loud pedal even when wet

[alinton]

I said that about the Gazes as the company that did my geo weren't impressed with them.

The main problem is the amount of travel - with the ride height set correctly, the rear shocks are very close to their bump stops, so much so that on heavy cornering they hit the bump stops, and therefore stop working.

However if you're happy with yours, then thats good.

I'll be reporting back when I have the Racing Reds fitted and set up in a couple of weeks.

A.

[coco79]

m0ssy...Thanks for the advice and for the bigger picture! I've had the start button installed now, I have to say it looks great (pics to follow). Decided against the steering wheel change (I'm kind of getting fond of the orginal one now!) HID lights have just been installed, it's made a considerable difference to night visibility, as a lot of my driving is through narrow country lanes (again pics to follow..dip and full beams) unfortunately, the smaller front parking lights can't be converted to HID??..so a blue bulb it is then.

You're right..everytime I do try and put my put down a little in 2nd gear the car feels like it's going all over the place. What sort of cost would I be looking at, if I were to ugrade the suspension? Thanks

[m0ssy]

coco79 said:

m0ssy...Thanks for the advice and for the bigger picture! I've had the start button installed now, I have to say it looks great (pics to follow). Decided against the steering wheel change (I'm kind of getting fond of the orginal one now!) HID lights have just been installed, it's made a considerable difference to night visibility, as a lot of my driving is through narrow country lanes (again pics to follow..dip and full beams) unfortunately, the smaller front parking lights can't be converted to HID??..so a blue bulb it is then.

You're right..everytime I do try and put my put down a little in 2nd gear the car feels like it's going all over the place. What sort of cost would I be looking at, if I were to ugrade the suspension? Thanks

If you know what your looking at, get under the car and check your current shocks, see if they are standard if so you will need to get them changed. But maybe you have good ones on there and they just need a refurb (eg Nitrons) so before purchasing new ones see what you got.

If you need new shocks it will depend on what you want to spend. I hear Nitron are the best, I think they are about £1400 or so (Im sure someone can give a more accurate price than me) then you will need to pay for fitting and then the geo setup.

If that seems a bit much to spend, you have a choice of GAZ gold Pros, Racing Reds and Protec. Everyone has opinoins on these, some of us are happy with some and some of us are happier with others the costs of these are around £650 for 4 corners and then you will need to get them fitted (or do it yourself like I did) and then a Geo setup. Geo setup I think is a couple of hundred quid and the fitting of the shocks shocks be around £150 - £200 although someone like Derek from Abshocks can fit them much faster and will probably charge less.

Either way at some point you need to get down your local TVR Garage, Im unsure where you are situated but if you are anywhere near Surrey there is only one place to go and that is David Batty (Guildford), he is THE man.

But if you want to talk to someone knowledgable on shocks, give Derek a ring from Abshocks, I have his number if you PM me.

Edited to say HIDs are a great investment and I look forward to the pics of your 'starter button' it must make getting the car started even more of an adventure now! button to get in... key in ignition... Press button again for immobiliser.... then press button to start... but quick before the immobiliser comes back on!

Edited by m0ssy on Thursday 5th November 16:39

[alinton]

About 650 quid for Racing Reds, about 1000 quid for Nitrons.

A.

[S6 Devil]

I had Nitrons and a full geo done but the car was still twitchy. I then had the steering rack reconditioned and the car feels fantastic and so much more stable. Might be worth checking the rack before doing the shocks.

[D14 AYS]

alinton said:

About 650 quid for Racing Reds, about 1000 quid for Nitrons.

A.

IMO the extra money for the Nitrons is well worth it

[so called]

S6 Devil said:

I had Nitrons and a full geo done but the car was still twitchy. I then had the steering rack reconditioned and the car feels fantastic and so much more stable. Might be worth checking the rack before doing the shocks.

Interesting point regarding the steering rack.
My Mk1 Tuscan was transformed with the geo and shocks (Gaz Golds worked fine for me) but with my Mk2 I am feeling a slightly different symptom. The car isnt so unstable with tramlining but just feels a bit loose steering wise.
I had the geometry set up in July but didnt change suspension parts but it didnt make any difference to the feel.
I've done 34K miles so not so many but maybe I should have the steering checked out. What sort of mileage has yours got on it ?

[S6 Devil]

so called said:

S6 Devil said:

I had Nitrons and a full geo done but the car was still twitchy. I then had the steering rack reconditioned and the car feels fantastic and so much more stable. Might be worth checking the rack before doing the shocks.

Interesting point regarding the steering rack.
My Mk1 Tuscan was transformed with the geo and shocks (Gaz Golds worked fine for me) but with my Mk2 I am feeling a slightly different symptom. The car isnt so unstable with tramlining but just feels a bit loose steering wise.
I had the geometry set up in July but didnt change suspension parts but it didnt make any difference to the feel.
I've done 34K miles so not so many but maybe I should have the steering checked out. What sort of mileage has yours got on it ?

16k but was a cat D car due to going through some flood water. This caused damage to the front of the car and the engine needing a rebuild. It's probably why the rack needed reconditioning!
If it's any help, my steering had a lot of play in it. The preloader was tightened which helped reduce the play but I wasn't happy with it, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. The recon has transformed it.

[so called]

S6 Devil said:

so called said:

S6 Devil said:

I had Nitrons and a full geo done but the car was still twitchy. I then had the steering rack reconditioned and the car feels fantastic and so much more stable. Might be worth checking the rack before doing the shocks.

Interesting point regarding the steering rack.
My Mk1 Tuscan was transformed with the geo and shocks (Gaz Golds worked fine for me) but with my Mk2 I am feeling a slightly different symptom. The car isnt so unstable with tramlining but just feels a bit loose steering wise.
I had the geometry set up in July but didnt change suspension parts but it didnt make any difference to the feel.
I've done 34K miles so not so many but maybe I should have the steering checked out. What sort of mileage has yours got on it ?

16k but was a cat D car due to going through some flood water. This caused damage to the front of the car and the engine needing a rebuild. It's probably why the rack needed reconditioning!
If it's any help, my steering had a lot of play in it. The preloader was tightened which helped reduce the play but I wasn't happy with it, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. The recon has transformed it.

Thanks S6 Devil,

SORRY COCO79, didnt mean to steal your thread.

[TheGroves]

Drink more coffee

:-)

[duntus]

m0ssy said:

alinton said:

I echo this.

Correct geometry is essential. My car went from REALLY twitchy to A LITTLE twitchy after a good geo alignment.

See my other thread for the settings I ended up with.

Decent tyres are also essential, Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics are the ones I got recently, no tramlining from them.

Also ensure your shocks are up to it, I wouldn't recommend the original Bilsteins or Gaz shocks on the Tuscan.

A.

I agree with the geo comments and getting tyres you are comfortable with but to classify Gaz shocks together with standards is a bit harsh.

I know GAZ have come under critism on this forum recently and the discussion is absolutely justified but when I changed from standard shocks to GAZ gold pros I was very impressed with the difference it made. My car is planted, I can control the backend in a variety of situations and do not find them difficult at all to handle. To be fair I do have them set quite hard (10 front, 12 rear) but that suits my driving style and preference.

coco79, I have read a few of your posts, and without trying to sound patronising or critical in any way you have been interested in installing a starter button, changing the steering wheel and other bits which is obviously your choice but this money is going to be much better spent on getting the car planted on the road with 'New Shocks', 'geo done', and various other bits to ensure it's safe and not a struggle to drive.

The first things I bought for my Tuscan following purchase, was upgraded suspension and getting the geo done. I often had the feeling the back end want to swap with the front on the odd occassion with use of the loud pedal in the wet and it didn't feel stable.

As said these days Im very happy with the setup, minimal tramlining, very planted, and am not afraid to use the loud pedal even when wet

Hi im colin .ive fitted gaz to mine but havnt done ride height yet.Can you tell me the ride height ,whot is the mesurmant from the bottom of the thread to the bottom of ujuster at the boottom of sping colin please.07711919568

[s6boy]

so called said:

Interesting point regarding the steering rack.
My Mk1 Tuscan was transformed with the geo and shocks (Gaz Golds worked fine for me) but with my Mk2 I am feeling a slightly different symptom. The car isnt so unstable with tramlining but just feels a bit loose steering wise.
I had the geometry set up in July but didnt change suspension parts but it didnt make any difference to the feel.
I've done 34K miles so not so many but maybe I should have the steering checked out. What sort of mileage has yours got on it ?

Tony as you now have a T2 could this steering feel be down to the different assistance used between the 2 cars ie electric in the T2 as opposed to hydraulic as I think you'll now have the steering rack from a Sagaris, or is it something else?
When I drove a Sagaris it felt really odd for a while getting used to the different assistance and slightly slower rack.

[so called]

s6boy said:

so called said:

Interesting point regarding the steering rack.
My Mk1 Tuscan was transformed with the geo and shocks (Gaz Golds worked fine for me) but with my Mk2 I am feeling a slightly different symptom. The car isnt so unstable with tramlining but just feels a bit loose steering wise.
I had the geometry set up in July but didnt change suspension parts but it didnt make any difference to the feel.
I've done 34K miles so not so many but maybe I should have the steering checked out. What sort of mileage has yours got on it ?

Tony as you now have a T2 could this steering feel be down to the different assistance used between the 2 cars ie electric in the T2 as opposed to hydraulic as I think you'll now have the steering rack from a Sagaris, or is it something else?
When I drove a Sagaris it felt really odd for a while getting used to the different assistance and slightly slower rack.

Interesting information. To be honest I have no idea what type of power steering system is on the T2.
It certainly feels different to the T1. The slower rack is not a problem and It doesn't tramline like the T1 did before the upgrades but it feels like I have some play somewhere. I'll get it checked out when I get home.