Bump steer?

Anybody running rough country 3in. lift? If so do y'all have bump steer? My 08 Tacoma cdsb has it and I can't find anything bad in my suspension. Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks

 

Bumpsteer isn't caused by anything "bad' in your suspension. It is a function of the steering and suspension geometry. Eliminating bumpsteer in a race car with limited suspension travel is a chore. Eliminating it in a truck with longer travel is next to impossible. Lifting the Tacoma increases the angle of the tie rods, which puts them in an operating range where the rate of change of the effective length of the rod is greater / per inch of compression. It will also momentarily cause a toe out situation, which will make the truck hunt before settling back straight. About all I can think of is to check your toe setting and put it near the top of spec. That should help a little.

 

Thanks maybe ill look into aftermarket a-arms

 

Mine is lifted about 2 1/2”. I had handling problems once I got up to speed because of too much camber. I replaced the UCA’s and got the alignment straightened out. It was a huge difference.

I still have some of what your talking about, but only at 5mph or less.

I had to kick a little on the alignment though. The first guy got it within specs.
I took it back and explained that I didn’t spend $400.00 to get it within specs.
The second guy got it perfect.

 

What specs did you get?

 

Uhhhhhh. I can tell you tomorrow. It’s back in there because I put the 3/4” taco lean spacer in. The camber is at 0,,, that much I know.

 

A lot of people don’t like the work that dealerships do, but mine now understands that good enough, isn’t.

 

Its your alignment. You dont necessary need to get new UCA's but you gotta get your alignment fixed.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lift-alignment-specs.26692/

 

Except exchange Camber and Caster I linked the wrong thread.

 

With my 2012 the amount of positive camber was visible, and with stock UCA’s it was as good as it was gonna get. I don’t know about specs, but I do know how it drove before and how it drives now.

Maybe we’re talking about different steering characteristics, but IMO, it sucked after I lifted it, until I put on adjustable UCA’s.

 

I don’t believe there’s any magic answers here, and I’m probably just adding to the confusion.
Not trying to take away from anyone else’s thoughts or answers, just telling ya what worked for me.

Next week I’ll probably notice something funny in my steering wheel and come back here and do more searching.
It’s a sickness,,,,,

 

When your rig is 3 inches higher than stock the tie-rod arm drops 3 inches going from the rack down to the knuckle. When the tire(s) go over a bump the distance between the inner tie-rod/rack and the knuckle is decreased. The length of the tie-rod cannot change so the only direction it can go is to push the wheel out (toe out).

Are there mount kits available to drop the rack down and make it level with the knuckle? Is there even room to drop the rack down? I'm not sure..

 

If your tie rods and control arms swing at the same angle, which they do, you won't have bump steer. You'd have bump steer if you dropped your rack down. It doesn't matter what angle it has as long as it's the same. It will ride best when everything is level, like at stock height, though.

 

Thanks guys for the info. Got uca suggestions?

 

It's not the angle, it's the center of rotation. The Tacoma does not have the center of rotation of the tie rods on the same center of rotation as the control arms. The greater angle with the lift puts the rods where the rate of change of effective length is greater. Closer to horizontal, the rate of change is less.

 

SPC LR. I feel they're the best bang for your buck.

 

Hmm.. and that center of rotation gets increased when the steering wheel is turned right?

 

I had actually thought about that, but it looked close, so I just assumed they were the same.

I did an engine swap in a Subaru a few years ago, and had to move the rack down a bit to make room for the new engine and it had a bad case of bump steer. I never got around to dropping the tie rod end at the spindle before I sold the car.

 

I'm not a mechanic, & I hadnever done an alignment, but I completely understood the SPC's & did my own alignment to:
Caster 4.4° 4.4°
Camber -.1° +.1°
Toe 0° 0°
If I can get those numbers @ home w/no alignment rack, not a mechanic & no previous alignment experience then I'm sure an alignment tech can figure it out.