350350

*takes bow* City folks have no idea how blessed they are to have such an abundance of fine places to wrench! I grew up in the country, and any roadside repair was going to take place in the grass or possibly some gravel along the shoulder. Way back in the 1900's, as my kids say...

I haven't done anything else to the car yet, but preliminary homework indicates that replacing the stock bushings would cost very close to the same as the vastly superior Founders Performance (linky earlier somewhere in this thread) units, so it'll have to wait til after xmas at this point. Not sure how Santa is funding that at all, so the SS will have to remain in the slow lane, if not parked, until then... [sadviolin]

Sparkz28ss

Get a damn tire!

Lilatlboy6969

yea i had a bad front tire (one of the bands broke in it) and it was wobbley as hell and sent me all over the road at higher speeds.. had to stiff arm that sucker to stay in one lane and it was physically impossible to get it to stay completely straight

carlramsour

anyone else think its wierd that the car wobbled all over the road with the steering wheel not shaking?

carlramsour

the tire isnt the problem or you would definatlly feel it in the steering wheel. do get a new tire though, just not safe.

Sparkz28ss

If it was on the front yes... I think he said the back tire was the bad one

350350

Yeah even though it's a rear tire, regardless, you'd think I'd be fighting the steering as badly as the car is wobbling. But there's nothing 'coming through' the wheel. Like, an out of balance wheel or other vibrations I've felt before in other various wrecks I've driven. Not the case with this issue.

I need a 'chase car' with a camera to follow me and video the car from behind when it's wobbling. Think like, have you ever had a land yacht with worn out shocks, that bobbed and weaved all over the road at high speed? Just due to worn out suspension? This is kind of like that, it's like the body itself isn't tied to the chassis properly, only it's also an increasing thing that gets out of control the faster you go.

In any case, the car is grounded until it gets tires. And, I'll have to replace one thing at a time anyway, tires first then panhard rod and then lower control arms. Just due to not being able to buy it all at once. So I'll be able to report back as I replace each thing. *sigh*

350350

Santa may be bringing me lower control arms and a panhard rod, with tires to follow from tax return in January. Anyone have the red control arms that can comment on whether it makes any difference in the looks of the car or not? With the C6 19x10's on the rear, you can see straight under the car. Will the red LCA's show? Anybody got a pic?

350350

Reporting (back) in... Since I last spoke...

LCA's and Panhard Rod with poly, adjustable rod. Rear end now centered, and car showed significant improvement in straight-forward launches after installing these components. Money well spent. Founders Performance = Car still wobbly at high speed after this install.

Good set of used tires on the rear: Traded evensies for some other parts I had, so was able to get them on before tax return time. Just got home from a test drive. Smooth and stable at 110. Can't remember the last time it felt so solid. Not likely to get it anywhere I can hit 140 any time soon, but should that happen, I'll report my findings.

In summary, the car was out of alignment in the front, had a dangerously loose tie rod end, and the rear end was off center by just over 1/2". While I think all of these things were amplifying each other, I also believe the root of the wobbly high speed stuff was the bad tire. I think it had a slipped belt long before it was bald.

97 Comp T/A

Are you still running the stock steel driveshaft? That could be the issue, as it was for me. Besides an incorrect pinion angle (which can cause vibration) the steel driveshaft hits its critical frequency at higher speeds and can cause vibration. GM knew about this problem, and some dealers would actually switch out the steel driveshaft for aluminum if customers complained of the issue. I had this problem with my car, switched out the stocker for an aluminum driveshaft and problem solved.

Edit: https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/dri...eshaft-815684/

350350

Well... yes and no... this car has had the aluminum shaft as long as I've owned it. I had a 'spare' aluminum LS1 car driveshaft when I bought this car in 2004, so I just put it in. I know exactly what you mean, my '95 Z28 had that vibration. The aluminum shaft made a big difference. But I don't think in my case it's contributing to the speed stability. It was more the car wanting to handle poorly than the entire car shaking.

350350

Just a quick update now that the car has good tires all the way around...

In summary, from beginning to end, I aligned the front end, put good tires all the way around, poly bushings in rear LCA and adjustable panhard rod (rear end was not centered) and recently it passed a 140mph run smooth as silk.

Maybe it was a combination of a couple or all of those things, but for what it's worth it seems to be good to go now.