SRT steering behavior. "taming the two-headed beast"

[jwwiii]

SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

A chilly Iowa hello to all;

My third Viper, the gorgeous Silver SRT is a real joy to drive. 400 miles on the ODO now. I LOVE this new Viper.

Yesterday, I experienced the "untamed" side of the beast when the Interstate went from good pavement to a much older section of Interstate. This "older" section had worn tire wear from trucks, cars, buses, and many years of use. The second I hit that "old" section, it was like the road had "taken control" of my steering wheel. Not knowing when the highway ruts would level out, I just held the wheel tightly. Pretty spooky to experience instantly when your not expecting it!

Yes, I know that our beasts are made to be responsive. My observation is that the new wheel/tire size and grip are more likely to "track" and hunt. I by no means am being down on my SRT; it is just a behavior that comes along with owning a race car that's street legal. Just be aware of worn roads and keep your hands on the wheel.

Question: is there a simple way to adjust "bump steer" for those drives when you know you have stretches of grooved highway, and then have the ability to return to factory settings? I felt like a drunk driver, and probably LOOKED like one as I was on that section of road.

Before you folks go off on me for addressing this, just remember that you will most likely experience it too. I am just curious if there is an easy way to "tighten up" the steering response if you are planning a long highway drive?

On decent roads, this beast is fantastic and handles like a dream. The magazines did mention this behavior as well in every article I read. If this is the way it must stay, then so be it as I love the SRT. BUT, if anyone has a quick adjustment that can easily be reversed, I am sure many would appreciate your input.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

Do not choke the steering wheel, relax keep your eyes looking ahead about 3 seconds and adjust steering as needed. A couple Skip Barber Schools will help.

 

[Frank 03SRT]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

I agree. This unit is more jumpy than my GTS. When the roads get rutted, it's a handful. Need to work on my biceps!

 

[SRTRICK]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

Following the grooves worn into an old road is not bump steer, it is a fairly normal condition and is strongest when the traction is the greatest. I used to drive my LT-1 Corvette to events on the old Hoosier Street TDs and the difference between those bias tires with great grip and the standard so-so radials of the day was incredible. Bump steer involves the compression of the suspension altering the steering angle of the car, or so I have been told.

You might try altering the front tire pressures a few pounds to see if this affects your problem, it sometimes will help.

 

[jwwiii]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

SRTRICK and others;

Thanks for your responses to my comments. The SRT does "hunt" the ruts more than my RT-10's did. Luckily, this is only evident on really grooved, old stretches of highway.

I was wondering if the "twist the wheel suddenly" road reaction could be mechanically adjusted or "tamed" by an easy modification. Honestly, I would not have wanted a cop behind me at night and see me weaving (innocently). I'm sure the cop would think the driver had had a few beers.

SRTRICK; thanks for clarifying "bump Steer" for me! I thought that bump steer seemed logical for my description of "unintentional following of road bumps and grooves". I will try the tire pressure suggestion if I travel that nasty stretch of Interstate again. I will first take your suggestion to "hold loose and look ahead" from the Skip Barber school.

This "hunting" behavior is just part of owning a fantastic performance beast. It would be cool to be able to tweak it for long trips over questionable concrete. I'd never want to give up the Viper's feel on a nice road; it's awesome!

Thanks,

Jim

 

[GTS Dean]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

The phenomenon you are experiencing is called camber thrust. Any vehicle with wider than average, short sidewall tires, driving in rutted wheel paths, will experience this self-steering sensation. The easiest thing you can do to overcome this is to move the car laterally about a foot or so closer to the center stripe and ride the un-rutted pavement.

 

[Mike Brunton]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

Jim,

As was previously stated, try playing with the tire pressures. This phenomenon was the WORST part of my GTS, on these Boston roads, the car was everywhere. I remember sometimes the car literally skipping 1/2 a lane one way or another.

I used to religiously keep my tire pressure at 29 but figured more pressure meant a stiffer less rut-following tire, and I put them to 32psi - made a HUGE difference. I tried putting them up more and more and found that around 35psi seemed to work very well.

Just bear in mind that the more you raise the pressure the harsher the car is going to ride. Also, be careful not to exceed the max pressure rating (be sure to check max pressure when tires are hot and set pressure when tires are cold).

 

[Viperfreak2]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

I can't wait to drive the SRT to see how 'jumpy' it really is. I agree that on cold tires, my GTS likes to follow the surface, but never have I been surprised by a sudden **** of the wheel. Just be glad the car is still so 'back to basics'. An AC Cobra is what I consider darty. My new Z4 has electric steering. It actually knows when the car starts to drift at highway speeds and steers the car for you to keep perfectly straight!!!

 

[Bob Woodhouse]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

I was waiting to see if anyone else noticed this. Here is a possible reason this phenomenon of hunting on troughed out pavement has worsened. Of course we all know about wide tires and their issues. If you compared the Gen II 2002 car with the SRT you would notice a 3 to 4 inch increase in wheelbase and a 1 to 2 inch increase in track. This additional width placed on the standard highway troughs causes the tires to ride on the outside edges of these troughs. It is natural for the tire to pull or steer in one direction or the other on this tapered surface. We have not done any testing but it could be assumed that using added negative camber on the front wheel alignment would help. Say settings you would use for autocross or track events. Yes, tire wear may be effected. Left alone however, it seems a small issue to deal with in exchange for such a superior performance envelope.

 

[Frank 03SRT]

Re: SRT steering behavior. \"taming the two-headed beast\"

Me and another guy (the famous Performin' Norman) took out my SRT today for a little driving. He drove the car on several different road surfaces and said he thought it wasn't worse that his 98GTS. In fact he was pretty happy with it's tracking.

I might have been premature saying the SRT was jumpy compared to my GTS. I also noticed it acted better today, and I think my past negative experience was because I was on a certain very rutted road. Didn't get on one of those today, and it was just fine. Combined driving was about 140 miles.

Doesn't matter anyhow. I simply LOVE this car. It's GREAT! With the top down, my wife said she could do this all day. And, at 70 MPH, you don't experience much wind and you can talk fairly easily.