Launch steer

Perhaps this should be in "Other Cars", but it could pertain to Vettes, although certainly not a problem I have with mine

My buddy Wes has a '72 Camaro running in the 10s in the quarter mile. After seeing my bump steer blocks & understanding how they work, he's curious if there's something similar he could do to reduce his launch steer issues.

I've sent him a couple of the tech articles, but his concern is more drag racing rather than cornering. It is a street car.

John

IF that car has ever been hit, you maybe want to take diagonal measurements under it, from same points to see if the subframe/unibody are indeed square up....

a hotrod shop traced a crooked launch problem in a car of similar construction years ago to that shituation....

:crutches:

What he needs to do is get some adjustable tie rod ends (pins w/ shims and rod ends) available from a source like speedwaymotors, some sleeves and start playing to reduce toe out on droop. Being a 2nd Gen camaro, there's probably a ready to bolt on kit out there.

I ASSUME he has 90/10 drag shocks, and all the other drag toys in front?

big2bird said:

I ASSUME he has 90/10 drag shocks, and all the other drag toys in front?

Click to expand...

Good question.
I do not know, but I do know it is a beautiful street driver & he's no dummy. The front suspension is stock, but I don't know what springs & shocks he has in it. It can lift a front wheel off the ground at launch.
I'll ask him next week, and I'll tell him what you said too, TT.

:drink:Not wishing to be a smart azz so please don't take it that way.

If the car is launching straight there should not be a steering issue. As you stated that the car's owner is pretty savvy I would guess that he has already been through tire pressure issues, the aforementioned straightness of the chassis, is it tied together front to rear with sub frame connectors, etc.

If all that is good the only other thing I can think of is massive torque causing the front end to push over. Used to run in to that with the Hemi roadrunner. Refused to come out of the hole straight in street trim and couldn't overcome it with tire pressures.

Could there be a traction issue at the launch pad area? I have seen dragsters turn almost 60 degrees when one slick was on an area that was "stickier" than the other side.


Rich

I had issues with that some time back- Launch and turn left. 2 gen Camaro too. Ended up adding spacers to the bumper on the left slapper bar to get the left side to hook a touch quicker.