Recently purchased 2001 convertible with 88K miles. I have replaced the rear tires and all tires are Mich. run-flats, running stock pressure @ 30 psi. A few weeks ago, I had the front-end aligned (4 wheel alignment) at the local Chevy dealer. I have owned a couple of Vettes in the past and fully understand how they should handle.

I would feel safer driving most any 4 door sedan at 70 MPH than this Vette! Something is not right and I have yet to get it figured out. It does not want to track right to me. On a relatively smooth highway, it wants todrift to the right and maybe then drift to the left. It just will not feel stable where you can feel like your hand can just rest comfortably on the steering wheel.

You need a constant firm hand on the wheel. The scariest trait that it exhibits is........When running down the highway at a steady 65-75 MPH, and then take your foot off the gas but apply no brakes. The front end gets squirrely. Feels like the nose of the car is shifting left/right, left/right till it slows down a few miles per hour from the steady speed.

I plan to have the alignment re-checked at another shop, pluscheck the front wheels for any slop in the bearings, etc. I don't feel any play in the steering, it seems to be tight. I'm thinking maybe there is something loose in the rear axle assembly that is allowing it to "squirm" around during de-celleration?

Actually, I'm not quite sure what the problem is, butclearly, somethingis amiss as I've never driven ANY OTHER car at all that handles like this one.

Anybody having some possible ideas or suggestions as to my problem...........Please advise. Thanks.

P.S. I've never owned any car before this one with "run-flat" tires. I can see they are "stiffer", but I can't believe the handling I'm having can be considered "normal" for run-flats.........

 

Run flats aren't the ultimate in handling tires but they are okay and they can't be the problem.

I would start buy examining worse case scenario: is the steering gear really bolted down tight and everything proper with it? Maybe it feels tight with no play, but make sure. This same type of squirellish handlinghappens on some very old cars where, due to rust, the steering box comes partly loose from the frame.

I'd check all the front bushings, etc.,

And then, yes, I'd think maybe the rear end has something wrong. This would include making certian the torque tube is bolted correctly.

If it were me, I would have a very good Corvette shop really look all this over.

 

I know you said you've had several alignments done to but have any of them said that anything was out of alignment when you've brought it in? It sounds like your toe in/out on your front end is off. I've driven a car here and there that had slight and really bad toe out and it does the same thing as you've described. The car will pull left or pull right and it is much more noticable while coasting and not so bad under acceleration. Do you have your print outs from the alignment shops? Can you share the toe information from them with us?

-Steve

 

Sounds like a little tourqe steer going on but I would check anything and everything thats related to handling then get your money back from the dealer and find a 'good' frame shop.

 

Last week, I had another Chevy Dealership mechanic check out the alignment. It was in "specs", but he was unable to maintain a "steady" alignment of the REAR wheels due to worn tie-rod ends that allows the specs to vary a degree or more just sitting on the machine. This slight "play" in the rearend, might end up being the cause of the loose/swaying front end I get upon coasting at 50-60 mph. Tie rod ends are on order and will be replaced soon and then the alignment double-checked again........HOWEVER.....

This mechanic is NOT following Chevy "specs" for alignment. I have a copy of the new specs and will post them after the new tie-rod end install and a chance to see what both the new parts plus the new alignment configuration has done for this car.

According to this shop, an engineer with a C5 came in wanting his own caster/camber/etc. alignment specs put into the car as he was dissatified with abnormal tire wear. (Not sure if he was having handling concerns). It seems his Vette was wearing out the inner edge of his tires while the outsides were still good. The Chevy front end mechanic agreed to try out the new "specs" on this guys car.

Results were reported to be very good. No more abnormal tire wear and some of his Vette buddies have brought their cars in for similar "re-alignments"

Stay tuned as I find out more about this unusual set of circumstances.....

 

Sounds like your camber is off. If you have positive camber, it will tend to make the car feel like you are on "V" shaped tires. I know you said the front end is set right, but having a positive camber on the rear will play games with you also and could have rear toe out also. [8D]

 

OK.......I'm now a happy camper. The new tie-rod ends showed up and I had them installed today. Along with the re-alignment, the car now handles as I would have expected it to from the start. The new tie-rod ends eliminated the squirelly, front end swaying event that would happen on de-cel from 50-60 MPH.

According to this dealer mechanic, past re-alignments to these specs have "maximized " tire wear from those generated by some standard Chevy specs. To zero in on getting these tolerances, this guy can take between two to three hours to get it where he wants........yet they only charge $119.95 for an alignment and their per hour ratefor Vettes is $85/hour. If this works, my new alignment specs will show up below...........Let me know if any questions.....

 

Well, I'm new to this forum..........Other forums I'm familiar with will allow "pics" to show up in the posting, so not sure why it won't work here................Sorry.

 

Fixed it for you.

 

TopSpeed.......Thanks for getting my alignment specs to show up. As can be seen, he has stood the tires up as much as possible to eliminate the usual negative camber. The explanation given to me was that these Vettes come from the factory with a little negative camber on the front tires for aggressive driving. Plus, there is even slightly more negative camber setup in the Z06 models. If you're typically using thecar for "normal" driving situations, this factory alignment is "touchy", wants to track left/right depending on the crown of the road, etc. In addition, (he indicated) some complaints of abnormally fast tirewear (especially on the inner edges).

The change in specs that he has dialed into mine, now allow for a "casual" grip on the steering wheel, where as before, I had tokeep a firm grip on it at all times. Note, that I believe the "loose" worn out tie rods in the rear were the cause of much of this problem. Also, this new alignment is supposed to "maximize" tire wear

Also, Please do NOT assume the "before" specs in the diagram above arewhat my alignment was with all the problems. Those (before) specs for the (front end) are from his re-alignment work a week earlier, and the rear (before) specs are those taken after he has re-installed the new rear tie rod ends and was preparing to dial in the rear to the new specs.

The ASE/GM certified technician that performed this alignment for me is Alan Williamson at Ocean City Chevrolet in Shallotte, N.C.

Let me know if anyone has any questions about this as I'm quite pleased with the results.