3rd Gen Camaro Death Wobble!!

[Greg Reimer 7376]

How much positive caster can you put into these cars' front end alignment?I think I would shoot for the maximum obtainable here.

[MR DERBY CITY]

Gentlemen, there are basically two types of Gen three Camaro/ Firebirds. Those that have the ed quay VW shock on the front suspension , and those that haven't yet put the ed quay VW shock on their car.Sooner or later it is a must have item. M.J.

[magnumv8]

Doing alignments for a few years the biggest thing I ran into was that the front subframe behind the steering box where the mounting bolts pass thru have a tendency to stress crack there....

D L Rambo....Stk 1300

[Bret Schlichtig]

Rambo is right. This was a problem on my car. The steering box frame rail was cracked near the the engine crossmember. I would also recommend having the front bumper support bolted on or a support bar tying the front of the frame rails together just ahead of the steering box. My problem was at the finishline. When the weight transferred back to the front of the car in the shutdown, it would get crazy sometimes. Have the car on the ground and have someone steer the wheel back and forth and look for something moving. I used my cell phone to take a video while I turned the wheel back and forth to find the problem. Stiffened it all up and it is perfect now.

Bret Schlichtig

[Eman]

I appreciate all of the responses. I will get the car on the lift this weekend and disasseble everything after checking for any odd movement. New parts will be installed and any stress or cracks will be repaired. i'm thinking of making a "wonder bar" which ties the 2 frt. frame rails together. My car only runs the 1/8th mi. so speed is just at 100mph.
As far as wheel alignment goes anyone have any exact specs they know works on these cars?

[FED 387]

because the Gen III Camaro/Firebird cars are unibody construction they tend to flex quite a bit. By adding parts usually found on Z-28/TA/GTA/Iroc-z cars you can take almost all of the chassis flex out at launch eliminating flexing & cracking of body components and mounting points--- Some parts to use are

1-hood hinge to firewall brace rod
2-rame rail to front strut tower brace rod
3-wonderbar
4-front subframe braces to k member

[FED 387]

when you are doing your front end alignment are you setting it up with the car sitting at static height or at launch height?? Depending on the way you are doing it will make a big difference in how the car handles down track.

[Charlie Laraia]

Eman,

My last alignment was set at

Camber -.5 Degrees
Caster 4.5 Degree
Toe .05 Degree

The 4.5 degrees of caster makes the car go straight as an arrow down track. It also makes it a little hard to steer at low speed.

[Bench Racer]

Look around in the pits, you will see a lot of stabilizers on the tie rod. My brothers car was built and owned by Pete Z and it had a VW beetle stabilizer. This was put on by Pete when he built the car. It was updated a few years ago by Gary Weiscarver and he didn't take it off. It hooks like a bear and 60 foots in the high 1.20 in GT/FA with no wobble. Santhuff front shocks kept it from unloading on the wheelie bars. There may be frame or suspension issues but take a look at the beetle stabilizer. They are cheap and easy to put on. Don Jackson

[Eman]

Originally Posted by Charlie Laraia

Eman,

My last alignment was set at

Camber -.5 Degrees
Caster 4.5 Degree
Toe .05 Degree

The 4.5 degrees of caster makes the car go straight as an arrow down track. It also makes it a little hard to steer at low speed.

Was all of this with the car at rest and you in the seat? or did they raise the frt. a little?