# Why is mah car twitchy

**URL:** <https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735>\
**Category:** Shift518 Automotive\
**Created:** [August 5, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735 "2010-08-05T14:07:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 12\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Kicklow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kicklow](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Kicklow)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/21 "2010-08-06T20:11:46Z")

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its because you are running a phat five wheel with 3 bbs wheels!!

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**Author:** ![Alpine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@Alpine](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Alpine)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/22 "2010-08-06T21:18:46Z")

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![http://www.panteraplace.com/Tech%20Info/Bump%20steering%205.JPG](http://www.panteraplace.com/Tech%20Info/Bump%20steering%205.JPG)

I say use rack spacers because when you lower the car, the rack is also lowered. Now when you hit a bump, there is only so much play in that “steering rod” before it maxes out and tugs on the rack itself, causing the wheel to turn. Spacers should re-align the rack closer to factory specs so that the bumpsteer is minimized.

This is also why I have 100% OEM suspension on my car. Can’t be bothered with this bull SHIT!

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**Author:** ![Ilya](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ilya/32/6404_2.png) [@Ilya](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Ilya)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/23 "2010-08-06T22:03:28Z")

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^^ I have an 100% OEM suspension and the dealer says my alignment is in spec and I still get a tiny bit of bump steer.

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**Author:** ![Alpine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@Alpine](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Alpine)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/24 "2010-08-06T22:55:02Z")

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That’s because your windshield is tinted.

It really could be a # of things, but (on the past 2 platforms I have owned) when you lower a car the major contributor to bump steer is the rack being out of spec.

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**Author:** ![kramerbuccs24](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/kramerbuccs24/32/6397_2.png) [@kramerbuccs24](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/kramerbuccs24)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/25 "2010-08-06T22:56:06Z")

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No, it’s because he touches himself at night.

I have a lot of info here, through email and on mr2oc to look through tomorrow, I’ll likely be putting the sway bar back on to see if that helps.

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**Author:** ![JClark](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jclark/32/6309_2.png) [@JClark](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JClark)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 11:02am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/26 "2010-08-07T11:02:30Z")

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> [@Ilya"](#):
>
> ^^ I have an 100% OEM suspension and the dealer says my alignment is in spec and I still get a tiny bit of bump steer.

Oh really? What does bump steer feel like? How does it exhibit itself while you are driving?

Some truly awesomely stupidly badly incorrect information in this thread.

Krammmer - If you’re going to throw hail mary’s with no chance of working, might as well try a bunch at the same time.

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**Author:** ![Ilya](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ilya/32/6404_2.png) [@Ilya](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Ilya)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/27 "2010-08-07T11:27:16Z")

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Isn’t bump steer the act of the car jerking/twitching when the wheel goes over a decent sized bump (such as the some of the grooves in the road on I-787 S just past downtown)? I had this sensation on the Maxima and then I replaced the suspension with a lowering one (and it happened to take care of the issue). I now have it on the M. It’s much more pronounced when the wheel is ever so slightly turned.

If I’m wrong, then I retract my previous post. The idiot who coined the term should have come up with a better set of words to describe whatever bump steer really is so not-so-technical car enthusiasts like myself don’t look stupid on forum such as this fine one :rofl. To me, it just means that when you hit a **bump** , the car tends to **steer** itself (such as twitch, jerk the wheel).

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**Author:** ![Boxersix](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/boxersix/32/6327_2.png) [@Boxersix](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Boxersix)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/28 "2010-08-07T11:39:49Z")

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“Some truly awesomely stupidly badly incorrect information in this thread” \<-----To say the least

The car is a mid engined car, twitcy is in it’s nature. MR2’s, nsx’s, 986/987. Hell even the ultima is a bit washy at elevated speeds. We won’t even get into the realm of actual MERWD race cars.

One needs to step back as stated and explain in greater detail where the car is twitchy. IE straight line stability, high speed maneuvering, corner entry, under braking, etc, etc, etc.

Before you go screwing around with factory suspension geometry, you need to know where your car is acting up(see above) and know why. Then attack the relevant areas. Be forewarned…you are diving into a world of complication and car REALLY screw shit up if you don’t take it one step at a time.

We’ll save the techno mumbo jumbo for if/when you come back with some better characteristic information on the cars handling.

Carry on.

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**Author:** ![JClark](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jclark/32/6309_2.png) [@JClark](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JClark)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/29 "2010-08-07T11:58:59Z")

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> [@attention track day #2 racers](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/attention-track-day-2-racers/34163/2):
>
> Isn’t bump steer the act of the car jerking/twitching when the wheel goes over a decent sized bump (such as the some of the grooves in the road on I-787 S just past downtown)? I had this sensation on the Maxima and then I replaced the suspension with a lowering one (and it happened to take care of the issue). I now have it on the M. It’s much more pronounced when the wheel is ever so slightly turned.
> 
> If I’m wrong, then I retract my previous post. The idiot who coined the term should have come up with a better set of words to describe whatever bump steer really is so not-so-technical car enthusiasts like myself don’t look stupid on forum such as this fine one :rofl. To me, it just means that when you hit a **bump** , the car tends to **steer** itself (such as twitch, jerk the wheel).

That’s not bump steer, that’s a bad alignment.

Bump = suspension compression, not a bump in the road. Cornering load causes suspension compression which changes toe (steer) PER corner.

If the car is twitchy, usually your alignment is screwed up, bushings are worn, or you put on some dumb ass tuner suspension and drive around all hellaflushpoke or all 3.

Rarely do the rear ends of modern cars (insert 1st gen MR2 joke here) exhibit true bump steer when lowered.

Krammer more likely has worn bushings that are allowing the suspension geom to change under load. Early 2nd gen MR2s had this from the factory, so I wouldnt rule it out, and his is like 30 years old.

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**Author:** ![Ilya](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ilya/32/6404_2.png) [@Ilya](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Ilya)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/30 "2010-08-07T12:24:13Z")

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:rofl

Well then, I retract my previous statement. My M does NOT have bump steer and neither did my Maxima. lol.

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**Author:** ![cazwrx187](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/cazwrx187/32/6388_2.png) [@cazwrx187](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/cazwrx187)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/31 "2010-08-07T12:29:22Z")

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> [@FS: 1995 TURBO HATCH](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fs-1995-turbo-hatch/34103/31):
>
> “Some truly awesomely stupidly badly incorrect information in this thread” \<-----To say the least
> 
> The car is a mid engined car, twitcy is in it’s nature. MR2’s, nsx’s, 986/987. Hell even the ultima is a bit washy at elevated speeds. We won’t even get into the realm of actual MERWD race cars.
> 
> One needs to step back as stated and explain in greater detail where the car is twitchy. IE straight line stability, high speed maneuvering, corner entry, under braking, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> Before you go screwing around with factory suspension geometry, you need to know where your car is acting up(see above) and know why. Then attack the relevant areas. Be forewarned…you are diving into a world of complication and car REALLY screw shit up if you don’t take it one step at a time.
> 
> We’ll save the techno mumbo jumbo for if/when you come back with some better characteristic information on the cars handling.
> 
> Carry on.

He doesn’t care about handling, he just wants to be HELLAFlush yo.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![kramerbuccs24](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/kramerbuccs24/32/6397_2.png) [@kramerbuccs24](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/kramerbuccs24)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/why-is-mah-car-twitchy/253735/32 "2010-08-07T16:23:19Z")

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> [@8/25/07 Daryll's Car Audio summer sound off](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/8-25-07-darylls-car-audio-summer-sound-off/34150/2):
>
> That’s not bump steer, that’s a bad alignment.
> 
> Bump = suspension compression, not a bump in the road. Cornering load causes suspension compression which changes toe (steer) PER corner.
> 
> **If the car is twitchy, usually your alignment is screwed up, bushings are worn, or you put on some dumb ass tuner suspension and drive around all hellaflushpoke or all 3**.
> 
> Rarely do the rear ends of modern cars (insert 1st gen MR2 joke here) exhibit true bump steer when lowered.
> 
> **Krammer more likely has worn bushings that are allowing the suspension geom to change under load**. Early 2nd gen MR2s had this from the factory, so I wouldnt rule it out, and his is like 30 years old.

More detailed suspension component list:  
-4 brand new ball joints  
-2 brand new rear tie rods  
-2 brand new front outer tie rod ends (inner and boots are fine)  
-Polyurethane steering rack, sway bar (if/when I put it back on), control arm, trailing arm, etc. etc. etc. bushings (no rubber bushings in the car, they’re all new polyurethane either this year or last year)  
-Whiteline “G4” coilovers with front camber plates \<–the only cheap parts on the car  
-Front tie rod flip kit (flips the front outer tie rod to go “up” through the hub rather than “down”, you can see this in the front suspension pic)  
-Front and rear roll center adjusters (installed these via recommendation of autoXers on the MR2 forums, they “raise” the whole hub up from the lower control arms, you can kind of see them in between the ball joints and hubs front and rear)

According to your list, it looks like I bought the dumb ass tuner suspension :thumbup

> [@Bleeding?](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/bleeding/31075/68):
>
> He doesn’t care about handling, he just wants to be HELLAFlush yo.

Riiiiight, if I did that I wouldn’t have dropped money on the above parts, I would have just cut my springs.

> [@FS: 1995 TURBO HATCH](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/fs-1995-turbo-hatch/34103/31):
>
> “Some truly awesomely stupidly badly incorrect information in this thread” \<-----To say the least
> 
> The car is a mid engined car, twitcy is in it’s nature. MR2’s, nsx’s, 986/987. Hell even the ultima is a bit washy at elevated speeds. We won’t even get into the realm of actual MERWD race cars.
> 
> One needs to step back as stated and explain in greater detail where the car is twitchy. IE straight line stability, high speed maneuvering, corner entry, under braking, etc, etc, etc.
> 
> Before you go screwing around with factory suspension geometry, you need to know where your car is acting up(see above) and know why. Then attack the relevant areas. Be forewarned…you are diving into a world of complication and car REALLY screw shit up if you don’t take it one step at a time.
> 
> We’ll save the techno mumbo jumbo for if/when you come back with some better characteristic information on the cars handling.
> 
> Carry on.

The next time I post in this thread it will have details as specific as I can get in regards to the driving characteristics of the car, as of now all I really think of it as is “bumpsteer” which isn’t going to help any third party figure out what the problem is or how to fix it. Thanks for setting aside the time to point me in the right direction, Jclark and boxersix :thumbup

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