What is Bumpsteer? Is it a mysterious term that racers use to excuse their ill handling racecar? The technical explanation is a change in toe caused by suspension travel or an unwanted steering input caused by such a toe change. If you already understand that explanation you probably have fixed any bumpsteer you may have had. If not, imagine driving through a parking lot. The right side of the axle has a speed bump and you try to go around. You miss, the right front tire hits the speed bump and your car steers itself to the right even though the steering wheel did not move. Now imagine you are going to turn a corner and you choose to go through the corner at a very high speed. As you approach the corner you turn the steering wheel in and the car begins to roll. As you have the steering wheel set in position to carry you through the turn, the car continues as the suspension compresses on the loaded side of the car. The front wheel turns in more than you had originally intended, causing the car to turn more sharply. You correct the steering wheel in the opposite direction pulling the car out of its roll and you miss your intended path through the turn. Both of these examples illustrate bumpsteer and are undesirable when maximizing the handling performance of your Mustang. Two things happened when the vehicle crossed the speed bump or when the vehicle entered the turn. First, there was suspension travel, the wheel, spindle, a-arm and other components moved upward as it crossed over the speed bump or when the vehicle began to roll into the turn. Second, this suspension travel caused the wheel to change direction even though the driver did not turn the steering wheel. This change in wheel direction made the vehicle turn in a direction not intended by the driver.

When the suspension travels up and down, the wheel moves up and down in an arc or half circle around a pivot point. This pivot point is not a physical location or suspension part but is an imaginary point on the chassis, similar to a vehicle's center of gravity. The distance from the pivot point to the wheel and spindle is equal at all points in the wheel's range of vertical movement. The tie rod and steering rack must be positioned so that as the wheel moves up and down, the tie rod follows an arc which is parallel to the arc followed by the spindle. If the steering rack or tie rod is not positioned correctly, the distance between the steering rack and wheel may differ from the distance between the pivot point to the wheel at different suspension heights. When this occurs the steering rack will push or pull the spindle as the suspension moves up or down thereby turning the wheel and causing a change in toe angle.

The direction the front wheels are pointed is called toe angle. When both wheels are pointed parallel there is 0 degrees toe. When the front of the wheels are pointed inward, there would be positive degree toe or what is called toe in. When the front of the wheels are pointed outward there is negative degree toe or what is called toe out.

Here at Steeda Autosports we offer solutions for your mustang to improve handling and minimize bumpsteer. We have our offset steering rack bushings to raise the steering rack, which helps prevent bumpsteer. Our offset steering rack bushings bring the rack closer to the pivot point to minimize bumpsteer. When a Mustang is lowered another unwanted result other than bumpsteer would also be a change in the geometry of the front suspension. To improve this, we have our exclusive X2 ball joints, which corrects the geometry of a lowered mustang. Our X2 ball joint raises the spindle in relation to the a-arm, restoring the roll center on a lowered Mustang. X2 ball joints improve steering response, reduces body roll and maximizes your mustang's handling. When using our X2 ball joints it is recommended that you relocate the tie rod pickup point. This can be accomplished with adjustable tie rod ends, which is also known as a bumpsteer kit. Give us a call today for technical advice about offset rack bushings, bump steer kits, and other ways of improving your mustang's performance.