Aczwild Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Almost wrecked my GT tonight around a corner on a dirt road. I wasnt speeding or anything, the back end just swung out awkwardly and luckily I was able to save it (barely... trees were coming up fast). This brings me to my question and hopefully some help. The back end of my '97 GT feels really light and sloppy (more so than the front) and I really need to correct it since I live in Vermont and daily I deal with windy dirt roads and in the winter lotsa snow and I dont need to wreck my baby. I was wondering (to any older GT owners, or new that can help me) will a rear strut tower brace and a larger, adjustable sway bar correct the problem? I already have a front and rear strut tower brace coming and I was planning on ordering the sway bar in the up coming weeks, I need to know if this was the right idea in firming up my car and the handling, or if I should just get newer struts and springs? I dont really have that much money laying around (college student at a $36,000+ school), but I want my car to be safer and I'm willing to spend what I have to on the right parts instead of shooting in the dark and getting parts that may not help out the most. Thank you in advance for any help I may get. ~Funk JDM'd All to hell Thanks Jimmy @ Hkc-Speed.com! RIP Coxx & Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forestir Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 In general, a larger (i.e. stiffer) rear sway bar will increase the tendency to oversteer, so that's probably not what you need right now. Are the tires all in good shape and properly inflated? Do the rears show any signs of uneven wear (indicating a potential alignment problem)? Worn shocks can cause very loose behavior as well. Also, depending on what you were doing, this may be "normal" if you had heavy engine braking while in a turn on a slippery surface. On a dirt road, the front could dig in and allow the lightened rear to come around. Your description that the rear feels "really light and sloppy" sounds like there's something more permanently amiss than driving technique though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChruiSSer Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 It could possibly be your struts and/or springs. More likely the struts because when they wear out, they don't dampen the ride. A good way to check if they are still ok is to push down on the back of the car swiftly. If the car pops right back up and stays than they are ok. If it keeps going up and down a couple of times it's your struts. That's what it sounds like. Good luck and drive safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aczwild Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 Thanks guys I think I will be replacing the rear struts at the least (back end of the car is sittng pretty low and when I do the "push down" test the car does bounce a little). The tires will definitely be going very soon, they do absolutely nothing traction wise and i have some irregular wear on the front drivers side tire from an alighnment issue. Thanks again JDM'd All to hell Thanks Jimmy @ Hkc-Speed.com! RIP Coxx & Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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