275's = wandering - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

buckola · 05-09-2003, 06:35 AM

Installed 275r60-15 and have noticed the front end tends to wander. Nothing drastic but it tracked perfectly before with the 235's. What repairs or adjustments are required to correct this?

thanks

minibike · 05-09-2003, 07:47 AM

Bigger tires put more stress on everything. Assuming you have good ball joints, tire rond ends, idler arm, etc.; You may want to tighten up your steering box a little.

griesel72 · 05-09-2003, 08:41 AM

buckola,

Minibike is right, start with checking everything out, and then tighten your steering up. I had to do this on my 72

david

Frank_Zeller · 05-09-2003, 08:52 AM

Might need to reset you camber with the wider tires and rims.

buckola · 05-09-2003, 09:48 AM

Thanks for the advice guys. I suspect I'll have to tighten up the steering...dumb question number 2... how do I do that?

Steve

ps
You were right Griesal...they fit well and fill up the wheel well nicely. I'll post some pics tonite.

*Piston* · 05-09-2003, 09:57 AM

Just make sure everything is in good condition, A worn (a.k.a loose) suspension will allow the wheels to follow the path they want instead of the path your steering in.

Also, you will get alot of "darting" or wander with wider tires on the front. They will tend to follow the high spots on the road, which shift from side to side. You will notice it more when coming to a stop light where the ruts are deeper.

You can adjust your gear box by loosening the locknut and rotating the adjuster stud clockwise. Do this with the front end off the ground and only turn the adjuster 1/4 turn at a time. Check for a tight spot or binding when the wheel returns to center. You'll want to take it to the point where its binding then back the adjuster 1/4 turn and tighten the locknut.

If you feel binding while driving, rotate the adjuster counterclockwise, do not let it stay this tight.
make sense?

Willy Prost · 05-09-2003, 10:24 AM

Here is another thought on this...Are you using the same wheels with the bigger tires? If you are using the same width rims with wider tires, the wandering maybe the additional tire footprint sticking to the pavement while the tire sidewalls are flexing more because of the increased distance from the rim to the tread relative to the 235 that you used to have on the truck.

buckola · 05-09-2003, 10:55 AM

Thanks again guys....I'll check it out on the weekend.
It never seases to amaze me how soon you can get answers on the board...day or night!! Makes me wonder some times if anybody here works!! And if they do, how much company time do we spend on the company computers?

Hmmmm....perhaps an interstesting question to post.
thanks again
Steve

guypm · 05-09-2003, 01:08 PM

Ive got 295/50's all the way around on mine. Mine tends to wander a little at higher speeds. Im gonna go smaller in front one of these days. My steering if tight though. No complaints here.
Guy

griesel72 · 05-09-2003, 04:32 PM

buckola

get those pics on for all of us to enjoy

david

Longhorn Man · 05-09-2003, 11:50 PM

Stupid question...what are your tires inflated to? Most places will only fill your tires to 32PSI after installing them. They don't care if the tire is designed to run at 90 PSI.

05-09-2003, 06:35 AM	#1
buckola 1 Wrench / 10 Knuckles Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Burlington Ontario Posts: 179	275's = wandering Installed 275r60-15 and have noticed the front end tends to wander. Nothing drastic but it tracked perfectly before with the 235's. What repairs or adjustments are required to correct this? thanks __________________ 1970 GMC Custom Vortec Heads, Edelbrock Performer Intake, Crane 272 Energizer, Hedman Full Length HTC Headers 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8. 1/4 mile 13.3 1973 Z1 900 Kawasaki ( all original)

05-09-2003, 07:47 AM	#2
minibike Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 500	Bigger tires put more stress on everything. Assuming you have good ball joints, tire rond ends, idler arm, etc.; You may want to tighten up your steering box a little. __________________ 69 SWB LT1/4L60E www.classicplace.com

05-09-2003, 08:41 AM	#3
griesel72 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Howard, Kansas USA Posts: 1,997	buckola, Minibike is right, start with checking everything out, and then tighten your steering up. I had to do this on my 72 david __________________ 1969 K10 Custom 10 1997 Z71 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 2006 King Ranch 1980 Wife

05-09-2003, 08:52 AM	#4
Frank_Zeller Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 796	Might need to reset you camber with the wider tires and rims. __________________ 69 SWB C/10 5-6 drop 700R4 69 Firebird Convert 455 4 spd 70 Torino GT Convert Austin-Texas

05-09-2003, 09:48 AM	#5
buckola 1 Wrench / 10 Knuckles Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Burlington Ontario Posts: 179	Thanks for the advice guys. I suspect I'll have to tighten up the steering...dumb question number 2... how do I do that? Steve ps You were right Griesal...they fit well and fill up the wheel well nicely. I'll post some pics tonite. __________________ 1970 GMC Custom Vortec Heads, Edelbrock Performer Intake, Crane 272 Energizer, Hedman Full Length HTC Headers 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8. 1/4 mile 13.3 1973 Z1 900 Kawasaki ( all original)

05-09-2003, 09:57 AM	#6
Piston Account Suspended Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Olathe, KS Posts: 2,301	Just make sure everything is in good condition, A worn (a.k.a loose) suspension will allow the wheels to follow the path they want instead of the path your steering in. Also, you will get alot of "darting" or wander with wider tires on the front. They will tend to follow the high spots on the road, which shift from side to side. You will notice it more when coming to a stop light where the ruts are deeper. You can adjust your gear box by loosening the locknut and rotating the adjuster stud clockwise. Do this with the front end off the ground and only turn the adjuster 1/4 turn at a time. Check for a tight spot or binding when the wheel returns to center. You'll want to take it to the point where its binding then back the adjuster 1/4 turn and tighten the locknut. If you feel binding while driving, rotate the adjuster counterclockwise, do not let it stay this tight. make sense? Last edited by Piston; 05-09-2003 at 10:09 AM.

05-09-2003, 10:24 AM	#7
Willy Prost Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 398	Here is another thought on this...Are you using the same wheels with the bigger tires? If you are using the same width rims with wider tires, the wandering maybe the additional tire footprint sticking to the pavement while the tire sidewalls are flexing more because of the increased distance from the rim to the tread relative to the 235 that you used to have on the truck.

05-09-2003, 10:55 AM	#8
buckola 1 Wrench / 10 Knuckles Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Burlington Ontario Posts: 179	Thanks again guys....I'll check it out on the weekend. It never seases to amaze me how soon you can get answers on the board...day or night!! Makes me wonder some times if anybody here works!! And if they do, how much company time do we spend on the company computers? Hmmmm....perhaps an interstesting question to post. thanks again Steve __________________ 1970 GMC Custom Vortec Heads, Edelbrock Performer Intake, Crane 272 Energizer, Hedman Full Length HTC Headers 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8. 1/4 mile 13.3 1973 Z1 900 Kawasaki ( all original)

05-09-2003, 01:08 PM	#9
guypm Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: orange, tx usa Posts: 167	Ive got 295/50's all the way around on mine. Mine tends to wander a little at higher speeds. Im gonna go smaller in front one of these days. My steering if tight though. No complaints here. Guy __________________ guypm 1971 SWB Fleetside/350 performer rpm heads &intake/ holley 750dp/1.5roller rockers/MSD6a/700r4 1650stall/one piece driveshaft/3.73 open/dynomax ceramic coated headers/3chamber flowmasters/

05-09-2003, 04:32 PM	#10
griesel72 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Howard, Kansas USA Posts: 1,997	buckola get those pics on for all of us to enjoy david __________________ 1969 K10 Custom 10 1997 Z71 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 2006 King Ranch 1980 Wife

05-09-2003, 11:50 PM	#11
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,693	Stupid question...what are your tires inflated to? Most places will only fill your tires to 32PSI after installing them. They don't care if the tire is designed to run at 90 PSI.



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