Contemplating hysteer, how is it on the road??

[Safari Ary]

In the ultimate 44 thread Richard brought up hysteer. Well I was wondering what you guys are running for hy-steer, and if you run it on the road how does it handle?? I've got flattops already machined and ready to go, but I got turned off from hysteer because i was told the ackerman would be way out of wack and it'd handle weird. Is this myth or truth? Also, if you are running hysteer with the stock pitman arm, what hysteer arms are you running? BTW, I know that the trackbar mount will need to be relocated up higher to be even with the draglink. That's fine, I haven't done any bracket work yet, so it doesn't matter one way or the other to me. Thanks

Ary

P.S. I'm planning to run the '85 Blazer TREs using the steering stabilizer hole for the draglink.

 

[CRASH]

There is absolutely no downside to high steer. Yes, the Ackerman gets a bit screwed up, but with 35" tires and a big lift, the Ackerman is the least of your problems related to handling. Heck, the tires probably flex more than the Ackerman angle is out of whack.

I use Bob Roggy arms, but wouldn't again. OTT makes some of the nicest on the market.

CRASH

In the ultimate 44 thread Richard brought up hysteer. Well I was wondering what you guys are running for hy-steer, and if you run it on the road how does it handle?? I've got flattops already machined and ready to go, but I got turned off from hysteer because i was told the ackerman would be way out of wack and it'd handle weird. Is this myth or truth? Also, if you are running hysteer with the stock pitman arm, what hysteer arms are you running? BTW, I know that the trackbar mount will need to be relocated up higher to be even with the draglink. That's fine, I haven't done any bracket work yet, so it doesn't matter one way or the other to me. Thanks

Ary

P.S. I'm planning to run the '85 Blazer TREs using the steering stabilizer hole for the draglink.

 

[andyr354]

I would also like to know whos arms people are runnind and how well they work for them. I need to order sometime soon and was looking at shakerbuilt, partsmike, and sky if they are still on sale.

 

[Goatman]

Arms is arms.......they all work, and there are plenty of places that make them. The difference is where you tell them to drill the holes, and are the arms flat on top where you attach the linkage.

I agree with CRASH, Ackerman angle is nearly a non-issue. Mine drives very well on the street and I have no idea what my Ackerman angle is.......and don't care. A few have worked hard to get it right, but I don't know that even they feel it was worth it.

 

[jmop]

If you only put the drag link on the hi-steer arm and leave the tie rod in the stock location you won't change the Ackerman angle. It won't get your steering way up high but if you are worried about the Ackerman angle it might be something to consider.

 

[Paul S]

I experimented with reverse Ackerman/Hysteer for a few days. On road it was noticable, but not really an issue, off road I couldn't stand it. After 1 trip out I put it back to positive Ackerman & I live with the resulting lose in clearance.
You can get different arms that will net different Ackerman, some are setup for good Ackerman, some are setup for more tire/wheel clearance (bad Ackerman).
Paul

 

[andyr354]

Arms is arms.......they all work, and there are plenty of places that make them. The difference is where you tell them to drill the holes, and are the arms flat on top where you attach the linkage.

leads me to another question. This is going to be my first time modifying the steering, how to I figure out where the holes need to go? My initial plan right now is to go with the 85 Chevy blazer inverted T TRE setup, dunno though maybe heims would be easier/cheaper?

Will be using a D44 from a 76 F150 with 75 chevy flattops running the ford hubs.

Sorry for the hijak, but it seems to go along with the subject.

 

[BrettM]

I also think Ackerman can just STFU when you're talking about tires with a 10 inch sidewall. If you're really worried about it, you can get arms that put the tie-rod behind the axle (rockstomper and C&R) for proper Ackerman, or just do crossover (raise just the draglink) to keep stock Ackerman (but it's not like that is correct anyway).

I got a Parts Mike arm (crossover only) based almost entirely on hole placement. I'm using a ZJ pitman arm, and all the other arms put the draglink hole either too close to the balljoint which would make steering difficult, or too far from the balljoint which would not give me full range of steering.

 

[BrettM]

leads me to another question. This is going to be my first time modifying the steering, how to I figure out where the holes need to go? My initial plan right now is to go with the 85 Chevy blazer inverted T TRE setup, dunno though maybe heims would be easier/cheaper?

Will be using a D44 from a 76 F150 with 75 chevy flattops running the ford hubs.

Sorry for the hijak, but it seems to go along with the subject.

measure how much lateral swing your pitman arm has, then figure out how far from the ball-joint the TRE has to attach to get the same amount of swing while going from stop to stop.

for me, with a Waggy D44 and a ZJ pitman arm, the pitman traveled about 7.25" laterally, and the tie-rod in the stock position traveled 8" from stop to stop. This didn't give me full steering range. I did a crossover steering with a Parts Mike arm that has the TRE hole about 6.5" from the balljoint (about an inch closer than stock), and now I have full steering.