Steering issue under braking !

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by glamcem

fixed it for you

LOLZ! ...awwww noooo.

[dave-]

I'm getting this as well. Only slightly lower than stock, 2.75deg, zero toe, stock swaybars/links etc. On AD08R's it only did it on one high speed corner. While on A050's it would do it more often on the same corner and another slightly slower corner.

In both cases the car would be heavily loaded on one of the front wheels which makes the swaybar link seem like a good idea. But I couldn't see any marks indicating that parts of the suspenion/swaybars are fouling and nothing is loose.

And if the P/S was overheating wouldn't it only happen after extended track time? In my case, it could happen on the second lap but not the third so not sure about that.

In any case, it doesn't freak me out like it did the first few times so I just drive around it but still would be nice to know the cause and how to resolve it.

[spdfreak]

Has anyone gotten to the root of this issue, yet?
I installed my raceseng cascam plates and got an alignment last week.
20 seconds into this video, I experienced the same steering lock up you guys are describing. Only happens under very high load like that downhill left hander.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4_p-tFiCRU"]TSSCC Lake County Fairgrounds - YouTube[/ame]

[spdfreak]

oooook!

Well I think I figured it out. The OEM front strut mounts allow the piston shaft to rotate freely with the hub when you turn the wheel. This is because the piston shaft is secured to the inner race of the ball bearing inside the strut mount. When you switch to a strut mount like the Raceseng CasCam plates, the piston shaft is fixed to the mount causing the shaft to rotate inside the strut assembly when you turn the wheel.
Due to this design change, when you bottom out the front suspension during hard cornering, you're trying to force the shaft to rotate inside the strut while it's being pressed against the internal bump stop. It doesn't like that very much. Not sure if this action is damage inducing over time...
When I initially swapped from OEM coilovers to the Bilstein B14s I wondered why Subaru would mount the piston rod shaft to a ball bearing. My assumption was that it was for a good steering feel with little resistance. It seemed like overkill. Now I think it's because they knew this steering lockup would be an issue.
Now, what's the remedy? More suspension travel? Stiffer front sway? Sell the car?

[troek]

i cant speak for all pillow ball mounts, but my piston shaft rotates on the pillow ball mount in the top hat.

[spdfreak]

Originally Posted by troek

i cant speak for all pillow ball mounts, but my piston shaft rotates on the pillow ball mount in the top hat.

Interesting. What are you running up front? and are you experiencing this issue?

[troek]

i have hks coilovers. ive experienced this issue as well. the pillow ball mounts rotate freely though.

[Sleepless]

It isn't a heat issue either. I can make it happen in the first corner. Plus, easing off the brakes makes it go away. If it were overheating it shouldn't go away when you are off the brakes.

I still think it is electrical. Might even be a nanny to prevent sudden steering input while under braking (that's my latest theory).

[SeanRTR]

I've heavily autocrossed my car, and I never get it out there.


However, I think it happens every single time that I track the car, even on lunch time 'parade laps' when I get a gap and honestly driving way too fast for parade laps. I should note that I've had this issue happen on the following tires:
235-45-17
215-45-16
225-45-17
(TRD drop springs, and I think OEM springs too)
I do not think it's related to tire size or rubbing, but I'd love to know what's going on. As Mike described, you can muscle through it just fine, but it's just...odd. I don't think it's related to ABS, as this is when I'm turning hard mid-corner/powering out of the corner.

[troek]

i can make it activate in my wifes toyota while parking if i turn the wheel fast enough. i think its just to much steering input against the grip of the tires, like a safety cut out to protect the steering motor maybe?

[Pat]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

I had this exact issue!!! Fixed it via adjusting the sway bar end links to make them longer.

What was happening was the sway bar arms were hitting the frame of the car and thus getting stuck upon hard braking especially downhill when incurring a lot of drop in the front. The symptom was it was hard to turn steering wheel during braking and loss of front grip during this which caused front to "skip" and plow.

It will be obvious if your sway bar arms are binding on the frame. Check the frame for rubbing or damage.

It used to happen on the same corners and depended on how hard I was shifting the weight forward. Check your sway bars guys!

@CSG Mike @tech86 @BRZZZZZZZZZZ @AJ PwR @YodrOne @Element Tuning

I just checked my car, hoping I would experience the same thing you did. Unfortunately my sway bar is not visibly rubbing on the frame. Has anyone else experiencing this problem noticed their sway bar rubbing on the frame?
What are the chances the sway bar bushings are binding and need lube? My car has 41,000 miles on it and is driven year round in Colorado.

[shattered_memory]

I had the issue happen to me today on my favorite mountain road. Not sure if it is exactly the same thing. Going up the mountain, the car felt really good. When going down hill in 100 degree weather was kinda scary. Braking and going through the turns, I can tell I was experiencing brake fade. my car was also pushing in the turns a bit also. At one point my steering went completely numb and felt really light during a few turns. Is this the same thing you all are experiencing? Below are my mods:

Tein Flex Z coilovers lowered 1.5 inch front/1 inch rear
Alignment: -2 camber front/ -1.5 camber rear. 0 toe all around
Brakes: stop tech street pads/ATE brake fluid
Tires: 215/45/17 advan ad08r

[cjd]

Originally Posted by shattered_memory

At one point my steering went completely numb and felt really light during a few turns. Is this the same thing you all are experiencing?

I don't think so. It goes super heavy, no power assist. Still turns the car.

I'd be much more freaked out by the steering going light/numb - and I'd guess you're on a spot with not enough traction on the front of the car... I know I find the car feels super vague in the rain, especially puddles - and you've nailed how I would describe it.

[killboy]

I can make it happen on stock suspension, first turn, but only in compressive "dip" turns. It's not an overheating thing, it's not aftermarket suspension parts thing. It does require a good bit of grip, so stock tires won't do it for me. I'm pretty convinced it's the EPS being overwhelmed and doing a quick safety shut down/bypass. I don't see any realistic way to resolve it with upgrades either.