rs4 poor handling
 

I just bought a new rs4 and it walks all over the place. It get's real bad at higher speeds. I replaced the little drag link in the steering with a small turnbuckle and it took alot of the slack out of the steering. It's not as bad but it still don't realy like going straight. I'm new to the street. any advice or setup tips i would greatly appreciate. Thanks.

-Josh

RE: rs4 poor handling
 

I will assume it does not pull to the right, but just wanders. If it does pull to the right and I believe that is a shaft driven car then you must compensate for that.

Before we do that, make sure that there is some toe in the rear of the car 1 to 2 degrees.
If you cant adjust that then add some toe out to the front and make sure that it is equal on both sides, about 1 degree. Check the camber on all the wheels. Without getting into how to set it for the moment make sure it is the same left and right or the car will wander. Try 1 to 1.5 degrees rear camber and leave the front flat for now.

If the car reacts better after doing this but the back end still kicks out in a turn with no power, then soften the rear suspension and stiffen the front. Softer springs in the back and stiffer in the front. If you don't want to wait for the springs to come, adjusting the ride height will help also. Lower the back, and raise the front.

If the car is holding decent under moderate power but still wanders under hard power and still kicks out in the back under no power, you just may have to much power for the stock tires which is almost always the case for the stock tires. If you want to go rubber go with the HPI cross hatch, belted, D compound tires all the way around. If you go foamies use Jaco pre mounted nitro shoes, 35 shore all around or 35 in the back and a little stiffer up front.

Getting back to the first comment on top, if the car pulls consistently to the right it's torque steer. To fix torque steer stiffen the right front a little, just a tweak, sometimes preloading the shock a little will work sometimes slightly higher ride height on the right.

Hope this helps, let us know.

Jim

RE: rs4 poor handling
 

It don't realy pull to one side.At higher speeds it starts steering left and right a little and makes it hard to control. Kinda like it has alot of slack in the steering but there's verry little slack. The car get's awesome traction in my lot also. Could the tires be balooning up and making the car un-stable?

Thanks again
-Josh

RE: rs4 poor handling
 

What is your current set-up?

What body?

Spring weight/spacers?

Shock oil weight and # piston holes?

Camber/toe degrees?

Let's get a feel on where you are starting, then suggestions for improvement can be accurately made from there.

RE: rs4 poor handling
 

Ohhh. SO if it starts to pull left and right first thing first... Check to make sure your front wheels are on tight... Then check for play in your front steering system. Turn off all electronics then just play with the front wheels and see if there is excessive play.

RE: rs4 poor handling
 

Make sure you don't have too much toe out on the front or rear wheels.

In fact, try a bit of toe in (wheels pointing to the centre of the car) one both front and rear as this should make it more stable