tie rods are going out and I have plans to lower the car but am not sure if I can install a bump steer kit before actually lowering it. Would it be fine?

 

If you install bump steer kit on a non-lowered car, you will throw off the geometry in the opposite direction that lowering does; and if you take the time to adjust it for the non-lowered car, you'll have to do that all over again when you eventually lower the car ... adjustment involves checking the toe while compressing the suspension, which is easier said than done

the basic idea here is that you want the tie rod to run parallel to the lower control arm, so they both follow the same arc as the suspension moves, otherwise you get "bump steer"

even on cars lowered about 1", bump steer correction is more trouble than it is worth -- plenty of cars (such as mine) running around lowered 1" with no bump steer correction and no noticeable issues

I would skip it until lowered for sure, and then see if there is really any problem to be solved before installing the bump-steer correction kit

 

Bert Knows!

KC

 

And so do I... LOL... The rule of thumb is Bump Steer Kits are only necessary when the vehicle has been lowered beyond 1.5" When lowered under 1.5" the geometry between the tie rods and lower control arms do not require re-adjustment...Thru my own personal experience, I've been running Eibach Pro Springs on my 2006 GT for over 11 years which lower the front suspension by approximately 1.3" and rear suspension by approximately 1.5" This setup also includes Koni yellow adjustable struts/shocks, Eibach camber bolts and GT500 strut mounts... Other than that, all other suspension components remain OEM stock...

At any rate, during these past 11 years there have been no negative issues with my car's alignment which has remained within OEM specs without the need for installing Bump Steer Kits...

 

sometimes when I go over bumps, I do get some unwanted "steering" from the car .... but I can't say that is really "bump steer" it's more likely just bumps turning the wheels a little

(which is different from "bump steer" -- that is when the tie rods effectively "shorten" or "lengthen" a little as the suspension moves up and down, caused when the tie rods are not parallel to the lower control arm, and that causes unwanted steering inputs to the wheels)

 

I'll also add to that, John by stating if you don't encounter any unwanted steering inputs that cause the wheels to pull from side to side, it's usually a pretty good sign that your tie rods and lower control arms are indeed parallel towards one another

 

Now Let Me Tell You About Bump Steer!

KC



Were Gonna Need a Bigger Stick!