Has anyone advice on trying to "straighten" the steering arms to correct for shortening the wheelbase?
Any help much appreciated.
Newbie Patrick
I don't think anyone has ever found it necessary.
One modification that buggies do offer benefit from though is the fitment of one or two sets of shims behind the bottom beam tube to restore or increase the castor angle after fitting bigger tyres on the rear.
Not sure why you think you need to change the Ackerman at all ?
Whats the issue? If not self centering, then you probably have a stiff ball joint somewhere at the front
A bit of history ....
Back in the early 70's I had an EPC Hustler GT which used to "hop" around corners.
On investiagting, this is a result of shortening the chassis therefore moving the 'focal' point of the front steering behind the rear axle line.
In pure Ackerman Steering the focal point should intersect the centre of the rear axle line.
If it doesn't, as in a shortened Buggy chassis, the front wheels will turn a smaller amount than they should.
Changing the steering arms alignment so the outer tie rod connections sit in-line with a line between the link pin or ball joint pivot and the centre of the rear axle corrects this.
So, just wondering if anyone does this and how?
And yes I accept that pure Ackerman is not always used, either in standard road cars or racing cars.
Patrick
Wheel hop on a buggy is more likely the result of the swing axle rear suspension set up.
Quote from: u648522 on June 24, 2025, 06:12:19 PMA bit of history ....
Back in the early 70's I had an EPC Hustler GT which used to "hop" around corners.
On investiagting, this is a result of shortening the chassis therefore moving the 'focal' point of the front steering behind the rear axle line.
In pure Ackerman Steering the focal point should intersect the centre of the rear axle line.
If it doesn't, as in a shortened Buggy chassis, the front wheels will turn a smaller amount than they should.
Changing the steering arms alignment so the outer tie rod connections sit in-line with a line between the link pin or ball joint pivot and the centre of the rear axle corrects this.
So, just wondering if anyone does this and how?
And yes I accept that pure Ackerman is not always used, either in standard road cars or racing cars.
Patrick
I`ve probably done more than most on here with steering and suspension on my own EPC Hustler GT and Ackerman alteration has never even been required to be factored into some drastic changes made - that includes full Independent wishboned front end too - Swing axled rear and incorrect tyre/wheel width can cause most of the headaches though, but that said, even those are negligible.
:-\
Thank you both for the replies.
If I remember correctly back in the day there was an article in either "HotRod" magazine or "BeachBuggies and HotVW" on this subject.
Memory has it that the steering arm was heated and bent to the correct angle.
Seemed it was advocated at the time.
This time my buggy will have IRS and hopefully the steering issue won't arrive if all aligned correctly.
I'll let you know!.
Thanks
Patrick