Raptor1

Don't know if this belongs here or in LT1 Tech....

Like all 4th gen TA's my wheels are not centered in the wheel wells from front to back. They are more toward the back. What all is involved in moving them so they are centered? I assume adjustable LCA's and panhard bar to start with. Does the drive shaft have to be shortened? What else?

I want to use a larger diameter rear tire and don't really want to cut the rear valance for clearance.

KCFormula

All you need is adj. LCAs. The panhard rod is to adj. horizontal movement not front to back. Unless your wheels are way out of wack you shouldnt need a new driveshaft. (I assume your car came stock with the wheels centered)

Injuneer

You also might want to take into consideration what the "ends" of your LCA's look like. If they are poly bushings, they will compress under load and the axle will move forward in the wheel opening under load. If you have the spherical rods ends, the axle will not move. That will determine where you want the axle when there is no load being applied to the axle. I intentionally moved the axle back 1/4" off center, to allow for the compression in poly LCA bushings.

Raptor1

Thanks for the responses guys.

No, the wheels were not centered in the opening when the car was stock. It's a '94 and I've had it since it was new. I've noticed other 4th gen TA's are the same way, Maybe it's the way the rear bumper cover is made.

I have Lakewood LCA's, so it has the poly bushings. Good point about that.

With stock size tires there is at least twice as much space in front of the tire than there is behind it. I'd like to move it back about 1/2" or so.

Injuneer

When you start moving the axle 1/2" you will need to check the driveshaft length. The stock setup only provides about 1/2" movement before the slider bottoms out in the tailshaft housing. With any sort of serious HP, you would normally increase that clearance dimension to 0.75" to 1.00". Just make sure when you move the axle forward that it doesn't make the clearance too small.

Also remember, the tire will grow with trap speeds.... and if it hits anything at all, the flexible bumper cover might be a little more forgiving than the sheet metal quarter panel.

Raptor1

Thanks Fred.
Hmmm...I'm beginning to think that I may trim the inner edge of that bumper/wheel well after all. Sounds like it will be a lot easier.

I don't know what you consider "serious HP". I'm a long way from 400 rwhp, but I'm running 1.6x short times and 12.3's now and I don't have my long tubes on yet and haven't removed any weight except the spare and jack.

mongse_1

I noticed last night when I was taking my old Metcos off that the driver's side was off compared to the passenger side. It took a total of about 20 minutes to get the passenger side taken off, whereas the driver's side too at least 20 minutes to get the axle bolt out alone. Once I got the part of the way out, I could tell that the rear had shifted back a bit, binding the bolt in the bushing.

When I put the new ones in, I was able to adjust them out to get the bolt in, then tighten it down to pull it back into place. What a mess.