2015 GT PP Steering Wandering Issue

[KA06GT]

Just an update.

BMR kit is still installed. I like the kit, but I have almost been wishing I purchased the full "stop the hop" kit from Steeda, with new sphereical bearings and all that, but for the price the BMR kit is great and I can always add the other Steeda parts later!

My factory Perilli's are shot, so I placed and order earlier today for some Nitto NT555 G2's in 275/40/19. Not sure if this will improve on the wandering issue even more or not, but I have to have new tires either way so we'll see!

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[wildcatgoal]

Steeda's IRS subframe bushing support rings are more difficult to get on because they support MORE of the bushing. Spending a few extra minutes to get those on (and, really, it's only remotely difficult in the rear bushings) is worth it and absolutely nothing to complain about. You want to support the WHOLE bushing, not half of it to avoid NVH and wear in the long term.

 

[wildcatgoal]

If you are experiencing this after shoring up the IRS with Steeda or BMR (and you've installed each correctly and re-checked torque after 500 miles and you've clocked bushings if you have lowering springs), then you need to address your front end alignment. I put 0 toe in the rear so there is less change of it influencing my car and I put -1/16 total toe in the front so it maintains a center line but isn't chewing up tires - and it doesn't.

The only time I've had a wondering feeling that was as described in this thread is if I have 0 toe in the front, or more toe on one side than the other. I tried 0 toe for a road course alignment, hated it. I let a dealer put my alignment to stock specs for winter once and that was wondering all over the place and a few weeks later had it fixed and found that the a-hole just green-zoned all my specs and they were as far opposite as can be.

I also find that the steering rack in these cars is not heavy enough, causing this to happen just naturally, especially while going straight. I believe it's an improvement opportunity. Almost all Mustangs I've driven have had more tramlining than I'd really consider acceptable. It was one reason I almost turned around and insisted I get my money back for this car as the Camaro SS was dead straight and true, no issues.

 

[KA06GT]

Steeda's IRS subframe bushing support rings are more difficult to get on because they support MORE of the bushing. Spending a few extra minutes to get those on (and, really, it's only remotely difficult in the rear bushings) is worth it and absolutely nothing to complain about. You want to support the WHOLE bushing, not half of it to avoid NVH and wear in the long term.

If you are experiencing this after shoring up the IRS with Steeda or BMR (and you've installed each correctly and re-checked torque after 500 miles and you've clocked bushings if you have lowering springs), then you need to address your front end alignment. I put 0 toe in the rear so there is less change of it influencing my car and I put -1/16 total toe in the front so it maintains a center line but isn't chewing up tires - and it doesn't.

The only time I've had a wondering feeling that was as described in this thread is if I have 0 toe in the front, or more toe on one side than the other. I tried 0 toe for a road course alignment, hated it. I let a dealer put my alignment to stock specs for winter once and that was wondering all over the place and a few weeks later had it fixed and found that the a-hole just green-zoned all my specs and they were as far opposite as can be.

I also find that the steering rack in these cars is not heavy enough, causing this to happen just naturally, especially while going straight. I believe it's an improvement opportunity. Almost all Mustangs I've driven have had more tramlining than I'd really consider acceptable. It was one reason I almost turned around and insisted I get my money back for this car as the Camaro SS was dead straight and true, no issues.

Wildcatgoal, that is one of the reasons I wish I had went ahead with the Steeda option, although the BMR is holding up great! This wasn't an update still complaining about the issue necessarily more just a general update in case anyone stumbles upon this thread for the same reason I started it.

I checked the torque after 100, 300, then 500 miles and as stated after the install, this didn't completely eliminate the issue but it made a big enough difference that this should have been how the car came from the factory! (Although I believe there is still room for improvement after driving a Camaro and Challenger with the IRS)

I believe they set my Toe at 0.03 degrees, do you think dialing it at 100% 0.00 would make a noticeable difference? I know they do that due to the crown of the road and normally don't like to set it dead on at 0.00 from past experiences. I had planned on getting another alignment anyways so that way I can guarantee I won't have any uneven wear on my new tires when they get mounted since I installed the BMR kit and Steeda Alignment bushings.

 

[vimal01997]

Have you gotten your issue solved yet? I'm having a similar issue.

 

[KA06GT]

Have you gotten your issue solved yet? I'm having a similar issue.

Unfortunately not..

I've had Ford do three alignments at this point and at $75 each and the dealership being over an hour each way from me, it's getting pricey to keep going back for more.

On the last alignment I had them set everything as close to zero as possible (steer ahead came out to 0.01 degrees and thrust angle was set at 0.00 degrees).

The BMR kit did make a noticeable difference **in the rear of the car with subframe movement**, but I do still get that wandering (out of alignment) feeling from the front end. I know this isn't a good comparison, but I have a very close friend with a 2016 ScatPack 6.4L Dodge Challenger with IRS that he lets me drive any time I ask and his feels much more confident to drive on the highway. Now in the curves the IRS in our Mustangs wins hands down, but the feeling I'm referring to is when you're on the highway, cruise set at 60MPH, and you're just casually driving to work. My Mustang seems takes 100% focus to keep it in my lane because it wanders, where as his Challenger on the same stretch of road, at the same speed it feels like to could take your hands off the wheel or drive with one finger and still feel "safer" than the wandering in my Mustang with both hands firmly on the wheel.

I hope that makes sense.. I have spent a lot of time and money at this point just trying to get a decent level of drive-ability out of it, but I'm beginning to think that isn't going to happen.

Is your car a Performance Pack like mine?

 

[vimal01997]

Unfortunately not..

I've had Ford do three alignments at this point and at $75 each and the dealership being over an hour each way from me, it's getting pricey to keep going back for more.

On the last alignment I had them set everything as close to zero as possible (steer ahead came out to 0.01 degrees and thrust angle was set at 0.00 degrees).

The BMR kit did make a noticeable difference **in the rear of the car with subframe movement**, but I do still get that wandering (out of alignment) feeling from the front end. I know this isn't a good comparison, but I have a very close friend with a 2016 ScatPack 6.4L Dodge Challenger with IRS that he lets me drive any time I ask and his feels much more confident to drive on the highway. Now in the curves the IRS in our Mustangs wins hands down, but the feeling I'm referring to is when you're on the highway, cruise set at 60MPH, and you're just casually driving to work. My Mustang seems takes 100% focus to keep it in my lane because it wanders, where as his Challenger on the same stretch of road, at the same speed it feels like to could take your hands off the wheel or drive with one finger and still feel "safer" than the wandering in my Mustang with both hands firmly on the wheel.

I hope that makes sense.. I have spent a lot of time and money at this point just trying to get a decent level of drive-ability out of it, but I'm beginning to think that isn't going to happen.

Is your car a Performance Pack like mine?

I feel like our issues could be related to each other. Yes my mustang is also Performance Pack GT. Take a look at my post and let's see what we can put together?

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/steering-sway.110196/#post-2350226

 

[VinnAY]

I had a grand in Steeda parts under the back end...diff bushings, supports, alignment kit, braces, sway bar, front end aligned and I still had the little wandery feel to the front end. I really didn't like the electric steering in this car, I could feel it had dead spots in it if I sawed the wheel left and right quickly. It was better set in "comfort" than normal or sport.

 

[KA06GT]

I feel like our issues could be related to each other. Yes my mustang is also Performance Pack GT. Take a look at my post and let's see what we can put together?

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/steering-sway.110196/#post-2350226

vimal, I read through your post and it seems we have both been chasing the same thing. My last 5.0 was a 2011 with Ford's electronic power steering just like this our current cars, but I had no issues with that car wandering even though it was lowered on Ebiach suspension, and running a staggered Nitto NT555 G2 tire setup, and 90K miles on the clock when I sold it.

My 2015 PP had 13K on the clock when I bought it, and currently I'm at 23K and it's drove like this since basically new. I'm running stock height suspension, with the stock PP staggered tire sizes with the only difference being I still have the factory Pirelli tires up front and running Nitto NT555 G2's in the rear. I'm running out of ideas unfortunately.

I had a grand in Steeda parts under the back end...diff bushings, supports, alignment kit, braces, sway bar, front end aligned and I still had the little wandery feel to the front end. I really didn't like the electric steering in this car, I could feel it had dead spots in it if I sawed the wheel left and right quickly. It was better set in "comfort" than normal or sport.

VinnAY, I have noticed the same thing. I run with my steering feel on comfort about 95% of the time, because it makes the issue a little more "livable". I can't believe Ford would have changed their EPS that much from the last generation of the S197 (11-14), but something definitely is different because my 2011 5.0 drove as straight as an arrow even on lowered suspension. This is driving me nuts and has been for almost a year now!

 

[VinnAY]

Too in 'Comfort' I felt that I had less feedback in the steering wheel on bumps...what's it called bump steer? The wheel would kick back and have to be corrected to stay in the turn.

 

[vimal01997]

Maybe the cause of this issue is the fact that we're both running two different tires? I mean I did run Pirelli PZERO summers in the front and PZERO all seasons in the back without problem, and then once I switched to Continental DWS06 in the back I started having the problem.. Maybe because continental has a different type of compound and overall tire than the Pirelli.. I'm guessing we're both having this problem because we're not running the same tires front and back?

 

[KA06GT]

Maybe the cause of this issue is the fact that we're both running two different tires? I mean I did run Pirelli PZERO summers in the front and PZERO all seasons in the back without problem, and then once I switched to Continental DWS06 in the back I started having the problem.. Maybe because continental has a different type of compound and overall tire than the Pirelli.. I'm guessing we're both having this problem because we're not running the same tires front and back?

This is definitely a possibility, although I just put the Nitto's on the rear of the car a few months ago, the rest of the time I was running the stock Pireill's front and rear. Granted the rear tires were at the end of their life (thanks to linelock), but I'm afraid even if I dump the cash to put the Nitto's on the front that I'll still have the problem since I did have a matching set previously.

While not ruling that out completely, have any other ideas? This is driving me insane and I've actually thought about selling the car once or twice because of it..

 

[vimal01997]

This is definitely a possibility, although I just put the Nitto's on the rear of the car a few months ago, the rest of the time I was running the stock Pireill's front and rear. Granted the rear tires were at the end of their life (thanks to linelock), but I'm afraid even if I dump the cash to put the Nitto's on the front that I'll still have the problem since I did have a matching set previously.

While not ruling that out completely, have any other ideas? This is driving me insane and I've actually thought about selling the car once or twice because of it..

I honestly can’t think of any other things besides having your suspension checked and double check your wheel hub. After I used linelock my wheel hub became loose and it started wandering everywhere on the road, had it retorqued because it became loose from the linelock and that problem went away.. but this problem I’m having, I believe it should be the tires.

 

[BootyNugget]

Hey guys,

Just a question. I bought my 15 Performance Pack used with 13K on the clock. I've had it at the dealer a few times getting some other issues sorted out from another thread I started awhile back.

I noticed the car feels like it wanders in my lane, almost like I'm having to fight it sometimes. It's not the normal on rails feeling you'd expecting from a performance oriented suspension setup from the factory at Ford, so I thought, okay after 13K it might need an alignment. I paid the dealer to do an alignment and they said it was a little off, but it's all spot on now and they gave me the printouts so I could verify. Yet the car feels exactly the same.

It's almost like the wheel adjusts itself to the left just a little and then I have to give more steering input to keep it straight. I've been reading of some of the steering rack issues, but mine isn't exactly like that. It's what I would describe as "floaty" feeling. The car is unbelievable in the curves, but straight highway driving on my 30 mile commute to work drives me crazy because it pulls back and forth.

So I've been looking at Steeda's "Stop the Hop" kit https://www.steeda.com/Steeda-S550-Mustang-Stop-The-Hop-Starter-Kit-555-4455

I've read a few places that the rear IRS subframe movement could cause issues such as what I'm describing because the soft bushing allow for a lot of lateral and vertical movement within the entire subframe..

Anyone have any input before I order that kit or have any experience with this problem?

Strange you mention this. I've had this issue with my 2015 PP since the first time I changed the rear tires. So, story time - the wife and I were taking a road trip down from South Dakota to North Carolina to visit family and I thought I'd take the car around the tail of the dragon (see here - if you get a chance, it's a kick ass road to drive... https://tailofthedragonmaps.com/tail-of-the-dragon-map/) Anyway, when I reached the end of the curvy part, I got out to check my tires (after all, I was roasting the shit out of them around nearly all the curves. Turns out my rears were more worn than I had originally thought, and they had worn unevenly (inner wear was more than outer). So I drove on to my destination and contacted the Ford dealer there to have new Continental ExtremeContact DWS rear tires put on the following day - the front stock Pirellis were still OK at that time. After changing the tires, they dealer did an alignment on the car mentioning that it was just barely out of spec. and handed me the keys. Drove away and within minutes noticed that the car "wanders" in the lane and the steering feels "floaty" for lack of better word. So I immediately returned to the Ford place and they checked the alignment again - it was dead nuts on... So upon returning back to South Dakota, I took it into the dealer I bought it from and had them re-check the alignment. They told me it was not out of alignment and that the dealer down in North Carolina had adjusted it to perfection. So, I figured maybe it was an issue with tread not matching on front and rear... changed the front tires to new Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires, and the issue persists. I almost have to wonder if the alignment needs more toe-in on the front or something to keep it from wandering, but that's just my guess. Really wish I knew what was causing this though... I'm just glad I'm not the only one!

 

[vimal01997]

Strange you mention this. I've had this issue with my 2015 PP since the first time I changed the rear tires. So, story time - the wife and I were taking a road trip down from South Dakota to North Carolina to visit family and I thought I'd take the car around the tail of the dragon (see here - if you get a chance, it's a kick ass road to drive... https://tailofthedragonmaps.com/tail-of-the-dragon-map/) Anyway, when I reached the end of the curvy part, I got out to check my tires (after all, I was roasting the shit out of them around nearly all the curves. Turns out my rears were more worn than I had originally thought, and they had worn unevenly (inner wear was more than outer). So I drove on to my destination and contacted the Ford dealer there to have new Continental ExtremeContact DWS rear tires put on the following day - the front stock Pirellis were still OK at that time. After changing the tires, they dealer did an alignment on the car mentioning that it was just barely out of spec. and handed me the keys. Drove away and within minutes noticed that the car "wanders" in the lane and the steering feels "floaty" for lack of better word. So I immediately returned to the Ford place and they checked the alignment again - it was dead nuts on... So upon returning back to South Dakota, I took it into the dealer I bought it from and had them re-check the alignment. They told me it was not out of alignment and that the dealer down in North Carolina had adjusted it to perfection. So, I figured maybe it was an issue with tread not matching on front and rear... changed the front tires to new Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires, and the issue persists. I almost have to wonder if the alignment needs more toe-in on the front or something to keep it from wandering, but that's just my guess. Really wish I knew what was causing this though... I'm just glad I'm not the only one!

Could just be the tires. I’m running stock pirellis in the front and continental extremecontact dws in the back and I noticed this issue right after I changed the tires. I’m going back to my pirellis.

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