Poor car handling, too much pitch and roll

Tags: #<Tag:0x007fecfffabe70>

ahsanonline (ahsanonline) 2012-01-28 08:59:38 +0500 #1

My car is a 95/96 Indus Corolla. Used to have a 1.3 carby engine, but now has a 1.5efi engine.

Handling has always been very bad. It tends to slip if car is steered too much even at slow speeds eg. @50 or 60kph. The car moves too much side to side and pitches forwards and backwards too much during braking/acceleration.

I have yoko A-drives (or whatever the heck they're called!) (195/55/r15).

Tires and rims only a year old. Properly aligned and cambered.

Any ideas here?

I think this thing, an anti-roll bar/linkage is missing from the car (not sure if it is present in every indus corolla...??):

kingzaki (kingzaki) 2012-01-28 09:21:13 +0500 #2

i think its called jumping rod in local language....i think its present in diesel 95 /96 indus rolla....i swaped from 2.0 d to 1.5 efi and the mechanic took it off saying it will make car smooth and its for heavy diesel engine not for petrol ones....

ahmadbila (ahmadbila) 2012-01-28 09:31:04 +0500 #3

there are quite a few things u can do about it.

1) upgrade rims and tires. Larger rims and lower profile tires will reduce the body roll
2) Get harder springs
3) Install a strut bar on the front suspension strut tower, this will stiffen the front suspension but might increase the oversteer effect. to cope with that u can put a rear stabilizer bar like the one in ur pic.

the best thing to do would be to get stiffer springs and shocks but its gonna cost u a good amount...

ahsanonline (ahsanonline) 2012-01-28 15:49:39 +0500 #4

jumping rod is a funny name for it!

So your car doesn't have it now? Have you felt any change in its handling?

Any idea how much it would cost?

fahadwizz (fahadwizz) 2012-03-09 14:52:27 +0500 #5

If you are loosing grip from the tail it may be because of over steering. Check alignment , probably toe is out by a few degrees. With the added weight on the front, entering a curve may cause the car to sway from the back. Set them straight @ 0 degrees and see if it improves the handling.

fahadwizz (fahadwizz) 2012-03-09 14:55:51 +0500 #6

also set camber to a few degrees +ve. (may increase tire wear).

Skill (Skill) 2012-03-11 03:55:27 +0500 #7

Jumper rod is also called balance rod,and like front there are chimtas or some vehicles are having two balance rods on each rear wheel.
Check if there are any spacers on rear shocks?
if yes,they are another cause of the problem.

tauseef (tauseef) 2012-03-11 04:33:44 +0500 #8

hey ahsan. first i have to disagree with ahmadbila. Seems like u have got good tires/wheels (correct conversion size). My brother had NZ model of the 1994 corolla with 2E. the drive is quite sticky(grippy) so ur car definately has some problem. I worked on my brothers car, and yes it had anti-roll bars (front and rear). As the name suggests, it something to do with reducing body roll. Make sure u visit a proper mechanic and get those sorted. Also check ur shock-absorber condition aswel. A simple bounce test on each corner will give u a rough idea of the state of struts.
Please do let us knw what happens.

ahsanonline (ahsanonline) 2012-03-11 11:50:27 +0500 #9

Thanks ya'll!

Few weeks ago I got the rear shocks overhauled, the rear anti-roll bar gromets/bushes replaced, and the rear wheels re-cambered etc.

The result is a much better drive. Mostly solved now, except that I'm still missing the front anti-roll bar which should give it added cornering stability. Its a bolt-on so I'll get it if its too much problem, but for now I'm quite satisfied.

Recently had a roundtrip on GT road as well as on the motorway, by god's grace its all well.