Inconsistent car

[WOT114]

We have been fighting a car that has been very inconsistent and not responding well to setup changes. It is a 7 year old chassis, is it junk? Or do we need to look at something else.

[RacerX10]

We have been fighting a car that has been very inconsistent and not responding well to setup changes. It is a 7 year old chassis, is it junk? Or do we need to look at something else.

Whenever that happens to me, it always seems to be a bad or bent shock somewhere.

[Matt49]

Check frame welds thoroughly for cracks.
Have shocks dynoed to compare against baseline.
Make sure no heims or birdcages are binding (remove rear springs and move rear end through full range of motion).
Remove front shocks/springs and move front end up and down through full range of motion while someone turns the steering from wheel lock to wheel lock - checking for binds here.
Remove spindles and ball joints and check for straightness. If you don't have a spindle checker, buy one. It's a nearly impossible visual check without the proper tools. You'll chase a bent spindle like a cat chasing its tail. Check after ANY wheel to wheel or wheel to wall contact and even after a night at a particularly rough track.

[a25rjr]

All the above and then free it some. Tight cars are hard to be consistent with.

[billetbirdcage]

1. Check frame welds thoroughly for cracks.
2. Have shocks dynoed to compare against baseline.
3. Make sure no heims or birdcages are binding (remove rear springs and move rear end through full range of motion).
4. Remove front shocks/springs and move front end up and down through full range of motion while someone turns the steering from wheel lock to wheel lock - checking for binds here.
5. Remove spindles and ball joints and check for straightness. If you don't have a spindle checker, buy one. It's a nearly impossible visual check without the proper tools. You'll chase a bent spindle like a cat chasing its tail. Check after ANY wheel to wheel or wheel to wall contact and even after a night at a particularly rough track.

Pretty much what Matt has said but I'll add or expand on it.

1. Cracks, agreed - The dreaded frame is worn out: While I'm sure it can happen, I've never really experienced it. We did have a car we hated at first, tons of seconds just couldn't win a race and finally got hit and bent clip so we parked it. Decided to have fixed and was probably gonna sell it, but ended up racing it after it was fixed and won our first Mars race with it. Then it ended up being his favorite car, where we ended up with 10 or 12 wins and a 2.9 average finish in MLRA and won championship that year. We used that car off and on for 3 years and had over 120 nights on it, then it started cracking and I had to weld on it at the track every couple of races. Sold car and it ran another 3 years for a guy in California, when finally the RR 4-link broke off in a race. After the car was welded back it, it was always fast until it cracked again but just happened too often to keep using. Basically if it wasn't cracked, it was fast and never fell off until it cracked again, so I've never experienced a frame that wasn't cracking to just stop working. However we didn't generally keep cars more then 3 years old, but the number of races we ran a year was higher then the average races are around 60 a year.

5. Generally speaking if you've had wheel contact in front and car loses drive, then replace the RF spindle as it fairly common. Also be sure to check the ball joints for one that is bent by installing nut and spinning with a impact to verify it's not bent.

If your worried about the frame, you can try installing a support bar from the dash bar near where the bar for the 5th and 6th coil intersects and run a long bar (like a 4 link bar with rod ends) to the RF upper rail right behind the RF shock mount by using a couple of weight clamps and attach the rod ends (5/8 with 1/2" hole).

[billetbirdcage]

Also check to make sure several of the tubes haven't filled with water and need drain holes drilled in the bottom to allow it to drain. That age of car you will be surprised how much you can get out of one. Nothing like several pounds of water moving around.....