Castor Shims

towd-dude · Post by **towd-dude** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:20 pm

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][FONT=Comic Sans MS]After getting my buggy together I discovered it did not handle very well. It didn?t seem to bad on smooth roads but was difficult to keep straight on rough pavement even after having the front end aligned by a professional. I was discussing this problem with Joe Spittler and he suggested "Castor Shims". I?d never heard about them before. So I went and checked the buggy. With the chassis level I had Zero castor. I ordered a set of shims from CB Performance and installed them yesterday. I now have 6 degrees of castor, I?m not sure if that is the correct amount but the buggy sure does handle much better and the front suspension seems to work better. Several weeks ago I was talking to Bruce Meyers about this very problem and he dug out an article he wrote for the Mania awhile back. He will update it and we will put it in the next issue of the Mania. So if any of you have ill handling buggies you might want to check your Castor. Bob [/FONT][/FONT]

tim morgan · Post by **tim morgan** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:54 pm

Here is a picture of a set of shims,,There is a lot of posts on other sites about this problem,,This set is going in when I build my front beam,,,

El-Lobo · Post by **El-Lobo** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:06 am

I'd start out at 8 degrees so that you can relax and enjoy the ride...I push my kits out to 10 to 12 to get the desired "pinkie steer" driveability at 80 mph in the rough. The drawback is a lot of push-back into the steering when you are in the rock crawling mode....Steering dampners help alot to curb the effect.

towd-dude · Post by **towd-dude** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:33 pm

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thanks Pete,[/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]I do think I could use a few more degrees. What do you recomend for shim material?[/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Bob[/FONT]

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:38 pm

Do they go on the top or the lower beam? Never have seen them before and I could use some steering improvements as a dampner is out, hits the gas tank.

tim morgan · Post by **tim morgan** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 9:28 pm

[QUOTE="Towd Dude;14641"][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thanks Pete,[/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]I do think I could use a few more degrees. What do you recomend for shim material?[/FONT] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Bob[/FONT][/QUOTE]Bob,,They would be hard to make,,They are shaped like a crescent moon,,,Some guys run two shims on both sides,,,That mite be over kill....but it sure would track stright...