unstable rangie

p38 with handling probs,drive along road hit a bump or cross camber on road thing has a mind of its own seems to wander everywhere, no wear on tyres not tracking fault i dont think
can any one please help

steering damper or bushes

First thing to check is what tires you are running on, then the pressure of same. The P38 is very sensitive to tires. I had Pirelli STR's on the front with S/Ts at the back and had some 'interesting' moments every day on the work commute. For the hell of it one evening I swapped them front to back.

Handling transformed!! No more tramlining, camber following, bump steer. Unbelievable change.

What tires are you running?

Steering Damper ..... Causes "Death Wobble" ... do a search in the Disco Forum LOTS of posts about it there!!!

Tyre choices can cause HUGE problems - P38s for some reason are dire with a lot of tyres other than Pirelli Scorpions- (watch the dozens arrive and yell how wonderful their P38 is on NankangWingwong chinese cheapies....DON'T DO IT!!) The P38 is renowned for its awful tramlining ad wobbling around the road due to its dislike of some tyres - Pirelli Scorpion STs are no longer made - mine runs ok on Pirelli Zeros, STRs seem to cause some problems, others swear by Goodyears.

My P38 had these problems years ago and the steering damper was fine - but the difference when using different tyre brands was immense.

I had STRs for a week and they were downright dangerous. Exactly the symptoms you're describing.

Wheel size has an effect too. The bigger the wheel the more sensitive to tyres the p38 seems to be.

kooky_guy said:

I had STRs for a week and they were downright dangerous. Exactly the symptoms you're describing.

Wheel size has an effect too. The bigger the wheel the more sensitive to tyres the p38 seems to be.

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Gotta aggree with yer there Guy ,,,,,, when I changed me wheels to 19's (Even with Scorpions fitted) they "Tramlined" like fook ....

& BEFORE Tony or J posts up ....... YEAH I KNOW there actually ARE fookin TRAM LINES up the main street in Fleetwood ... but that was EVEN WORSE!!!!

How do you test the steering damper .

wpg123 said:

How do you test the steering damper .

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Take one end off and move it in and out it should require considerable force to move it. If it's like a bicycle pump change it.

the hooded claw said:

Gotta aggree with yer there Guy ,,,,,, when I changed me wheels to 19's (Even with Scorpions fitted) they "Tramlined" like fook ....

& BEFORE Tony or J posts up ....... YEAH I KNOW there actually ARE fookin TRAM LINES up the main street in Fleetwood ... but that was EVEN WORSE!!!!

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As if we would????????

pirrelli on front nexon on rear new steering damper fitted was like this before i changed rear pirellies for nexon

biggledom said:

pirrelli on front nexon on rear new steering damper fitted was like this before i changed rear pirellies for nexon

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Oh dear. Mixing different brands of tyre isn't the best idea especially not with the fussy P38..... What type of Pirelli? ie Scorpion ST, STR, Zero etc and what size - 18"? 19"?
You also have to be careful about the tyre pressure on P38s - makes a huge difference in handling!!
Def sounds like a tyre issue to me.

pirrelli zero on front nexus on rear

Size? Original rims or aftermarket? The bigger the rims the more likely the Rangie is to tramline. Also performs best on OEM rims (ok cue all those with 22" drugdealer blingsta rims to rush in and announce how wonderful their Rangies road handling is!!)

You really need 4 matching tyres on a P38, balanced, and correct tyre pressures - this is critical in P38s - STs were the best, no longer available and STRs are not the same. Zeros all round do just fine on my Rangie, others have found Goodyear tyres handle well.

rangiegal said:

Size? Original rims or aftermarket? The bigger the rims the more likely the Rangie is to tramline. Also performs best on OEM rims (ok cue all those with 22" drugdealer blingsta rims to rush in and announce how wonderful their Rangies road handling is!!)

You really need 4 matching tyres on a P38, balanced, and correct tyre pressures - this is critical in P38s - STs were the best, no longer available and STRs are not the same. Zeros all round do just fine on my Rangie, others have found Goodyear tyres handle well.

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you forgot ghetto pimps

new damper fitted rear tyres nexon front pirelli zero,s but ive just had rear air bag burst andmethinks she,s been a bit lame on one side at rear maybee this was prob will post news when new rear bags 2 off fitted, sorry for delay aint had time to be on line for ages

Goodyear Wranglers are OK on mine. Height settings also affect this problem. i.e. if one front corner is low.

got the problem sorted now new front suspension bushes all round, problem now solved, car now goes where you want it to go, happy chappie now

have new air bags fitted as well and new steering damper

Any one with the dreaded "death wobble" problem should look at all front suspension bushes first, and have them checked out asap, mine looked quite good but on closer inspection even although they looked "newish" when they were being replaced one side litterly fell out of housings, the were all replaced with new nylon bushings what a differance to drive now and by the way nexons all round now