Need advice on new Cobra

[Seanpatrick]

Hello all, I got a backdraft with about 3000 miles on it. I never owned or driven one before this one. I notice it rides very rough and wants to wonder all over when it hits a small bump in the road. I'm curious if this is normal. I hit a small bump and the steering wheel shakes really bad. On a smooth road I have no problems. Is this a normal characteristic of the car? It's has a 351/427 with 17 inch wheels. Year built 2010. Thanks for any advice. Sean

[1795]

That does not sound normal to me for any car. Have you put it up on stands and looked at the front end? sounds like a problem in the steering possibly. Check the steering unit, control arms, ball joints, alignment,ect.

[ninexrep]

Have your car aligned and go over all the nuts and bolts to be certain they are tight. I had the same problem with mine.

[Tommy]

Sean,
My advice is to never delay repairs to anything involving steering, braking, fuel or electrical on any car. Twitchy steering is not a good thing in any car. It can be remedied. However, don't assume that any auto repair shop will know about your Cobra. I suggest you seek out one that is familiar with Cobra replicas, race cars or hot rods.

[Seanpatrick]

Thanks guys. I will find a good hot rod shop and get it in there. I looked under the front and could not see anything unusual but I'm not an expert on cobras. Sean

[MKS427]

You may be experiencing bump steer, which occurs if you have uneven steering geometry. Factory Five had this issue on earlier models, however I believe they eliminated it with a rack specifically designed for the car.
Contact Mike Forte, he may know or who would know how to fix your issue specific to a Backdraft.
Tramlining "wandering" is another condition which you may be experiencing. This would occur with an aggressive "racing" type alignment and wide tires.

[tocheck]

First, congrats on the car. I purchased a used Backdraft last spring that had 3,500 miles on it. I agree completely with the other comments about checking the steering and suspension. I had pretty much the same complaints about mine.

For what it is worth here is what i have learned so far.
1. The steering column is mounted to a frame behind the dash. It is bolted together and bolted to the frame (not welded). All of my bolts were loose and tightening these up helped a lot. I have only ever driven one backdraft but Ihave a feeling they are prone to have cowl shake.

2. When I got the car (going by memory here) it was running 27 psi in the front tires. As I began to autocross with it a little I upped the pressure to 33 psi and I feel the ride and hunting around over bumps improved.

3. I believe these cars will always ride rough on bad roads, but after pushing this car on track, I wouldn't change a thing.

Hope this helps.

[csw]

Agree with others and have it checked. I put new tires on as the DOT dates were over 6 years old and noticed a little play in the top of the steering wheel. I contributed it to the new tires and thought maybe they weren't seated well or the balance was off, but after a month or two, I couldn't stand it anymore. Took them back to have them re-checked, and the shop noticed the steering rack was broke. Luckily I didn't loose it in a corner or with the kids in the car, but man, talk about a scary thought!

[Seanpatrick]

I had it out today for a little bit. I noticed a red fluid coming from the front. I'm going to take a picture of the part and post it. It has a rubber boot on it. Always something. sean

[tamanaco]

my BDR car #260 does it, the "bump shake". everything on the front looks good. I did find that I needed to make special stepped bushing to hold my strut shocks in the proper location. The flat washer thing did not work! Posted this fix on Backdraftboys forum...but the forum is gone now. Mine is now set up with standard manual rack and mounts, 1 1/2* camber, 15" Cooper Cobra tires at 22 psi. I was thinking...it's just the why the car is designed and built? Sound like we have BDR car that don't have the shake. Humm