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My guess is the tires. Sway is commonly caused by soft sidewalls on the tires. This could be from being underinflated, or from a soft side wall construction. When a tire is too soft, when you go over a slight wave in the road surface with that tire, that corner of the car dips too much and causes the car to steer in the direction of that tire. Since roads are randomly uneven, the sway is randomly uneven. A slight turn of the steering wheel causes the tires to flex sideways inside the rim, feeling like a waddle. I consider this to be a dangerous condition and it could result in total loss of control when an emergency manouver is required. Inflate the tires to the proper pressure for the weight they carry and the tire size/ design. If you are using radials, this pressure is likely much higher than the original factory bias tires. If you still have sway, and it was reduced by adding inflation to the proper pressure, you may have to add some more. It is VERY important to stay under the maximum pressure rating printed on the sidewall of the tires. If the max is say 44 psi, I wouldn't go over 40 psi. Some tires have a very soft sidewall in their construction. If a little extra pressure doesn't cure your sway, you might need better quality tires with a stiff sidewall. I first learned of this condition when I bought new radial tires for my daily driver. The old cheap tires (came with the car) were soft and when I first tried the new tires, I nearly lost control turning into a parking lot. The old tires twisted on the rim (wanted to go straight) when the rim turned, so I got less turn than I put into the steering wheel. But I was used to that and didn't know better. When I got the new tires with stiff sidewalls (I didn't know that either, until later), the tires actually followed the rim, resulting in much more steering effect than I was used to. It only took a day to get used to the much improved handling. Dave Homstad 56 Dodge D500 On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 10:46 PM, Joe Savard wrote: It might be a problem with your tires. Radial tires, if they break cords, can give this effect, although it usually is felt at lower speeds. It kind of feels like a "waddle" which goes away with more speed. Joe Savard In a message dated 7/18/2011 11:19:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, joeyalvin58@xxxxxxxxx writes: When we got up past 40 mph the rear end started swaying or weaving. Any idea at what I should look at first? Could it be the leaf springs? ************************************************************* To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
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