[SSLance]

This weekend I was able to finish up the performance minded wheel alignment, reset my pinion angle and bolt the street tires back up and run down to the car wash to rinse the layer of shop dust off the car. During the test drive I noticed a bit of interference coming from directly under the console and pretty much knew what it was right away. Between lowering the pinion angle 2 degrees and a slight raise of the body from the frame, my drive shaft loop was now just a bit too close to the drive shaft. With the car back up on the crib stands (Man, I've used the heck out of those things since building them) a closer inspection revealed that the loop was just a bit off center and just a bit too close to the yoke.

A couple of large washers were used to space the loop down a bit and that did the trick.

Another longer more intensive test drive proved the fix worked, no more interference.

It was in the 50s outside and sunny, which is warm but not really summer weather. The ride started out a bit springy I'll call it. As with most ride characteristic changes, they were more evident from the rear of the car than the front. There seemed to a be a bit more of a bounce after a bump from the rear than before. The more I drove it though, the better or closer to normal it got. Could have been just getting more heat into the tires or possibly even a little bit of a break in period on the body bushings.

The front felt a little bit different also, but I also made a pretty drastic change to the wheel alignment (-0.6 to -1.6 camber) which I'm sure had an effect too.

My GoPro battery was dead so I couldn't do any data acquisition but it's on the charger and I still might get another test trip in the books this afternoon yet. Plan on checking the front frame horn flex under hard cornering as well as pinion action under hard acceleration, braking and turning.

Overall though, I can not complain about any extra NVH from the Polygraphite Body Bushings. There may be just a touch more feeling from the smallest of bumps transferred through to the driver's seat, but nothing that a pound or two of pressure out of the tires wouldn't alleviate if it really concerned someone. Overall, I'd call the project a success.