When you need to improve your vehicle’s steering angle, one option to consider is an angle kit. Giving you the option to increase steering angle, a shopping car angle kit is installed in the above video, giving you insight into how the process works. This provides you with exceptional maneuverability.
But what’s involved in the angle kit installation process? As with many vehicle fixes, ChrisFix provides great tips to get you through the process including:
- How to select the right angle kit
- Removing everything from the vehicle
- Positioning the suspension for easy working
- Installing the kit
- Process tips and tricks
This video walks you through the process of installing an angle kit on ChrisFix’s drift Mustang, but the instructions can be managed with a number of different vehicles, as many of the components are the same. ChrisFix covers several steps that we’ll review so you’ll get the most from your kit.
Should You Install an Angle Kit, and Should You DIY it or Hire a Pro?
Angle kits are used to drastically increase steering capability in a vehicle, improving performance and delivering more capability. These provide you with options beyond what stock steering systems provide but should be approached with care. Select an angle kit designed for your vehicle.
Part of the selection process includes looking at online reviews to see if other owners of your make and model have made this modification. Once you’ve selected an angle kit, you have another decision to make: Should you DIY your install or have a pro handle the process?
You can work your way through the process on your own with the video to assist, but make sure that you have a repair manual at hand to reference and investigate any differences between the vehicles.
This ensures that you’re installing everything correctly for your ride.
The other option is having a professional handle the process, but you don’t get the opportunity to understand what’s happening with your vehicle or to supervise the work in most cases. There’s also the expense, which may make a professional’s help prohibitive.
Installing a Shopping Cart Angle Kit: Process and Tips
Why Add an Angle Kit?
An angle kit consists of cut knuckles which changes where the tie rod attaches and modified control arms that have been notched to create more tire room. During the video, new wheel bearings, a bump steer kit and stiffer springs support the angle kit.
Angle kits are used on drift cars to allow you to steer when the vehicle is drifting sideways. You can either look up specs or create a homemade angle finder to determine the stock steering angle. This helps you determine how much additional play a kit will provide your vehicle.
Removing the steering rack limiters can give you a few more degrees, but an angle kit provides more play for steering while drifting on the track. This helps prevents spins and provides more control in these specific situations. The drift Mustang will be going with a full shopping cart angle.
But what’s different between the cut knuckle stock parts and the angle kit? The angle kit has a much shorter length to the tie rod mount, which provides a much stronger angle of turning compared to a stock part, adding about 40 degrees to the turning angle to improve control.
On the control arms, the stock parts are much wider, while the angle kit control arm has significant amounts of metal cut away, which is then strengthened with additional metal. This creates a slimmer profile, allowing the tires to turn more fully when the new cut knuckles are in place.
However, in this kit, the modified control arm removes the sway bar mount. This can be a concern at higher speeds, as the sway bar prevents the vehicle’s suspension from moving the vehicle’s weight too far to one side, which can cause the vehicle to roll over, causing an accident.
Removing the Brake System
To start, safely chock your rear wheels and jack and support your front axle with jack stands. You’ll need to remove a number of parts to undertake the changes. If you have a wheel spacer on your vehicle, you’ll need to remove it, but spinning makes it hard to remove.
To fix this problem, insert a flathead screwdriver into the cooling veins of the brake rotor, which then stops the spin on the brake caliper. Once the wheel spacer lugs are removed, use the screwdriver to pry the spacer off. Grab the rotor to turn the suspension and improve clearance.
Remove the brake caliper bolts and pull the caliper off, compressing it with a C-clamp if it sticks. Use a bungee cord or piece of heavy wire to hang the caliper from the frame of the car, but do not hang it by the just hose, which can damage it. Pull the rotor off of the lug studs.
Removing Steering Components
Now let’s move on to removing the tie rod end. Loosen the jam nut at the tie rod base. If it sticks, use a hammer to strike the wrench or apply heat to loosen the connection. Don’t loosen it more than finger tight.
By leaving the jam nut relatively tight, it maintains the position for the alignment. To remove the tie rod from the knuckle, remove the cotter pin and unscrew the castle nut. Once it’s off, turn it over and screw it down until it’s flush with the end of the stud.
This allows you to use a hammer to knock the stud out of the knuckle without mushrooming it. Once the tie rod is freed up, remove the castle nut to finish removing the outer tie rod by unscrewing it.
Leave the inner tie rod with the jam nut in place.
Removing Suspension Components
Next, you’ll remove the coilover by removing the nuts holding it in place. You’ll need a wrench to hold the bolt on the back side while loosening the nut. For extra leverage, consider investing in an extendable ratchet. Remove the bolts and the knuckle can be pulled off the coilover.
At the top of the assembly, under the hood, you’ll use a pair of wrenches, one to hold the assembly while the other loosens it. Once it’s loose, finish removing the nut by hand, go back underneath and completely remove the coilover. Get a wrench on the sway bar endlink.
With the wrench in place, you can remove the nut using a deep socket. Then remove the top bushing and push down on the control arm to disconnect the sway bar. Unscrew both nuts holding the sway bar body mount in place on both sides and remove the sway bar.
Removing the Stock Control Arm
The last thing to remove is the control arm, which typically requires a pair of bolts and nuts to be removed. Use a wrench to hold one end while using the ratchet on the other. You can hold the control arm down with one foot to make more room.
If the tie rod boot is in the way of removing the bolt, you can move the boot out of the way. If the bolt strikes the steering rack, remove and raise the steering rack by removing the bolt and bushing, then jacking the steering rack slightly to create clearance.
If the other bolt strikes the K-member bolt, you can remove the K-member bolt to remove it, then reinstall the K-member bolt. With this done, you’re ready to install the angle kit and the other support mods. Remember that you may need to make some adjustments to make it work.
Making Adjustments for Your Angle Kit
In the drift Mustang, the stock factory coilover cutout allowed the tires to rub on it, reducing his track speed, vehicle balance and increasing the risk of a spinout. Wearing a respirator and appropriate safety equipment, you can cut the cutout back further using an electric or pneumatic cutoff wheel.
Once this piece is cut back, you’ll want to deburr and round the cut with a flat wheel. Clean up the area once you’re done and make sure to paint it to prevent corrosion. Once the paint is dry, it’s time to install the modified control arm from the kit.
Installing the Kit Control Arm
This is the reverse of removal, including any connections you’ve had to remove from the steering rack and K-member. Use medium-strength thread lock on both bolts and finger tighten. Because the bolts close the gap, support the control arm in approximately its final position before torquing the bolts and nuts.
When you remove the support, the control arm stays approximately in place. This prevents the bushing from tearing if the control arm was far out of its final position and moved into place. Put the cut knuckle into place and tighten the nut, torquing it to your vehicle’s original specifications.
Upgrading the Coilover Spring
With the removal of the sway bar, a stiffer spring must be installed on the coilover to improve safety. Pull the retainer off of the spring head, remove the old spring and install the new one on the coilover. This upgrade went from a 225# spring to a 600# spring.
Reinstall the coilover and add medium-strength thread lock and tighten the nut as much as possible using two wrenches, as it’s not possible to use a torque wrench in this space. Back under the car, use a breaker bar to shift the control arm when aligning the knuckle into place.
Now you can put the nuts and bolts back into place on the coilover, adding medium-strength thread lock. Torque the bolts down to factory spec.
Adding a Bump-Steer Tie Rod End
At this point, he installed a bump-steer tie rod end, which allowed for a wide range of adjustability in the final steering geometry and performance.
ChrisFix mentions that he does have a separate video available dealing with all of this, but you could also take it to an alignment shop and have the process handled professionally. If the bump steer kit is the same length as the stock tie rod, tighten to the jam nut.
Now you’ll raise the tie rod into the cut knuckle, then tighten and torque it to specs. After this, you can get a wrench on your tie rod end and then tighten the jam nut into it.
Replacing the Wheel Bearing and Brakes
When replacing the wheel bearing, add anti-seize compound to prevent it from sticking.
Add thread lock to the spindle and make sure to always use a new spindle nut when replacing your bearing. This typically involves a very large socket and that you tighten it to an accurate torque. This allows the wheel bearing to seat properly and not wear out too quickly.
It takes a lot of torque, so make sure to do it safely, bending from your knees instead of your back. From here, you reinstall the brake rotor and calipers, tightening the caliper bolts to the proper torque. If you removed a wheel spacer, use thread lock when reinstalling it.
Finishing up and Getting an Alignment
Tap the dust cover over the spindle nut to keep it clean, reinstall the tire, put your lug nuts on and tighten them in a star pattern. You can now lower the vehicle to the ground and use your homemade angle finder to discover how much angle you’ve gained.
Once your vehicle is together, it’s time to take it to the shop for a proper alignment. This is important because it helps prevent your tires from wearing unevenly or prematurely, which can void your tire warranty. Let your mechanic know whether you want track, street, or both alignments.
The modifications brought the turning radius down to less than half of the stock turning radius, from 19 feet to 8 feet.
Sharpen Your Steering System
Adding a shopping cart angle kit to your vehicle’s steering system helps improve performance and makes it easier to get into and out of tight spaces, but it’s not the only thing you should get to know about your vehicle. To learn more, investigate Vehicle History‘s extensive series of articles.
