Hi! I have a LCI R56 MCS (auto) and on the whole, absolutely love it. The handling is great for an 'off the shelf' car however the one bad point I find is that when braking (reasonably hard) in a straight line from like, 60mph there is this overwhelming feeling like the steering wheel isn't actually attached to the wheels. Think side to side wibble-wobble/instability.

To the best of my knowledge it isnt a fault and it certainly isnt brake pull (which would normally be one sided, but this just feels all over the place). Is this a commonly experienced issue with these cars? I really dont want to go full boyle and replace the full suspension set up (I live in Sussex, UK and we dont have much tarmac) but wondered whether there were any specific mods that would remedy this. i.e. bushes/strut braces etc. Alternatively are there any parts that could be wearing and causing this? I have noticed more recently that there is some noise from the bushes (maybe ARB) but it has been very cold lately and this sensation has been present for sometime/forever.

 

Here's my guess: Hard braking will compress the rear bushing on the front control arm and cause the wheels to toe out, which would cause twitchie steering. You can have the alignment checked to see where the static toe is set. Then, consider replaceing the front control arm bushings with a PowerFlex set.

 

throw some good pads on and a rear sway.. should stop the ***-end from trying an about-face when you brake dive.

*Im planning the same on my JCW. I just dont need so much 'desire' to rotate when smashing the brakes hard. Track users are pretty unanimous that the rear is under sway'd and this helps take most of the slop out of handling under you up the spring rate.