Even though I haven't driven it for more than 10 miles at a clip I am 99% sure the problem has been solved. It looks like tongue weight was the major culprit. I loaded the trailer (majority of the weight towards the front) and it was still all over the road. I attached some heavy metal plating to the front of the tongue and the shimmy is gone. I'll take it on a 200 mile trip tomorrow (to the MAMB event) so we will see. I am not sure if completing the outer skin (the front of the trailer is still open) will permanently solve the problem but if it doesn't I will swap to a 3" vs 2" tongue. The extra metal should give it the weight it needs. It will suck not having the tongue look "skinny" but as long as it tracks straight I will be happy.
On Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 8:07 PM, Robert McElwee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So, how do you cure 65 MPH shimmy on a 400 pound Miata? I towed my Miata > trailer around for a few hours last week with no problems. Today I took the > trailer out again and when I got up to speed I had a lot of shimmy. The > difference between today and last week: > - a lot cut off the front of the trailer so it is back heavy now > - tongue MAY be off kilter a bit (worked some on my mounting) > - instead of the trailer looking like a big scoop (front and top were off) > it is more like a wall now > - ball hitch was moved up 2" so the trailer is level now (it was leaning > forward a bit) > > I cured the majority of the shimmy by changing the tire pressure from 19 > pounds to 52 pounds (stock '91 Miata tire size on daisy wheels). I also > added 5" to the length of the tongue (may have helped a bit) and swapped out > a rim for one that wasn't bent as much. There is still a bit of shimmy > there. Any ideas? > > http://www.lightweightmiata.com/trailer/trailer.htm > > > > -- > Robert McElwee and Red Beast > 1991 T25 Turbo @ 15 PSI > Link ECU, FMIC, WI, 9:1 pistons > Over 400 lbs of "added lightness" > www.lightweightmiata.com > > Lightweight Miata Forum: > http://lightweightmiata.com/forum -- Robert McElwee and Red Beast 1991 T25 Turbo @ 15 PSI Link ECU, FM IC, 9:1 pistons Over 400 lbs of "added lightness" www.lightweightmiata.com Lightweight Miata Forum: www.lightweightmiata.com/forum The Miata Trailer Project: www.lightweightmiata.com/trailer/trailer.htm
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