As has been mentioned, knuckle lifts and wrong offsets mess up the geometry. A damper is just a way to try to hide the bump steer that is there. It doesn't remove the bump steer or the forces it is generating. The correct height Chevies, which are about 2" higher than a stock Roadtrek, have very little bump steer and are very stable to drive, for comparison. Severe bump steer is also hard on front end parts as they are constantly getting turning force on them from bumps.
The damper will also negatively affect the "normal" handling by taking away all or most of the feel at the center position. It will feel heavy and not obvious what is straight forward. I just went through this on my 96 Roadmaster wagon when I replaced all the front end parts including the springs and the factory damper. Got it aligned to preferred specs by a good shop, and mentioned to the tech it was lacking center feel, which he also felt in the after alignment drive. It was just uncomfortable to drive that way. I thought about it for a while, and saw from parts lists that they didn't put the damper on the Chevy versions, so I took off the damper and it felt just like it should, with no ill effects or bump steer. I think they put it on to keep the geezers that bought those cars from being all over the road from overcorrecting.
The other thing you don't know at this point is what your actual scrub radius is, which is very hard to measure. Whoever actually designed the spindles should be able to give you some dimensions and angles that would let you calculate it for your tire and wheel combination. Big positive scuff will make the wheels turn a bunch if they hit a resistance like a puddle or deeper sand or snow, and if you hit deep holes.
The damper will also negatively affect the "normal" handling by taking away all or most of the feel at the center position. It will feel heavy and not obvious what is straight forward. I just went through this on my 96 Roadmaster wagon when I replaced all the front end parts including the springs and the factory damper. Got it aligned to preferred specs by a good shop, and mentioned to the tech it was lacking center feel, which he also felt in the after alignment drive. It was just uncomfortable to drive that way. I thought about it for a while, and saw from parts lists that they didn't put the damper on the Chevy versions, so I took off the damper and it felt just like it should, with no ill effects or bump steer. I think they put it on to keep the geezers that bought those cars from being all over the road from overcorrecting.
The other thing you don't know at this point is what your actual scrub radius is, which is very hard to measure. Whoever actually designed the spindles should be able to give you some dimensions and angles that would let you calculate it for your tire and wheel combination. Big positive scuff will make the wheels turn a bunch if they hit a resistance like a puddle or deeper sand or snow, and if you hit deep holes.
