Suspension/wheel gurus I need help

[Malakas]

I have a 2002 C4S with nothing modified on the suspension.

About 1 month ago, I hit some road debris and punctured my passenger front tire (2000 mile old Pirelli). The tire was patched until a new one was ordered. I then had my indy do an alignment (forgetting about the tire). The car drove perfectly.

The next day I had the tire changed by my dealer and I noticed that the car was pulling to the right. The dealer said this could be because I had one new and one used (only 2000 mile used) tire on the front. Hmmmm.... So I had the alignment checked again by my indy. Still perfect.

Now the car is pulling even worse to the right...

Anyone recommend a way to diagnose the issue? I was thinking about just swapping wheels in the front and seeing if the car pulls to the opposite direction. I am hesitant to bring it back to the dealer because they will just swap suspension parts until the issue and about 1000 of my dollars goes away.

Thanks to anyone who can help!!

[win911]

How are your tire pressure?

[Malakas]

36lbs both tires.

[judgejon]

how about the wheel balance? I don't think misplaced weights would effect the c4 so radically, but ? good luck...

[jmj996]

How much time/how many miles have you given it? I have found that some tires, especially softer compounds, need a 'break-in' period to match the characteristics of the used tire. I know your other tire wasn't used much, but it was certainly past the break-in period. One way to know if the traction is substantially different is to force the ABS to kick in. See if it kicks in on the used tire before it kicks in on the new tire.

Also, check the serial numbers on both tires and see if the manufacturing date was substantially different (don't recall exactly, but I think the last four numbers correlate to the year and month of manufacture). The tires could actually be significantly different, even if they are the same manufacturer/model.

[jgriffin56]

You did say that you hit something on the road, could it be that you may have damaged or bent the suspension or loosened something due to the incident. Put the car up on a lift and see if you can feel any play in the suspension ( ie wheel bearings or front wheel drive parts)

[Malakas]

Also, check the serial numbers on both tires and see if the manufacturing date was substantially different (don't recall exactly, but I think the last four numbers correlate to the year and month of manufacture). The tires could actually be significantly different, even if they are the same manufacturer/model.

Right on here! The previous tires (which had been in my garage >1 year) are much older (2 years) than the new one. So the new one is obviously softer... and hence pulling a bit to that side. Well, I guess I have my answer.

Thanks!!