New tires, aligned, still pulls to the right

[GOB]

O.K. Just got some new Falken Azenis RT-615 tires on the car. Had it re aligned (numbers were WAY off spec) and all is within the ROW M030 alignment spec chart I have (see attached) EXCEPT for the front camber. On the left side, the minimum I could get was -1 degree and on the right it was -0.46 degrees. Would this difference cause the car to switch from one lane to the next in 5 seconds at 60 mph? Should I match the front cambers on either side even if its off factory spec? Reason why I could not get more positive camber is that I learned the car was in an accident (I learned this AFTER I got the car :cursing: :cursing: :censored: :censored: ) So, would matching the front negative cambers solve my pulling to the right issue? For those interested, here are my final alignment specs:

FRONT LEFT: Caster 7, Camber -1, Toe .03

FRONT RIGHT: Caster 6.54, Camber -.46, Toe .03

REAR LEFT: Camber -1.24, Toe .06

REAR RIGHT: Camber -1.18, Toe .06

On research that I have done, apparently the caster is non adjustable on these cars (particularly in the front). <_<

Mine does have factory M030 ROW suspension on it. Even though it pulls to the right, I can tell that these new tires are awesome :jump: :jump:

1998 Carrera 2 RoW, Coupe, 6 Speed

[Ubermensch]

You need to identify the cause of the problem (most likely bent suspension component or frame damage) and rectify the problem. If you have a bent component no amount of fiddling with the alignment is going to solve the problem.

Shawn

O.K. Just got some new Falken Azenis RT-615 tires on the car. Had it re aligned (numbers were WAY off spec) and all is within the ROW M030 alignment spec chart I have (see attached) EXCEPT for the front camber. On the left side, the minimum I could get was -1 degree and on the right it was -0.46 degrees. Would this difference cause the car to switch from one lane to the next in 5 seconds at 60 mph? Should I match the front cambers on either side even if its off factory spec? Reason why I could not get more positive camber is that I learned the car was in an accident (I learned this AFTER I got the car :cursing: :cursing: :censored: :censored: ) So, would matching the front negative cambers solve my pulling to the right issue? For those interested, here are my final alignment specs:

FRONT LEFT: Caster 7, Camber -1, Toe .03

FRONT RIGHT: Caster 6.54, Camber -.46, Toe .03

REAR LEFT: Camber -1.24, Toe .06

REAR RIGHT: Camber -1.18, Toe .06

On research that I have done, apparently the caster is non adjustable on these cars (particularly in the front). <_<

Mine does have factory M030 ROW suspension on it. Even though it pulls to the right, I can tell that these new tires are awesome :jump: :jump:

1998 Carrera 2 RoW, Coupe, 6 Speed

[GOB]

Will swap front tires as suggested elsewhere, but my question still remains if I should match the front camber settings, even if they are off spec. -1.06 of camber does not seem much, especially when the fronts wear half as fast as the rears. Am I completely off?

[Q-Ship986]

Your right-drift problem is definitely related to the the front cross camber. Not enough negative camber on the right side to counter the camber force from the left. In other words, travelling on a level surface, the left front tire is forcing the vehicle to the right more than the right front tire is forcing it to the left. With about 0.6 deg cross camber, you have a significant right drift tendency.

The tires themselves could have certain amount of conicity which manifests as a right or left drift tendency. In your case, if the tires are imparting a right-drift tendancy, the effect is additive to the cross camber you have. If the tires have a left-drift tendency, when you swap them, the drift will get even worse. When I say swap the tires, I'm actually referring to swapping the whole tire/wheel assemblies from side-to-side. If you have directional tires, swapping them by removing them from their wheels and remounting on the other side (keeping the correct rotation direction) will be a net no effect.

In any case, swapping the tires would be interesting, but I'd address the cross camber condition regardless.

--Brian

BTW, an industry rule of thumb for objectionable drift/pull tendency is 8 seconds or less to drift one lane at 55 mph on a typical crown (about 2%, if I recall correctly) road, on either side of the crown.

Edited June 5, 2006 by Q-Ship986

[GOB]

I will have them re align the car and add negative camber to the right so it matches the left side (I cannot get more positive camber in the left unless I file away at the mounting holes! :unsure: ) Will post update for all once its done so we can all learn from this.

[jlb532]

Please do, as I have a similar situation...

[GOB]

Quick update: had the car re aligned (yes, that is 4 times now :eek: ...) and it tracks a lot better (takes about 8 seconds to cross the lane at 55 mph), but they left the steering wheel crooked to the left! :oops: Will be back on Saturday to (hopefully!) have this solved once in for all.