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2011 base with FE1 suspension. Long story short I had my car aligned and it drove fine but the steering wheel was off centered just a bit. I took the car back and he tweaked it but I guess we didn’t agree on what position straight was on the wheel. (Wheels was a couple degrees to the left) Anyway I’m very ocd and so last night I adjusted the tie rods turning them the same number of turns on each side. It fixed the wheel position but now the car wanders to the right a bit. Maybe my adjustment was off a little bit I thought I turned them the same. With the wheels off it looks to the naked eye that the drivers side toe is inward a little and the pass side looks straight. Would the left side being in some cause the car to slightly pull right, or would it be maybe that the pass side needs to come in? I have a feeling I’ll end up back at the alignment shop but wanted to see if I could adjust myself first.
Back to the shop, and since the steering wheel has a position sensor, see if has the scanner to read the Steering wheel position at zero voltage, when the tech does the final readings.
Back to the shop, and since the steering wheel has a position sensor, see if has the scanner to read the Steering wheel position at zero voltage, when the tech does the final readings.
Can you post the alignment readings?
F toe doesn't really effect whether the car wanders/drifts/pulls, just whether the steering wheel points straight ahead.
The service manuals always tell you to reset the steering angle sensor to zero after doing an alignment... but if it's off, it won't create a pull in normal driving.
Just my recent experience. I had my 2012 aligned and was very happy with it. But when I first got into the car it seemed to me that the wheel wasn't exactly centered. It was off to the right just a hair. At first I was going to complain, but after a few minutes driving I realized that by clocking the wheel over just a little, my hands naturally held it in a comfortable position for me. SO I didn't go back. Doesn't pull in any direction, but my hands just fall in place.
Can you post the alignment readings?
F toe doesn't really effect whether the car wanders/drifts/pulls, just whether the steering wheel points straight ahead.
The service manuals always tell you to reset the steering angle sensor to zero after doing an alignment... but if it's off, it won't create a pull in normal driving.
Here are the readings. The wheel was off center just a bit - turned to the left. I tightened the passenger tie rod and loosened the driver side, turning both sides two flats on the tie rod. I did a test drive and the wheel was to the right just a bit so I went back and did went in the opposite direction one flat. So basically I turned each tie rod one flat from where the car was right after the alignment. The wheel position is now where I want it but like I said the car drifts to the right, not bad at all but def does. With the wheels off - the driver side rotor seems to be pointed inward more than the pass side. I know this is by no means an accurate way to measure but that’s just what I noticed.
Thanks for posting the readings!
Uneven camber or caster side to side will make a car pull... Yours are both pretty close. Accepted tolerance is usually .5*
Most times, if the angles are good, a minor pull turns out to be coming from the tires. Try swapping them side to side, and see what happens.
Uneven steering axis inclination (fixed angle dictated within the steering knuckle) will also cause a pull.
Yours is off by a degree.... but I wouldn't be too stressed about it.
Couldn't find SAI specs for a C6. I'll keep looking.
Just following up on my experience. Look for PFADT specs for alignment on the C6. My front tires were worn on the inside edges and the factory alignment was off. DO a search here, and there is one recent one for alignment on a 2011 GS. It appears that factory specs assume you are running the car hard, which a lot of us are not. My new alignment went according to the PFADT street specs. Just passing this bit of information along, since it appears most C6 owners know about this factory spec thing, but I didn't. Again. Search around if you are interested.
Thanks for posting the readings!
Uneven camber or caster side to side will make a car pull... Yours are both pretty close. Accepted tolerance is usually .5*
Most times, if the angles are good, a minor pull turns out to be coming from the tires. Try swapping them side to side, and see what happens.
Uneven steering axis inclination (fixed angle dictated within the steering knuckle) will also cause a pull.
Yours is off by a degree.... but I wouldn't be too stressed about it.
Couldn't find SAI specs for a C6. I'll keep looking.
Thanks for the info. I’ll try swapping the front tires and see if that makes a difference but as far as I know it was driving straight right after the alignment and the tires are close to brand new so I don’t know if that would be it but I will give it a shot. If that doesn’t help I’ll take it back to an alignment shop Monday and have them tweak the front end and I’ll make sure to show them exactly where I want the steering wheel positioned. Thanks
Thanks for the info. I’ll try swapping the front tires and see if that makes a difference but as far as I know it was driving straight right after the alignment and the tires are close to brand new so I don’t know if that would be it but I will give it a shot. If that doesn’t help I’ll take it back to an alignment shop Monday and have them tweak the front end and I’ll make sure to show them exactly where I want the steering wheel positioned. Thanks
Will ur there . tell them to change ur lifters because their wasting ur time.
Thanks for the info. I’ll try swapping the front tires and see if that makes a difference but as far as I know it was driving straight right after the alignment and the tires are close to brand new so I don’t know if that would be it but I will give it a shot. If that doesn’t help I’ll take it back to an alignment shop Monday and have them tweak the front end and I’ll make sure to show them exactly where I want the steering wheel positioned. Thanks
I don't know about a Base, but on a Grand Sport the tires are directional and therefore can't be swapped from side to side.
Will ur there . tell them to change ur lifters because their wasting ur time.
haha i’d like to see the look on their faces if I told them to change the lifters. Unfortunately I’d say I need more than new lifters probably all new bearings and may be a cam too. I’ve still been driving the car and keeping an eye on my oil pressure and listening for new sounds. So far so good but I am still seeing a lot of metal specs in my oil filter. What’s weird though is my oil report came back normal. So weird. Probably not the best idea but I’m going to continue to drive it and keep an eye on the oil pressure and listen for knocking sounds and if anything changes I’ll have the motor torn down.
I don't know about a Base, but on a Grand Sport the tires are directional and therefore can't be swapped from side to side.
Yep My tires are directional also and if I were to swap sides it would only be for a very brief time to see if it changes anything then I would swap back. Thanks
So many roads are just plain bad and most also have a bit of a slight angle to the sides for water drainage.
At times it feels like my car wants to pull to the side and I think the alignment is off. Then I drive on a different road and its fine. Then another road it feels like it wants to pull to the other side.
Here are the readings. The wheel was off center just a bit - turned to the left. I tightened the passenger tie rod and loosened the driver side, turning both sides two flats on the tie rod. I did a test drive and the wheel was to the right just a bit so I went back and did went in the opposite direction one flat. So basically I turned each tie rod one flat from where the car was right after the alignment. The wheel position is now where I want it but like I said the car drifts to the right, not bad at all but def does. With the wheels off - the driver side rotor seems to be pointed inward more than the pass side. I know this is by no means an accurate way to measure but that’s just what I noticed.
I'm 99.9% certain you know that worn tires can also cause this. Are you're tires fairly new?
Alignment question
