Eliminate steering pull
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 243
Likes: 59
From: Benicia CA
Eliminate steering pull
Hello all. Merry Christmas!
I've done many searches on alignment and have the recommended specs from the factory and DSC. Can't find any info on the cars pulling one way or the other.
I've had the alignment on my 19 Z06 adjusted to the street specs twice. Front camber is at -.7 L/R, castor ~7. Rear camber -.8. The car drives and handles well but has a constant slight pull to the right. I know the wide tires are sensitive to any road crown but it does get annoying. Some of the specs show more camber on the right front. Is this to help compensate for road crown? That seems a bit excessive.
I have a highly modified 69 Camaro with aggressive alignment specs and it tracks straight as an arrow, The wife's Caddy tracks straight as well (not that it's the same)..
Any suggestions?
I have ordered the rear castor tool from Redliner99 on this forum. I'll have better tools then, when it arrives.
Thanks
Joe
I've done many searches on alignment and have the recommended specs from the factory and DSC. Can't find any info on the cars pulling one way or the other.
I've had the alignment on my 19 Z06 adjusted to the street specs twice. Front camber is at -.7 L/R, castor ~7. Rear camber -.8. The car drives and handles well but has a constant slight pull to the right. I know the wide tires are sensitive to any road crown but it does get annoying. Some of the specs show more camber on the right front. Is this to help compensate for road crown? That seems a bit excessive.
I have a highly modified 69 Camaro with aggressive alignment specs and it tracks straight as an arrow, The wife's Caddy tracks straight as well (not that it's the same)..
Any suggestions?
I have ordered the rear castor tool from Redliner99 on this forum. I'll have better tools then, when it arrives.
Thanks
Joe
Last edited by JJoeG; Dec 23, 2020 at 03:11 PM. Reason: duplicate sentence
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 635
From: St. Louis
Camber will have very little affect on a pull to the side - like you will not even notice a cross camber of up to 1/2 degree front or rear. Front or rear Toe will also have no affect on pull.
So what is left.... front caster. And tires. I would start with tires - especially the front tires. Swap them left to right and see if the pull reverses sides. Don't worry if they are directional for this test, the directional tread is for water shedding.
If you find the tires are causing your pull, most likely the "bad tire" is the one on the side the car pulls towards. Only fix is to replace it.
If the tires are not causing the problem, then you have some amount of cross caster in the front. Get it aligned again by a shop that knows what they are doing.
So what is left.... front caster. And tires. I would start with tires - especially the front tires. Swap them left to right and see if the pull reverses sides. Don't worry if they are directional for this test, the directional tread is for water shedding.
If you find the tires are causing your pull, most likely the "bad tire" is the one on the side the car pulls towards. Only fix is to replace it.
If the tires are not causing the problem, then you have some amount of cross caster in the front. Get it aligned again by a shop that knows what they are doing.
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,457
Likes: 657
From: DFW Texas
Camber will have very little affect on a pull to the side - like you will not even notice a cross camber of up to 1/2 degree front or rear. Front or rear Toe will also have no affect on pull.
So what is left.... front caster. And tires. I would start with tires - especially the front tires. Swap them left to right and see if the pull reverses sides. Don't worry if they are directional for this test, the directional tread is for water shedding.
If you find the tires are causing your pull, most likely the "bad tire" is the one on the side the car pulls towards. Only fix is to replace it.
If the tires are not causing the problem, then you have some amount of cross caster in the front. Get it aligned again by a shop that knows what they are doing.
So what is left.... front caster. And tires. I would start with tires - especially the front tires. Swap them left to right and see if the pull reverses sides. Don't worry if they are directional for this test, the directional tread is for water shedding.
If you find the tires are causing your pull, most likely the "bad tire" is the one on the side the car pulls towards. Only fix is to replace it.
If the tires are not causing the problem, then you have some amount of cross caster in the front. Get it aligned again by a shop that knows what they are doing.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,560
Likes: 485
From: Moberly, Mo
I worked in the tire business for 12 years and you could have what we call a radial pull. Swap the front tires side to side and see if it pulls the other way. Pretty simple way to check it.
Last edited by 99vetteran; Dec 25, 2020 at 09:36 AM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 243
Likes: 59
From: Benicia CA
Thanks for the input. The alignment on the car after having it aligned at the dealer doesn't look good.
Front: Camber L= -.6 - R= -.7. Castor L = 7.6 - R = 7.7. Toe L = .06. R = .06. Total toe = 0.08. Steer ahead = 0.0.
Rear: Camber L = 0.07 R = -1.4. Toe L = .08 R = -.03. Total toe = .06 Thrust angle = .06
I think the front looks OK. I think the rear has too much right camber and the toe isn't even. I think that is probably the source of the pull?
Everything is well within GM specs, which is disappointing.
Thanks again
Joe
Front: Camber L= -.6 - R= -.7. Castor L = 7.6 - R = 7.7. Toe L = .06. R = .06. Total toe = 0.08. Steer ahead = 0.0.
Rear: Camber L = 0.07 R = -1.4. Toe L = .08 R = -.03. Total toe = .06 Thrust angle = .06
I think the front looks OK. I think the rear has too much right camber and the toe isn't even. I think that is probably the source of the pull?
Everything is well within GM specs, which is disappointing.
Thanks again
Joe
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 635
From: St. Louis
That is a huge amount of cross camber on the rear. Perhaps that plus the toe (thrust angle) in the rear might be causing the pull. Have you already tried swapping front tires to eliminate that as a source of the pull?
If you get the rear aligned, you need to make sure whoever does it can measure and set the rear caster.
If you get the rear aligned, you need to make sure whoever does it can measure and set the rear caster.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,013
Likes: 9,775
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Why a positive camber pulls
Improper camber will wear our tires, but it will also affect handling. With other factors equal, a vehicle will pull in the direction that has the most positive camber. For instance, a camber of zero degrees on the left wheel and one-degree positive camber on the right wheel produces a pull to the right.
Even if the camber is not positive on either side, it will still pull toward the side that is more positive. An example is if the right wheel were negative one degrees and the left wheel was zero degrees. Zero degrees is more positive than negative-one, so the vehicle veers to the left.
Why a negative caster pullsBecause the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to turn to the inside, the side with the least caster exerts the least force. This means that the wheels naturally turn toward the side with the least caster angle. We say a vehicle pulls toward the more negative caster angle.
I would suggest why the GM alignment specs for the Stingray and Z51 show a greater negative camber setting on the right front of -0.3 degrees is to offset pull due to road crown. You can use differences in camber or caster to affect steering pull with camber differences may be causing more tire wear.
I really don't know if your pull is caused by the differences in rear camber but if the rear is pulling to the side with the least camber that might impart a vector similar to a thrust angle vector to the left that requires offsetting it by turning the steering to the left. However, the slight .06 degree thrust angle toward the right should offset that to some degree.
How does the car drive when you are on the left side of the crown Vs the right side of the crown?
Bill
Improper camber will wear our tires, but it will also affect handling. With other factors equal, a vehicle will pull in the direction that has the most positive camber. For instance, a camber of zero degrees on the left wheel and one-degree positive camber on the right wheel produces a pull to the right.
Even if the camber is not positive on either side, it will still pull toward the side that is more positive. An example is if the right wheel were negative one degrees and the left wheel was zero degrees. Zero degrees is more positive than negative-one, so the vehicle veers to the left.
Why a negative caster pullsBecause the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to turn to the inside, the side with the least caster exerts the least force. This means that the wheels naturally turn toward the side with the least caster angle. We say a vehicle pulls toward the more negative caster angle.
I would suggest why the GM alignment specs for the Stingray and Z51 show a greater negative camber setting on the right front of -0.3 degrees is to offset pull due to road crown. You can use differences in camber or caster to affect steering pull with camber differences may be causing more tire wear.
I really don't know if your pull is caused by the differences in rear camber but if the rear is pulling to the side with the least camber that might impart a vector similar to a thrust angle vector to the left that requires offsetting it by turning the steering to the left. However, the slight .06 degree thrust angle toward the right should offset that to some degree.
How does the car drive when you are on the left side of the crown Vs the right side of the crown?
Bill
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Joined: Jun 2013
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From: DFW TX
Why a positive camber pulls
Improper camber will wear our tires, but it will also affect handling. With other factors equal, a vehicle will pull in the direction that has the most positive camber. For instance, a camber of zero degrees on the left wheel and one-degree positive camber on the right wheel produces a pull to the right.
Even if the camber is not positive on either side, it will still pull toward the side that is more positive. An example is if the right wheel were negative one degrees and the left wheel was zero degrees. Zero degrees is more positive than negative-one, so the vehicle veers to the left.
Why a negative caster pullsBecause the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to turn to the inside, the side with the least caster exerts the least force. This means that the wheels naturally turn toward the side with the least caster angle. We say a vehicle pulls toward the more negative caster angle.
I would suggest why the GM alignment specs for the Stingray and Z51 show a greater negative camber setting on the right front of -0.3 degrees is to offset pull due to road crown. You can use differences in camber or caster to affect steering pull with camber differences may be causing more tire wear.
I really don't know if your pull is caused by the differences in rear camber but if the rear is pulling to the side with the least camber that might impart a vector similar to a thrust angle vector to the left that requires offsetting it by turning the steering to the left. However, the slight .06 degree thrust angle toward the right should offset that to some degree.
How does the car drive when you are on the left side of the crown Vs the right side of the crown?
Bill
Improper camber will wear our tires, but it will also affect handling. With other factors equal, a vehicle will pull in the direction that has the most positive camber. For instance, a camber of zero degrees on the left wheel and one-degree positive camber on the right wheel produces a pull to the right.
Even if the camber is not positive on either side, it will still pull toward the side that is more positive. An example is if the right wheel were negative one degrees and the left wheel was zero degrees. Zero degrees is more positive than negative-one, so the vehicle veers to the left.
Why a negative caster pullsBecause the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to turn to the inside, the side with the least caster exerts the least force. This means that the wheels naturally turn toward the side with the least caster angle. We say a vehicle pulls toward the more negative caster angle.
I would suggest why the GM alignment specs for the Stingray and Z51 show a greater negative camber setting on the right front of -0.3 degrees is to offset pull due to road crown. You can use differences in camber or caster to affect steering pull with camber differences may be causing more tire wear.
I really don't know if your pull is caused by the differences in rear camber but if the rear is pulling to the side with the least camber that might impart a vector similar to a thrust angle vector to the left that requires offsetting it by turning the steering to the left. However, the slight .06 degree thrust angle toward the right should offset that to some degree.
How does the car drive when you are on the left side of the crown Vs the right side of the crown?
Bill
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 243
Likes: 59
From: Benicia CA
Why a positive camber pulls
Improper camber will wear our tires, but it will also affect handling. With other factors equal, a vehicle will pull in the direction that has the most positive camber. For instance, a camber of zero degrees on the left wheel and one-degree positive camber on the right wheel produces a pull to the right.
Even if the camber is not positive on either side, it will still pull toward the side that is more positive. An example is if the right wheel were negative one degrees and the left wheel was zero degrees. Zero degrees is more positive than negative-one, so the vehicle veers to the left.
Why a negative caster pullsBecause the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to turn to the inside, the side with the least caster exerts the least force. This means that the wheels naturally turn toward the side with the least caster angle. We say a vehicle pulls toward the more negative caster angle.
I would suggest why the GM alignment specs for the Stingray and Z51 show a greater negative camber setting on the right front of -0.3 degrees is to offset pull due to road crown. You can use differences in camber or caster to affect steering pull with camber differences may be causing more tire wear.
I really don't know if your pull is caused by the differences in rear camber but if the rear is pulling to the side with the least camber that might impart a vector similar to a thrust angle vector to the left that requires offsetting it by turning the steering to the left. However, the slight .06 degree thrust angle toward the right should offset that to some degree.
How does the car drive when you are on the left side of the crown Vs the right side of the crown?
Bill
Improper camber will wear our tires, but it will also affect handling. With other factors equal, a vehicle will pull in the direction that has the most positive camber. For instance, a camber of zero degrees on the left wheel and one-degree positive camber on the right wheel produces a pull to the right.
Even if the camber is not positive on either side, it will still pull toward the side that is more positive. An example is if the right wheel were negative one degrees and the left wheel was zero degrees. Zero degrees is more positive than negative-one, so the vehicle veers to the left.
Why a negative caster pullsBecause the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to turn to the inside, the side with the least caster exerts the least force. This means that the wheels naturally turn toward the side with the least caster angle. We say a vehicle pulls toward the more negative caster angle.
I would suggest why the GM alignment specs for the Stingray and Z51 show a greater negative camber setting on the right front of -0.3 degrees is to offset pull due to road crown. You can use differences in camber or caster to affect steering pull with camber differences may be causing more tire wear.
I really don't know if your pull is caused by the differences in rear camber but if the rear is pulling to the side with the least camber that might impart a vector similar to a thrust angle vector to the left that requires offsetting it by turning the steering to the left. However, the slight .06 degree thrust angle toward the right should offset that to some degree.
How does the car drive when you are on the left side of the crown Vs the right side of the crown?
Bill
Joe
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 243
Likes: 59
From: Benicia CA
That is a huge amount of cross camber on the rear. Perhaps that plus the toe (thrust angle) in the rear might be causing the pull. Have you already tried swapping front tires to eliminate that as a source of the pull?
If you get the rear aligned, you need to make sure whoever does it can measure and set the rear caster.
If you get the rear aligned, you need to make sure whoever does it can measure and set the rear caster.
I have ordered the caster tool. When it arrives I'll go to a local shop that will listen.
