alignment problem: pulls right, got it aligned, still pulls to the right...
i went through a car wash but i'd turned off the ignition while it was still rolling on the tracks. so i'm pretty sure the wheel/steering was fighting with the metal tracks as it rolled through it. it has been pulling to the right since then.
took it to get it aligned today and gave them specific specs (for high speed stability).
caster: +4.5*
camber: -.7*
toe in: 1/32
my question is, do they perform the alignment (change the degree) relative to it's current state?
i would think they would have to correct the problem first, THEN apply the changes i want.
Bending a knuckle (some folks call it a spindle) is a lot easier than you might think. In my road racing car, hopping an FIA apex curb I have tweaked a knuckle before.
Did teh alignment tech perform a camber sweep? Basically, if the knuckle is bent, it will arc the wheel in a strange curve. There is a tolerance.
Or it might be as simple as the tech didn't tighten the camber or caster bolts tight enough and they've moved. It's happened before and something I always check before I load the car to head for the track ... those and the torque arm bolts.
so if the steering wheel was turned a little to the left, i'm thinking the carwash rail was pushing against my front driver side wheel/tire.
something like this:
what exactly is a camber sweep? is that like "reseting" it? moving it to the max each way and finding the center?
Do you have the paper that shows what the actual specs were set at for the alignment?
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It will indicate if a knuckle is bent.
camber: -.7*
caster: 4.2*
Toe: .06*
right front
camber: -.6*
caster: 4.7*
Toe: .06*
left front
camber: -.7*
caster: 4.2*
Toe: .06*
right front
camber: -.6*
caster: 4.7*
Toe: .06*
for instance it will pull a hair to the right.
where as the side with the lowest caster will pull in that direction. so it would pull left. Camber pulls twice as much as caster.
next question. is it a legitamate pull or is the steering wheel just off center.
There is a big difference. Tires will cause a pull. If they are non directional then just swap the left and right. if they are directional you'd have to swap the tires and wheels around.
Next up. When I and my co-workers do alignment we set them to pull slighty to the left with a caster pull. Remember caster is a non-wearing angle. We get cambers dead even and offset thecaster to compensate for the natural road crown. Roads in texas do have a pretty bad road crown.
Hope this helps. Good luck. Its one of the above.



