bluegas68

So theotherhalf's MY'01 pulls really bad to the left from a cruising speed when throttle is applied. Ive done a search on the topic and the concensus was usually tires and alignment issues.
He is claiming the tire pressure is within spec or at least his preferred pressure setting. Normal variation with temp and all that. Alignment was done recently before a Deal's Gap run.
I drove the car last night and the thing is really a handfull. I had the low rear tire on mine and the way that pulls and this pulls feel nothing alike. This is an abrupt pull where you can literally change lanes quickly if you needed just by accelerating hard. Let off the throttle and it dodges back right, but not as bad as the way it dodges left. And "dodge" is a good word to describe how it feels. Its not a smooth linear pull to the left. It almost feels to me as if the car is crabbing.

Anyway, he wanted me to post this up for input. Assume nothing except he checked the pressure in the tires already

Thoughts???

rugsr

The same thing happened when my tire pressure was off in the rear...I filled them and it went away. It came back, I checked the tires and they were low again. filled and it was gone. CAME BACK AGAIN and i ditched the tires(they were old) problem is gone!
GL

ps - ROTFL your sig of 8=9 is awesome!

CoralDoc

As you know, this problem is almost always due to tire pressure problems or a tire wear anomaly. Please check the tire pressure one more time, and carefully inspect each tire to make sure there are no bulges.

If that's not it, I'd be very concerned about suspension issues. Check the alignment adjustment bolts to make sure they are not loose. Next, make sure the shock absorber and A-arms are not wobbly, and that the mounts are still properly welded to the chassis.

Stratocaster

Agreed. Within spec and right are two differant things.

Make sure the tire pressures are the same from right to left. Front to back can be differant, but right to left can not. To more it is off, the harder it pulls.

Same goes for alignments. Within spec and the same can be 2 degrees or more off.

From the sounds of it, this car has both a tire pressue and alignment issue.

NVMY4N

This has become a pretty Frequent Topic.

Adding to the FAQ's

bluegas68

Well, as it turns out history has indeed found a way to repeat itself ( on 2 fronts actually).

theotherhalf sent me a picture message showing a big screw sticking out of the left rear tire in the vicinity where the tread meets the sidewall...not exactly repairable

So, tire pressure FTW (it was @ 12 psi BTW).

This will be the second tire in only a few months he has lost to a screw/ nail. ANyone have a 245, 18 inch , >50% tread Eagle F1 laying around?

Thanks for everyones input!
Leaving thread open...

RED MX5

bluegas68

Thanks! Looking for more projects if anyone wants something. PM me

F22PwrdS2K

Just wanted to throw this out there...I had the same problem, but it wasn't due to tire pressure. I talked to a well known alignment guy in my area and he suggested making the passenger side caster about (.5) degrees more than the driver. My problem with the car pulling went away. I don't know if this will work on a non-lowered car but who knows. Since the alignment and going with those specs the car drives more straight than ever!!!

mikegarrison

That's crazy. You are applying a band-aid by making the front end of the car pull in one direction while the rear end of the car pulls in another direction. Instead, you should just fix the problem.

These cars do not just pull, whether lowered or not. They only do so if there is a tire issue or if there is something broken or misaligned.