Hi everyone, so on the weekend I fitted my new rims with new wider tyres with a lower profile than stock. As well as doing this I adjusted the steering wheel as it was off center. I took the steering wheel off and adjusted it on the splines. The moment I got in and drove the car I noticed a lack of steering feel immediately. If this is caused by both of the things I've done to the car then I was wondering if there is anything I can do to improve the steering feel. I don't feel confident pushing the car too hard with this new feeling. The steering now has a pretty big dead zone and feels quite sloppy if this helps. Thanks in advance.

 

Ummm u done goofed, your steering wheel was off because your alignment. I would put it back immediately. I would inspect the suspension components, look at your tie rod ends 1st. If that checks out Then check the rack bushings. Next put a wrench on the eccentric alignment adjusters, see if any are loose. If you can turn any by hand there's the loose feeling.

 

Okay its easy enough to put the wheel back to the position it was in. As for the condition of my suspension components. I checked them on the hoist while the wheels were off and they were all in good nick. I was going to do an alignment but I decided that a steering adjustment was quicker. Now I see it was wrong, could this be a cause of my vague feeling?

 

Moving the steering wheel wouldn't be the issue, unless you did not seat it correctly on the splines, but it is pretty foolproof.

I suspect it is your new tire and wheel combo. and how they work with your previous alignment settings. You probably need to tweak your alignment settings. Post them up if you know them along with your rim and tire specs.

 

I can't check my alignment settings until the weekend but I am running Enkei rpf1 rims 17x8 on the front and 17x9 on the rear. I have 235/45r17 on the front and 245/40r17 on the rear.

 

Changing the offset of the rim/tire will affect the turn center of the tire and steering feel. I notice a significant change in the steering of my '04 when I shift from the stock wheels to my track wheels (Enlei PF01) which offset the wheels about 13mm further out on both sides. Steering is more neutral but lacks some feedback.

 

I don't know the original offset but I'm now running +45 offset, did you ever find a solution to the lack of feedback or is it something I just have to learn to deal with?

 

Play in the steering wheel is either tie-rod ends, the rack/steering gear, or the steering wheel/hub itself. Usually it's the tie-rod ends. Are you sure you checked the tie-rod ends?

 

Well another way to put it is the deadzone is larger than before. Larger than before being just before the old tyres came off. Unless the tie rods were mysteriously damaged in some way from when I drove it onto the hoist and when it came off which I would have known about then no I don't think it is that.

 

You almost certainly have way too much toe-in. Bring it to a good shop/dealer and have them center the rack, your steering wheel, and then adjust your suspension and tie rod ends to something reasonable.

(Also, if you have, like, super shitty tires, it'll be numb on-center)