Geometry setup help
 

Ive had a crabbing s2000 which would pull one way when accelerating and pull the other way when taking my foot of the accelerator. So Ive had my alignment setup, but was unable to get it fully setup due to seized camber and caster bolts! I have the measurements they have setup below.

http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/...psa65dcd55.jpg

My car still pulls for the side on/off the accelerator even after the alignment! Would this be because these settings are still out? And can the caster angle be adjusted?

Thanks.

You probably have a sticking brake caliper.

Sounds like a caliper to me as its exactly what mine done when it needed a caliper

Great! Another expense! Lol. If it is a sticky caliper are repair kits available for them?

And I guess a sticky caliper is causing uneven tyre wear on my tyres? Or was that just bad alignment that I had before I had it readjusted?

There are calliper repair kits available, go to trade section and ask for a quote. But before buying anything I would compare the brake pads (left set vs right set) to see difference. If your calliper is sticking, there should be more pad wears on one than the other.


You mentioned that you were unable to get it full setup because of the sized bolts. Personally I would sort that out first before looking at the brakes.

If be sorting out the sticky caliper first! Not safe having a binding caliper, and the geo is 'ok' for now.

No that'll be the alignment, though uneven tyre wear could probably cause the car to pull one way or the other.

As MB say's the GEO settings although out are not enough to give you any pull under power on and off, I'd be looking else where first, sticking brake, Tyre's, shocker, compliance bush, quick check look at the colour of your disc edge's to see if one is a different shade to the others,

Just checked the service history and the last service it had by honda (just over 2 weeks ago) the brakes were serviced. Had new front pads pads due to old ones being seized. If the brakes aren't in good shape I will be having words with honda...

The seized bolts is definitely an issue I will need to fix as some angles of my geometry are miles out still!

I've had tyres replaced now so tyres are ruled out for a cause of the pulling.

Some of those angles are miles out though... I am worried I could have a broken suspension component causing it though, like you say a bad bush or maybe shocker.. Hope not!

What I have noticed is I can hold a steady acceleration, no matter how fast, and there isn't any pulling. When I push down on the accelerator the car pulls so take foot off the accelerator and pulls the other way. If I was to coast along with no acceleration the car keeps straight....

Your GEO is out but not Miles out, your caster angles are low but fairly symmetrical, non will give you the symptoms you have unless they have strained a bush to try and get the readings, if you had a broken suspension component it should have being spotted when doing the GEO as that should be checked before any settings are done

Right I see, well I had the symptoms before the alignment was done and the alignment improved the symptoms fractionally but only fractionally! My old tyres had uneven tyre wear, the insides of the tyres were wearing alot! So was hoping that was just alignment but by the looks of it maybe it isn't....

Check your rear brakes aren't sticking, and your check your caster bushes when they wear the lower arm moves rearwards and gives you a low caster angle plus allows the arm to float about more so I'd put a tad of toe in on the front to compensate , I mentioned tyres as Ang's did the same when it had two different makes on

Agree with Dave / Ray, your setting are far from miles out and shouldn't give the issues you are seeing. Assuming your tyre pressures are bang on, you have a calliper issue.

Ive had exactly the same on braking / accelerating, and its very unpleasant.

Will check the brakes and if it is brakes then honda have something to answer for, as they shouldn't be binding a couple weeks after a "brake service" so we shall see! Getting my diff replaced Tuesday so will get the castor bushes looked at to. My tyres are all b/s Potenzas reo50's and psi checked at 32psi.

Ok that's fair enough then, won't worry about the alignment for now and concentrate on the brakes. When I brake though my car doesn't seem to snake, it's only when I accelerate that I get the snake effect. But yes very unpleasant! Makes the car even more of a handful than it already is!

Have a feel if one of the wheels is hotter than the others after you've been for a drive, that'll tell you if there's a sticky caliper..

The only times I've had those similar symptoms, it has been either one rear tyre worn more than the other (roundabout fun!) or pressures slightly uneven. If it's not those, then it's probably a binding brake, as cited by others here. Go for a drive (motorway if you can - fast and not much braking), if one wheel is warmer than the rest, it's sticking. You might also notice it when you come to a rolling stop and it doesn't stop smoothly (ie there's a little 'sticky' jolt as you pull up with no brakes on).

I attempted this last night but think too much braking was involved as all wheels were hot. Will try a drive that doesn't involve too much braking and see what I find. Cheers.

Ok somehow I've not recognised that my front right tyre is a Bridgestone reo40 rather than a reo50 like the rest! Could this cause the pulling?

Indeed it could be your problem , why do people mix up tyres , I wont even do it on a mundane car

You need to sort that , sort the geo and check the calipers.

God knows! Not like the reo40 is any cheaper.....

But hey will get a reo50, unseize the camber bolts, check calipers and hope for the best :-)

Agian , you need 2 tyres minimum , so they have the same rolling radius , i.e tread depth, and come from the same batch , so thier age is the same and the compound is from the same mix.

I am not familiar with the tread paterns of the 2 bridgstone tyres or the constrution but i bet they differ, as a result the levels of grip and rolling resistance will differ.

Yh you are probably right, they must be constructed differently as there would be no point making both a reo40 and reo50 tyre.

That odd tyre would defo cause a problem like you are encountering I reckon, especially as you reckon it's not under braking but on acceleration?

Well I certainly hope so as that's a lovely simple fix!

There was a thread a while back that had "identical" tyres (same make and model) but suffered the same symptoms as you - pulled one way on acceleration and the other on braking. They discovered (at Centre Gravity I think) that they had been made months apart in different fabs so it's definitely worth sorting out if something that small can make a difference. I can't find the thread but will post it up if I find it.

Thanks that would be an interesting read! Crazy that the same tyres can be made differently and effect handling of the car like its doing!

Here you go https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/992...-was-the-tyres

Thanks for that! Interesting read which I never considered when buying tyres!