Wheel alignment question

[em1rida]

hey guys just a quickie,

When im driving and i leave the steering wheel straight its will slightly tilt to the left and thus eventually the car will slowly steer to the left

Didn't change suspension or anything just happened randomly after starting car again,
will this issue be fixed with a quick wheel alignment or is there something more?
haven't wheel aligned it since getting the car not sure how long its been since its had 1

I have coilovers on the car if that helps but its perfectly fine drove the car today and was ok only now i realised its tilting,

any help will be appreciated guys

[flipfire]

did you align it when you put the coilovers in? if so how long ago?

[1590cc]

Alignment can be change while driving due to potholes etc
Best bet is to get the an alignment done soon.

[rotary_snail]

How can an alignment change from potholes? The tierods don't wind themselves in/out and if the bolts are tight, then the eccentrics can't turn. The only way it could change is if something got bent, which is unlikely from a pothole if your suspension is working right.

It may be just the camber of the road. Try it on a nice flat freeway or something and see if it still does it.

[V73C]

Was just about to mention about the road too. Roads are never perfect so if it steers off a bit to either directions it should be fine. If you're very paranoid then go get it done again.

[muzukashi]

Check the front left tyre to make sure its not leaking any air and make sure the pressure is the same as all others, happened to me ages ago turns out the value cap on the front left tyre was loose and constantly but SLOWLY letting out air

[DLO01]

Cross fall of the road. Road always slants to the left for drainage and WILL cause the car to drift/turn to the left slightly.

[em1rida]

After getting it checked up it was indeed the tyre pressure in the left wheel lol seems the valve cap on the tyre was really loose and almost about to fall off and was letting all the air out when i checked the front left tyre on the tyre pressure thing it had about 4psi in it but the other 3 tyres were on about 34 lol

Drives nicely again now always straight as gold, thanks for that guys :)

[dougie_504]

DLO01 has a very good point.


Valve cover shouldn't let air out - it just stops dirt getting in! Check for leaks! However you should always check your pressure, even fortnightly when you re-fill.

If you put coilovers on your car lately you will need alignment if you tightened suspension components without load.

Alignment should be done 6-monthly anyway. As mentioned above, potholes and road inconsistencies will cause your vehicle to lose it's alignment over time.

[DuffyFD]

And if you're running a car lowered the change in camber of your wheels will sometimes drag you either way depending on the road.

Some sydney roads my car gets pulled to the left, sometimes to road if the road is in a bad condition.

[Fredoops]

Funnily enough the exact same thing is happening to me. Except...

I just had my wheel alignment done... Twice at that (had to send it back cause the fist alignment was done poorly)

An it's still slightly pulling to the left. Even after alignment and air pressure checks.


My suggestion... Don't go for the cheap alignment.. Go to a proper suspension place, alignment ranges from $65-125... There's getting it done and then therein getting it done properly.

[string]

Cross fall of the road. Road always slants to the left for drainage and WILL cause the car to drift/turn to the left slightly.

Not for an oversteer chassis. They'll steer to the right! (Yes, up the hill!)

[Hasbeen]

Once the suspension has freed up from new ALL cars will follow the camber to some extent, unless the suspension is set up to counter it.

This can be dangerous with less skilled drivers, as if they loose concentration on a bit of flat road, they are likely to drift into oncoming traffic, if you go too far.

In the old days we used to set up a Holden with 1/2 a degree less camber & about 1/2 degree more castor om the left wheel to reduce the left drift. Falcons required the same camber but a full degree of castor to do the same thing.

We used to drive the things before & after alignment to check for bent chassis & offset/misaligned diffs, which was not uncommon, & required different settings for best results.