Car likes to wander...

[spec2speed]

2006 MS6 sport.....round 64000 km (40000 miles), really likes to wander all over the road. Sometimes I have to have both hands on the wheel to keep it going straight. It seems that any little rut/bump/groove/pebble on the road makes it wanna go either left or right.

This happens on both sets of tires (2 yo 225/45/18 blizzaks on stock rims, 2 yo 215/45/18 potenzas on MS3 wheels). When I was running the winters I had the car aligned and all 4 tires rebalanced, but no change in it wandering all over the place. The funny thing is when I had 17 inch Nokians on it for a couple days, I didn't notice this at all...

So I'm not sure if its a tire issue, or a suspension problem. I did a quick search on this forum but nothing came up. A google search pointed me to other forums, most of which said to do a realignment or get new tires. A Subaru Outback forum had info on maybe the tie rods needing replacement?

Any thoughts?

 

[Metal MP5]

I think i have the same problem.
the feeling i get is (i'm trying to make this as clear as possible)...as if the wheels in the back could turn, making the rear end go left a bit, sending the car to the right. Like driving a fork lift, you turn the steering to the right, which makes the rear wheels turn left, spinning the fork lift to the right

anyway, hard to explain but that's pretty much it. i noticed it last winter but thought maybe the alignment was a bit off and icy roads made the car move around when i'd hit a bump or something. then it kind of went away, and came back a few weeks (maybe a month or two) ago.

I had to have the transfer case replaced and i can't say i'm 100% sure, but i think this problem came back right after i got the car back from the dealer. So maybe it's transmission related? something going on with one of the differentials

i also have a noise coming from the rear suspension. i'll go to the dealer to have it looked at. it's pretty loud when i hit bumps. as if the rear-left suspension was broken. maybe it's all related

did you find out anything since your post?

 

[batou079]

i guarantee it is simply alighnment. make sure the guy can verify to your face that he has access to factory specs.
the pull of the steering you guys are explaining is heavily affected by toe. if the toe is way off, it would easily push you all over the road.

not too mention be bad on your treadwear.
just my 2 cents, id take it in ASAP.

 

[Metal MP5]

how does bad toe affect treadwear? i mean, what can i expect my tires to look like after driving with bad toe adjustment for too long?

my last set of tires ended up completely bald, i mean skin smooth, on the inside while the outside of the tire still looked pretty good. i actually didn't know my tires were damaged that much until a slice of tread came off all around the inside of the tire. i didn't notice anything wrong after i changed the tire and assumed the weird tread wear was because of my bad transfer case. my rear differential was also not working properly from what they told me. once all the parts were replaced i started noticing this wandering problem again

i'll take it in soon for alignment. can't hurt. i'm at a bit over 55k miles on it

 

[FORZDA 1]

Too much toe OUT.

 

[oaklandopen]

Toe-in will make your inner tread kind of bumpy in a way. The treads will be unequal heights

Imagin if you looked at your tire from the side (like outside loking in towards the wheel well) good tread would look like this:

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

The inside of your tread with bad toe-in would look more like this:

___ --- ___ --- ___ --- ___ ---

Also, if your inner tread is going out faster you have bad negative camber. Proper alignment will fix both of those problems.

 

[FORZDA 1]

Toe-in will make your inner tread kind of bumpy in a way. The treads will be unequal heights

Imagin if you looked at your tire from the side (like outside loking in towards the wheel well) good tread would look like this:

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

The inside of your tread with bad toe-in would look more like this:

___ --- ___ --- ___ --- ___ ---

Also, if your inner tread is going out faster you have bad negative camber. Proper alignment will fix both of those problems.

The wear pattern itself depends on several factors, although in a general sense with slight toe errors this above is correct. However, when a tire has too much toe out, it tends to pull the tread into a condition where it may seem like there is too much negative camber when in fact, there is not. The wear will result in a smooth wear with no cupping as explained above, but the inner edge of the tire will be slightly "feathered" which indicates the tire has been dragged sideways for some time.

Also note that Camber and Caster are not adjustable on the 6 without replacing the upper ball joints with aftermarket for camber and the upper control arms with Mazda specific offset bushings for caster.

 

[oaklandopen]

"Feathered" was the term I was looking for

And how does the ms6 not have a camber adjustment? I would think that particular model would have that, since its more performance oriented than a normal 6

 

[FORZDA 1]

"Feathered" was the term I was looking for

And how does the ms6 not have a camber adjustment? I would think that particular model would have that, since its more performance oriented than a normal 6

You would think so, but it has the same front suspension as the "normal" 6 with slightly stiifer springs and dampers....

 

[batou079]

the rear does have small amount of camber adjustment factory.
fronts, not at all.

hopefully the OP got a proper alignment to fix toe and not tear up them wheels!