pulling to the left

[rusty_mazda]

current setup is sportlines and hp's. the car has been aligned and that did not fix the problem. any ideas how to solve the problem without sacrificing the handling

 

[kudakev615]

did you get the alignment print out? id be interested to see what the camber and caster are out. since its not easily adjustable on the our cars, most shops just set front and rear toe. id look into that and try rotoating your tires around to see if you have a tire pull issue

 

[rusty_mazda]

did you get the alignment print out? id be interested to see what the camber and caster are out. since its not easily adjustable on the our cars, most shops just set front and rear toe. id look into that and try rotoating your tires around to see if you have a tire pull issue[/QUOTE


tires are new, but i did check the pressure, and that wasn't the problem. here's a break down of the print out
BEFORE MEASUREMENTS
front
left right
camber -0.9 camber -1.0
caster 1.6 caster 2.1
toe -0.19 toe .17
rear
camber -1.5 camber -1.2
toe 0.40 toe -0.03

CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
front
left right
camber -1.0 camber -1.0
caster 1.6 caster 2.1
toe 0.11 toe 0.10
rear
camber -1.5 camber -1.2
toe 0.06 toe 0.06

wondering if the caster being off a little between the two sides could cause this

 

[pasadena_commut]

current setup is sportlines and hp's. the car has been aligned and that did not fix the problem. any ideas how to solve the problem without sacrificing the handling

Just went through this except mine pulled to the right. Car was aligned and tires were balanced, yet it still pulled. Quote the alignment guy, "when cars pull like that it's almost always a bad tire." A tire that has some conicity (shaped like a cone, instead of like a cylinder) will make the car pull, especially if it's on the front wheels. Here's how to diagnose which tire is bad (this assumes that there is only one bad tire, take notes as you go):

0. Road test. Pick a flat piece of road that you can drive at the same speed each time you test.

1. Swap the front left and front right tires. It's ok to do this even if they are directional - you're only going to drive it a little. Road test it again, exactly as before, at the same speed. If the pull changed direction it's one of the front tires. Go to 2. If not go to 4.

2. Swap the front tires back to their original positions. Swap the tires on one side of the car front to back. Road test as before. If the pull relative to step zero went away or changed direction then the tire on that side which is CURRENTLY on the rear is bad. Replace it - you are done. If not, go to 3.

3. Swap the tires front to back on the other side of the car. If the pull relative to step zero went away or changed direction than the tire on that side which is CURRENTLY on the rear is bad. Replace it - you are done. If the pull didn't go away or change direction then you have a mystery on your hands. Stop.

4. Swap the front tires back to their original positions, then swap the tires on both sides of the car front to back. If the car still pulls in the same direction as in step zero it is not a tire problem - you are done. If the car pulls in the other direction, and especially if it pulls harder in the other direction, then the problem tire is now on the front axle. Repeat steps 2, 3 to figure out which side it is on.

I did my tire swapping in the driveway with two tire jacks, a torque wrench, and a tire iron. It was time consuming but not difficult.

Good luck

 

[rusty_mazda]

ok, so i've rotated my tires every which way (other than inside out), and it's pulled to the left everytime. so i'm not sure what it is. supposedly caster has nothing to with a car pushing or pulling in a certain direction, but to me it seems like it could have something to do with it. anybody have any ideas?

 

[Prodigy]

Double check you tire pressure... just a little bit low on one side will cause it to pull.
You can also play with the pressure to balance the 'pull' out.

 

[rusty_mazda]

Double check you tire pressure... just a little bit low on one side will cause it to pull.
You can also play with the pressure to balance the 'pull' out.

i've tried playing with the pressure and at the moment all tires are at the same psi, but still pulling.

 

[srd555]

did you get the alignment print out? id be interested to see what the camber and caster are out. since its not easily adjustable on the our cars, most shops just set front and rear toe. id look into that and try rotoating your tires around to see if you have a tire pull issue[/QUOTE


tires are new, but i did check the pressure, and that wasn't the problem. here's a break down of the print out
BEFORE MEASUREMENTS
front
left right
camber -0.9 camber -1.0
caster 1.6 caster 2.1
toe -0.19 toe .17
rear
camber -1.5 camber -1.2
toe 0.40 toe -0.03

CURRENT MEASUREMENTS
front
left right
camber -1.0 camber -1.0
caster 1.6 caster 2.1
toe 0.11 toe 0.10
rear
camber -1.5 camber -1.2
toe 0.06 toe 0.06

wondering if the caster being off a little between the two sides could cause this

Looking @ your after measurements, it looks like your caster is off on one side in relation to the other. Check by opening the hud and looking at the painted dot on the top off the strut; they should both be in the same position. eg. My left dot is pointing back and out towards my left rear view mirror and the right dot to the right mirror. If you do a seach there are pictures of this.

 

[apexlater]

Caster will make your car pull to one side. Has your car been in an accident, hit any potholes really hard, curbs? You could have a bent knuckle.

 

[pasadena_commut]

ok, so i've rotated my tires every which way (other than inside out), and it's pulled to the left everytime. so i'm not sure what it is.

So it's probably not the tires (unless all of them have the same conicity problem, and even that would have been discovered when you swapped them side to side). You did swap them side to side, at least on the front?

Dragging brake maybe? Drive it on the highway for a mile, pull over, and see if one wheel stinks more than the others, or is much hotter than the others, or in the worst case, the brake is glowing bright red. Also the brake pad on a stuck caliper should be more worn down than the one on the other side of the car. (Compare side to side, not front to back).

 

[Jaysanooch]

Just for the fun...please check the white or yellow dots on the top of strut mounts. On each side the dot should be going towards the side mirrors. If the strut mount dots are not in those positions....good luck with alignment, or air pressure or wheel balancement and so on. I know all the s*** all to well and it never helped.

Brian MP5T told us about this one and it solved my alignment issue immediatly as the dot on my driver side was pointing towards the head light.

 

[rusty_mazda]

ok, so i checked the dots and the drivers side is good but the pass. side is pointing outward and to the front. so i'm guessing i just take the 4 pillow mount nuts loose and rotate to where it should be? oh and i did hit a curb pretty bad, but i'm pretty sure i've replaced everything that was damaged

 

[Prodigy]

bingo.


Just remove the 4 nuts on top of the strut and rotate the strut mounts.

Should be like this:
*O ______________________ O*
OO ______________________ OO

 

[Jaysanooch]

bingo.


Just remove the 4 nuts on top of the strut and rotate the strut mounts.

Should be like this:
*O ______________________ O*
OO ______________________ OO

What he said. You do this and you'll notice the difference right away!!

 

[rusty_mazda]

bingo.


Just remove the 4 nuts on top of the strut and rotate the strut mounts.

Should be like this:
*O ______________________ O*
OO ______________________ OO

well that sucks, i read it wrong. i thought the dots were supposed to point toward REARVEIW mirror, so now i have to do both. oh well, thank you all for all your help, and i'll let ya'll know how it turns out

 

[rusty_mazda]

ok, so the dots are now, and the car does seem to feel more nuetral, but could probably use another alignment. thanks to everyone for the help

 

[pasadena_commut]

Just for the fun...please check the white or yellow dots on the top of strut mounts. On each side the dot should be going towards the side mirrors. If the strut mount dots are not in those positions....good luck with alignment, or air pressure or wheel balancement and so on. I know all the s*** all to well and it never helped.

Brian MP5T told us about this one and it solved my alignment issue immediatly as the dot on my driver side was pointing towards the head light.

I don't get this. The white dot position is the sum extent of the camber and caster adjustment for the front wheels of the P5. See:

http://protege5.ugly.net/02-11.PDF

page 2-11-2. Reproduced here is the relevant information from that page, with angles in degrees:

driver side__passenger side
CB________BC
.A________A.

(camber,Caster)
A (+.5,0)
B (+.5,+.5)
C (0,+.5)
. (0,0)

If the car has better alignment specs in positions A,B, or C than "." why not use them?

 

[Jaysanooch]

Not sure if I follow but all I know is that my car came stock with the passenger side dot in the wrong position. Had the car aligned twice at the dealer...both times making things worst.

I learned this good piece of info from BrianMP5T and upon lowering my car, while changing the springs...I remembered this info and noticed the dot in the wrong spot. For me the difference was instant, to the point where I put off re-aligning my car for months.