New Tires/Alignment -- Steering Off-Center?

[ThirdeYe]

Hey all,

I just put some new tires on my Integra over the weekend, and had an alignment done right after by a different shop. I noticed that after they put the tires on, if I had the steering wheel perfectly centered and let go, the car would slowly pull to the left. If I turned the wheel to the right and let go, the car would continue to go straight until I moved the wheel again. I took it in to get an alignment done, and it's still doing the same thing. It's driving me nuts (perhaps because of my OCD) that my steering wheel is no longer centered, even though the car appears to drive straight. I'm going to take it back to the shop that did my alignment to see if there's anything they can do, but before that, any thoughts/ideas on why this might've happened? The first thing I plan to check after I get out of work is the tire pressures, though they look fine from my naked eye and I would've assumed they checked them while installing the tires. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Hokiefyd]

First, one cannot assume that the tire pressures are correct. Second, I have found, after numerous so-called alignments on my vehicles, there's a huge range of "error" in them and I always end up finishing the job myself at home. If you think about what direction the tire needs to go, you can tweak toe just enough to center the steering wheel. If it's a genuine pull, the car may have a camber/caster issue, or it could be in the new tires.

My advice is twofold:

First, unless the car is driving poorly or the tires are wearing poorly, don't pay for an alignment.

Second, if you pay for an alignment, always always always ask to have the alignment sheet that they can print from the computerized equipment. Right now, we're just shooting in the dark on what could be the issue here.

 

[Drew99GT]

I don't know how the tires could have done this, but the steering wheel has to be absolutely straight before doing an alignment. It's happened to me before where I got my car back and the wheel is about 15 degrees off! And the shop didn't want to do anything about it until a complained loud enough.

All you can do is take it back and demand they straighten the wheel. After all, that is one of the reasons for getting an "alignment"!

 

[ThirdeYe]

I had the alignment done, because before putting the new tires on, the car was pulling to the right. I figured even though I got new tires and it wasn't pulling to the right anymore, the alignment still didn't seem 100% right. It was doing the off-center steering thing. They told me the left and right fronts were off by .5 degrees. I'm not sure what that means, as I know next-to-nothing about alignments and suspensions.

 

[supton]

Did you get a printout with the "before" and "after" numbers? The numbers mean nothing to me, but it may shed light on the situation.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: supton
Did you get a printout with the "before" and "after" numbers? The numbers mean nothing to me, but it may shed light on the situation.


I don't recall if they did or not. If they did, it would be stapled to my receipt... but I'm not at home to look at it. I'll check when I get home. I was just going by what they told me over the phone.

 

[eljefino]

Some techs like to give the passenger side a little more caster to make cars track straight on crowned two lane roads. It'd pull left on a flat road and really pull in the left lane of a divided highway.

 

[SatinSilver]

Hmmm, did you get the Arizonian tires installed?

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I've heard very good things about Arizonian tires, made by Kelly I believe. I plan on getting some for my car very soon.

 

[JHZR2]

Some cars have a special pin that centers and locks the steering rack. Are you double sure it was done right?

 

[zzyzzx]

The alignment was done wrong. You probably got a Mexican who was trained to use a machine and only adjust the toe. If you want the steering wheel centered, you have to get it done by a tech who actually knows what they are doing, as opposed to a trained monkey.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Hmmm, did you get the Arizonian tires installed?

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I've heard very good things about Arizonian tires, made by Kelly I believe. I plan on getting some for my car very soon.


Yes, indeed! Very nice grip on those tires so far, and pretty quiet to boot. I haven't tried them in the snow yet, but they handled great in the rain. I did pay a little extra to have them siped, in hopes it'll perform better in the snow.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Some cars have a special pin that centers and locks the steering rack. Are you double sure it was done right?


Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
The alignment was done wrong. You probably got a Mexican who was trained to use a machine and only adjust the toe. If you want the steering wheel centered, you have to get it done by a tech who actually knows what they are doing, as opposed to a trained monkey.


No, I'm not sure that it was done right. The place was pretty busy, and somewhat unprofessional. I talked to the manager on the phone and he asked me to bring it by tomorrow. Fingers crossed...

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
The alignment was done wrong. You probably got a Mexican who was trained to use a machine and only adjust the toe. If you want the steering wheel centered, you have to get it done by a tech who actually knows what they are doing, as opposed to a trained monkey.

Just tell us how you really feel

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
The alignment was done wrong. You probably got a Mexican ..... trained monkey.

OT: That's a racist comment.
EDIT: tried to report it, but could not, as it was already reported - well done, whoever did that!

ON Topic: Best is to look at the before/after sheet if you have one, and post a pic of it here; I am sure people can tell more by looking at it.
And it does pay to do a bit of research on the shop beforehand to see if it has a good rep.

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
Hmmm, did you get the Arizonian tires installed?

Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I've heard very good things about Arizonian tires, made by Kelly I believe. I plan on getting some for my car very soon.


Yes, indeed! Very nice grip on those tires so far, and pretty quiet to boot. I haven't tried them in the snow yet, but they handled great in the rain. I did pay a little extra to have them siped, in hopes it'll perform better in the snow.


It is probable that the alignment wasn't done right and/or the automobile may have caster or camber issues that are sufficiently bad enough that an alignment cannot correct them, BUT:

Kelly does not make tires. Kelly is a brand name used for tier 2 tires made by Goodyear, and has been that way for more than 60 years. Arizonian is a tier 3 tire that may or may not be made by Goodyear and may or may not be made in China. Your new tier 3 tires may very well be the problem, especially since you had aftermarket siping cut into them. If you feel you need tires with extra siping next time, go ahead and buy tires that were made with extra siping at the factory. Who knows, the tire installer's siping machine probably cut too deep on one of your tires and damaged belts, which would cause your car to pull.

 

[JGmazda]

Here's what you need to do... First...

1.) Find a good shop! Ask around and do some homework. A good alignment technician is really hard to find. Once you do find someone that "Knows" what they are doing, tell them you want to match both sides of the car as close as possible. (Specs) Remember that "toe" wears tires much faster than camber.

2.) Find a shop that will allow you to sit in the car during the alignment. I do this all the time with my car. Many cars are sensitive to weight and will see a difference in specs if the shop does not ballast the car etc. Sit in the car and hold the wheel straight when the tech instructs you!

3.) A good alignment costs money!! Plan on tipping the tech when he dials-in you numbers. They will take their time and do it right if they know YOU care and are willing to acknowledge them.

And lastly... any shop or tech that does what you have described... RUN!!! It's 100% WRONG!!

 

[CapriRacer]

No, no no!

The first thing to do is a simple test:

Swap the front tires - left to right.

If the pull changed directions, then the problem is 100% in the tires. Return to where you bought the tires and tell them about it.

If the pull doesn't change at all, then the problem is 100% in the vehicle. Could be alignment, could be something else - like a dragging brake.

If the pull disappears or changes, but not a 100% reverse, then it is both tires and the vehicle.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Second, I have found, after numerous so-called alignments on my vehicles, there's a huge range of "error" in them and I always end up finishing the job myself at home. If you think about what direction the tire needs to go, you can tweak toe just enough to center the steering wheel. If it's a genuine pull, the car may have a camber/caster issue, or it could be in the new tires.

My advice is twofold:

First, unless the car is driving poorly or the tires are wearing poorly, don't pay for an alignment.

Second, if you pay for an alignment, always always always ask to have the alignment sheet that they can print from the computerized equipment. Right now, we're just shooting in the dark on what could be the issue here.


Bingo. Over the years I found most guys doing alignments don't do them right, and many times I left with a vehicle in worse shape then when I brought it in, and getting it right was a PITA.

My Jeep is what I consider perfectly aligned and as long as it continues to track straight when it comes time for new tires the answer to an alignment is NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll worry about it if/when I have to replace front end parts or if it starts wearing tires abnormally or drifts. Then if I have an alignment I plan on going for a test drive with the tech that did the job and be sure it drives correctly when he's done.

 

[ThirdeYe]

I looked at my receipt and found that they didn't provide me with a before/after printout. They simply told me both the front left and right were off by .5 degrees initially, whatever that means. I dropped my car off there this morning and told them about the steering issue, and to re-check it. It may very well be the tires, I am not sure. I noticed the car really pulls to the left when driving it at highway speeds (over 60mph) if you let go of the wheel, even when tilted to the right. At lower speeds, it'll go straight fine as long as you turn the wheel to the right first. If they provide me with a printout saying the alignment is fine, I'll bring it back to the place I got the tires from and see if they find any problem with them. I checked my tire pressures when I got home, and let it sit for a few hours to cool off and they were right between 29-30, which Acura/Honda recommends.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Traction]

Too many places just "set the toe and collect the dough"
And most places like that can't even get that right.