shop can't straighten steering wheel??
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shop can't straighten steering wheel?? Hey i just got my tokico blues installed and had an alignment done.
my steering wheel is off center (to the right) and the car pulls to the right (at high speeds mostly.)
the guy at the shop said its as good as they can get it without changing the caster..and that if they tried to mess with that they'd actually have to go in and cut/weld or something like that...like actually modify the car not just add a kit.
he said the toe/camber settings are fine, and that the way it is..the tires will have even tread wear - its just the caster that is throwing the steering wheel off and making it pull to the right. i had them do it twice and both times it came back the same.
are they telling me the truth or are they being lazy bastards/trying to get more $$ outta me?
i have the print out if that'll help answer my question
thanks!
my steering wheel is off center (to the right) and the car pulls to the right (at high speeds mostly.)
the guy at the shop said its as good as they can get it without changing the caster..and that if they tried to mess with that they'd actually have to go in and cut/weld or something like that...like actually modify the car not just add a kit.
he said the toe/camber settings are fine, and that the way it is..the tires will have even tread wear - its just the caster that is throwing the steering wheel off and making it pull to the right. i had them do it twice and both times it came back the same.
are they telling me the truth or are they being lazy bastards/trying to get more $$ outta me?
i have the print out if that'll help answer my question
thanks!
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Rep Power: 360 I have no idea what to do in this situation but I trust zzyzx enough from all the other posts of useful info he has made in the past years
Autocross Junky
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Rep Power: 380 I do my own alignments and even I can get the wheel straight with out the car pulling... and All I use is string a couple of jack stands and a tape measure....
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From: Everywhere you want to be
Rep Power: 296 thats what i thought...but also, before i had the tokicos on i had Sears do an alignment and it was the same thing..they couldn't get the steering wheel straight. yea, its close, but not pefectly straight. its pulled to the right ever since i lowered it....even after like 4 alignments 
could it be that sears and this other shop i went to dont know what they're doing?
could it be that sears and this other shop i went to dont know what they're doing?
Autocross Junky
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Rep Power: 380 How long did you drive with the car pulling? it may be that the tires have worn to the point that its going to do this untill you get different tires.
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From: Everywhere you want to be
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Originally Posted by Zzyzx
How long did you drive with the car pulling? it may be that the tires have worn to the point that its going to do this untill you get different tires.
is that right? cuz my tires are worn to ****. haha seriously, im scared to drive on them right now...
well, the rear passenger side is ok...cuz i replaced it when the original one blew out...the original one as in the one thats very similar to the other 3 i have right now.
(can anybody recommend a good street tire? all season, long life...
)thanks 
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Rep Power: 812 i had a bad vibration with my stock tires, even tho they were balanced. Then I got new tires put on and everything got better. Bridgestone turanza LS-H are excellent tires, very low noise, good traction, long lasting.
Thread Starter
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From: Everywhere you want to be
Rep Power: 296 ok..so perhaps the pulling is from the tire wear....i'll get new tires and the see what happens..
but what about the off center steering wheel? this bugs the living **** outta me!
but what about the off center steering wheel? this bugs the living **** outta me!
Autocross Junky
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From: Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Rep Power: 380 the steering wheel being off center should be easy to correct for, they just need to do the alignment right.... IE Center the wheel, and then adjust toe around that point.
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From: Washington DC
Rep Power: 424 If the wheel is off and they can't fix it, they're lazy. All you gotta do is turn the tie rods so both wheels turn. Its not rocket science, I can do it in my driveway, they damn sure can do it with the laser rack.
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Originally Posted by Zzyzx
the steering wheel being off center should be easy to correct for, they just need to do the alignment right.... IE Center the wheel, and then adjust toe around that point.
As for what can cause a pull are many things. The most common are as follows
#1 Camber
#2 Caster
#3 Tires ( wear patern, defective tire )
#4 Power steering imbalance ( start the car with the tires off the ground does the steering wheel start to turn in the direction of the pull all on its own?)
#5 Brake dragging
What can cause a crooked steering wheel AFTER an alignment( main causes)
#1 tech screwed up
#2 Alignment machine is not calibrated properly
#3 Alignment rack is at fault(turnplates/out of level)
#4 lose front end parts that the tech didnt catch or ignored, or you declined to replace!!
#5 All the top paragraph 1-5 items
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