How to eliminate the rim or tire as the cause of my car pulling?
 

Does anyone know how to eliminate either the tire or the rim as the cause of the car pulling to either side?

I had new tires put on about 4 months ago or so, and everything was fine, then when I rotated them, and went driving, the car pulled really hard to the left. So my first thought was it wasnt pulling before and now with the rear tires on the front it does, so I swapped the front 2 tires from side to side and the pull then went to the right. Well I then swapped both ride side tires front to back and the pull went away. I then put them back and have the pull, but now I know I have a problem with the right front tire/wheel, but how do I eliminate which one is causing the pull? I was thinking of checking the runout of the tire and runout of the rim, but is there a better or eaiser way of checking?

Anyone?

take ur wheels and tires off. put ur stocks back on, cuz im guessing there straight and not cambered. then drive and see how the ride is. or you can take the wheel and tires off one by one and roll them to see how straight they are or not and look for signs of camber damage.

I have stocks wheels on with stock tires. I never had aftermarket wheels. None have any damage but that one tire/wheel combo causes the car to pull hard. only thing I can think of is dismounting the tire and wheel and putting a different rim on there and seeing if it happens or changing out the tire to see if it continues. Just want to see if there is a different way though.

What tires do you have? You may have a balance problem or a radial pull problem. Check the psi, sometimes that can cause it to pull as well. If its a balance problem, then you can just have them rebalanced. If its a radial pull problem then you need to replace the tire that pulls. It sounds to me like that right front tire is causing the pull though. Im guessing the tires arent directional either.

I have goodyear integrity tires. Now the PSI has been checked and all are at 30 PSI cold. And all were previously balanced at discount tire and the only vibrations I have are at 60 MPH and above from an unknown reason. I still need to figure out where it is from. I have had the tires balanced at several shops and even when I go to another one and they throw it on the machine and spin it, it comes out already balanced at 00 on both sides. So I know its not a balance issue. Now the tires arent directional, but how can I check to see if it is a radial pull problem? And what exactly does that mean? I know faulty tires can cause a car to pull, but can a faulty or bad rim cause a pull?

well if the surface of the rim on the hub isnt even then your rim and tire will be leaning. A radial pull is a tire problem, now most companies dont consider it a defect for a warranty but you might be able to push it. If you have eliminated all other possibilites i would say its a radial pull. This means that the tire itself is pulling the car. I have a feeling that this might be the case because it does follow this one specific tire. The only remedy is to replace the tire.

Well if the tire is the problem, havimg it replaced is no problem. If they will replace it for free that would be nice, but if not, I will pay %60 for another one when I have some extra money. thanks for the help though man.

no problem. let me know what you figure out.

have you had an alignment recently?

Injen

^^^yes I got an alignment a few weeks ago after my car was in the dealership for warranty work. they replaced all the struts. My alignment even then was still all within specs. But the problem didnt occur untill I rotated the tires. and then when I switched the tires from side to side on the front, the problem went from the left to the right, so I know it was that tire/wheel combo.

the belt may have shifted in the tire itself, it is hard to tell without looking in them, if it came into one of my garages (which i have had very simmilar problems with customers) my best friend Ben recommend using a STATIC balace rather than DYNAMIC and the customer hasnt been back since, it may have worn into (at least) one of the tires,
you said the alignment was all the caster, camber, and toe all in alignment? front and rear?

next time they get it on a hs balance machine or car is in the air so you can clearly see tires...
spin and watch
1. the rim to see if it is bent, (not likely)
2. the tread line to see if the belt has shifted in anyway
3. feel the surface of the tire and make sure it is wearing evenly, - you said your shocks were replaced under dealer warranty, they were prob. pretty bad if your dealer forked over the $ to give you free shocks, the wear from the shocks usually produce a "leafing" in the tread, like waves big or very small, usually from tread to tread if there is an abnormal wear in one spot then a poor balance has worn in the tires enough to create a pull,
hit me back with details...

and another thing...I wanna be mod of this forum - i fcking love this "Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum" i do this everyday at work at the garages!

like i said post back with details! remember STATIC balance, if there is no apparent wear!

I honestly dont understand why the dealer replaced my struts. I dont think technicians at honda clearly know how to "diagnose" certain problems. they just kinda fix things and throw parts at the car hoping that will help. But maybe that just this dealer. the car was brough in because my 100K warranty was about up and I had a few things I wanted fixed (window, seat, and noise in front end caused by a loose bolt that I found which dealer said it was all 4 struts causing the problem. Either way, I had just replaced my shocks that I purchased from another member. But if they were free, I didnt want to complain.

But no abnormal wear on the tires, no feathering, or any other wear. I just think its a bad tire. Like I said before, once it goes on the rear, the problem goes away, if it goes on the left side of the car, the problem goes to that side.

I will get it fixed eventually but a pulling issue really doesnt bother me.