BuyPirelli
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Posts posted by BuyPirelli
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I thought long were the days of rubber bushes being considered as consumables; however my recent expedition while finding a new car shows that many manufactures still suffer from prematurely worn rubber bushes on various suspension components.
Is this simply bad design, poor craftsmanship or both? My Focus ST for example needed new wishbone bushes before 30,000 miles, and VXR8’s can go through a pair of wishbones in 3,000 miles.
Even worse is when the manufactures don’t sell the bushes individually, but the entire arm – I’m surprised consumers tolerate this longevity and cost.
That brings me onto Poly bushes – are these of genuine benefit, a bit of a fad, or more hassle than they are worth?
I’m of mixed opinion really. I’ve had rear poly subframe bushes which were fantastic, and two of the four front wishbone bushes on my Focus ST are poly and I think they are great.
I also like the idea that they keep the geometry in check when under load – how can a rubber bush do this when its 5 years old and compressed to half of its original size?
However I’ve also had the bad end of the deal which came in the form of anti-roll bar bushes, you couldn’t grease them quick enough and they just endlessly squeaked. In the end they were replaced with rubber items.
Tony, what’s your opinion on the above? Would you always choose to replace troublesome bushes with poly bushes or would you always ere on the side of caution, grit your teeth and replace the same 2 year old item like for like?
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Well I think this topic is cleared up.
Thanks again for your help Tony, I expect to see you around March or April time. I'll need my winter tyres coming off, some new PS3's and alignment for good measure.
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Ha, wouldn't that be unfortunate. All that fuss over a slightly wonky ramp.
Well there's not much I can do for the time being so I will just learn to live with it for the time being, but thanks so much for your guidance
Now without reading too much into it as there is a chance their alignment is out of cal, but why is my camber and castor at the edge of its tolerance? Does this mean something is bent or worn?
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Just to clarify, Tony, the new tyres had been on a week and I hadn’t noticed any misalignment (as opposed to fitting the new tyres immediately before the alignment) - but again if it were the tyres it would result in a constant pull to one side, my car doesn't do this.
So yes I conclude that the steering wheel is not correctly aligned, possibly because their Hawk Eye is out of calibration.
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Good evening all.
While I agree camber can make a car pull to one side, wouldn't a manufacture insist on tolerances which would disregard the servere effects of camber?
Anyway, as simple as this sounds I had a brain storm earlier. Is it the tyres, the camber, the alignment or the steering position?
My answer is: the steering position.
Why? Driving along a smooth motorway with the car in a perfectly straight line and with the wheel slightly to the left - if I remove my hands off the wheel the steering position stays where it is, and the car continue to track steady a head.
If any forces were acting on the car they would be apparent the moment I let go of the wheel.
Tony would you agree that either the steering was set incorrect, or their machine is incorrectly calibrated?
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Yep, totally normal.
I'm told and perhaps Tony can confirm, that normally its the passenger side that is shorter than the drivers side because thats the side that gets smacked into curbs.
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No, the differences between the axles are normal.
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Hi Tony,
I appreciate our chat earlier so thank you for that, I did feel a little cheeky having given you no prior custom but as said when I need alignment doing in future I will just come and see you as although it'll cost me £50 in fuel it'll be a headache free option.
The chap at the alignment centre was friendly enough about it and did take his time, he also drove the car and agreed there was a problem. Once again the wheel was clamped and I agreed it was straight ahead.
Once the alignment was complete he said if it still doesn't fix the problem then the only thing he thinks it could be is the negative camber on the front, also as its not adjustable he suspects the subframe has been removed and refitted slightly off base although I know this to not be true as the subframe has never been off.
For now I'll just live with it, I'm just a little dissapointed as I am 99% sure the steering was straight prior to the alignment.
Also FYI the alignment was actually done on the new Hawkeye and not the Hunter 600.
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Been back, same issue...I have various print outs which I'll stick up later
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Wasn't going to unless you think I can benefit from it in some way?
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Thats what I did, it may have helped but the problem is still there.
Surely though if the rears are causing pull then it will cause me to counter steer using the steering wheel, hence the offset position?
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Yes the wheel was correct when the geometry was done, I checked it with my own eyes.
As said I could only swap the front tyres and not the rear, I'll have to drill the locking wheel nut out before I can do that.
I suspect we can no longer investigate this further then?
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Polybushes!!
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I've been for a bit more of a drive, and its possible there is an improvement but it can be so hard to tell, can't it?
Tony, if I go back to the alignment centre tomorrow and get the full details which are saved on the computer, will you be able to differentiate between the tyres being at fault or the alignment?
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Would I be right in assuming that with that much movement the geomtry would go to pot while under load?
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Furthermoore, here is a picture of what my steering wheel looks like when trying to drive in a straight line. It doesn't look like much in the pictures but it stands out like a sore thumb when your doing 70mph on a perfect motorway.
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Good morning everybody.
Right I swapped the front alloys side to side, but I had to leave the rears as they are as the locking wheel nut snapped (common Focus fault, not happy).
Unfortunately there appears to be little or no difference, however I did take note of my tread depths as they tyres had previously done 10,000 miles on my Mondeo.
All measurements are outside to inside
Passenger Front
6.27 - 6.75 - 6.70 - 6.18
Drivers Front
6.16 - 6.77 - 6.86 - 6.06
Passenger Rear
7.24 - 8.00 - 8.02 - 7.29
Drivers Rear
6.68 - 7.49 - 7.57 - 6.41
Are these of any consideration? I could have sworn the steering wheel alignment was correct before going on the Hunter.
Tony, how confident are you that its the tyres?
Does the Hunter store all reports for all cars its been used on? If so can I go back and get the set back / wheel base measurements?
Is your number still 07984427383?
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Actually I'm just thinking, won't the rear tyres need to be swapped as well? I know if the rear axle is out, you will have to correct it with the steering - thus making the front axle appear to be out when in fact it is not.
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Tomorrow morning I will swap the front wheels side to side to rule them out (though it was fine before), in the mean time any advice based on the assumption that changing the wheels has no affect would be appreciated.
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Hello Tony,
I know we’ve discussed this previously but I’ve got the same problem AGAIN on my new car and I would just like to clarify a few things.
I had some new wishbone bushes and winter tyres fitted on my Focus ST, the car drove perfect and the steering was spot on but I wanted it aligned to ensure I didn’t kill the tyres. Just like 9 months ago with my ST220, my car has come off the aligner worse than when it went in (Hunter DSP 600 4)!
Within 30ft I noticed that to drive in a straight line the steering wheel has to be 5 degrees or so to the left, grrr! I did a few miles test drive and took it back; they put it back onto the Hunter and asked me to confirm I was happy with the steering position before they re-align the car.
The wheel was clamped and I climbed in and checked it, it looked spot on. But you guessed it, as soon as I drove on the road I could tell the car was exactly as before, i.e. driving to the right with the wheel in the straight ahead position.
I left it at there for now, but I want to go back on Monday and get it sorted – then I won’t be using them again.
Is this operator error or is there some play in the ‘dead ahead’ position of the steering wheel? If they were to align the car again with the wheel 5 degrees to the right would this cure the problem?
This is so frustrating. I am hoping if they don’t fix it then I can get my money back via my credit card company as they have not provided a satisfactory service.
Thanks in advance.
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Offset is the same, diametre is the same, tyre size is the same...just alloy rim width is different. So I'm guessing from the inside of the car the tyre is in the same position regardless of alloy size, however its the outside tyre wall that is not quite so far out?
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It's not a machine Tony, it's just a little laser arm that dangles off the wheel and is 'Motorsport specification'. It's not like a hunter that shines lasers onto four discs.
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Using a hunter, does it make any difference if I have my car aligned with a 7.5" width wheel, only to put an 8" on shortly after? E..g. would I be wasting my money?
I'm pretty sure you can align a car without the wheels on it, so I'm hoping the alloys make no difference!
Thanks
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Hey all,
I would never use anything other than a Hunter device or similar for wheel alignment, however a well known and very reputable tuner is now offering "4 wheel laser alignment" for £95 using "Motorsport Spec" equipment.
They claim to align:
Front wheel toe, caster & camber
Rear wheel toe & camber
It looks like a fancy version of what you'd find at a tyre garage for £15.
My question to you, is this proper alignment or not? I can't see how it is as they are not doing it to a specifiction, surely?
Modern Rubber Bushes and Poly Bushes
in General Problems / Discussions
Posted
Good advice on the latter point.
Curious, do poly bushes affect a cars durability in terms of geometry, or do they make it more susceptible to being 'knocked out'?