notsospeedy Posted October 30, 2021 Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 Hi all I have a mk7.5 VW Golf which pulls to the right so towards oncoming traffic (am in uk) The car is standard (not lowered) and has recently had wheel alignment checked and all has been adjusted to within VW spec. Tyres on all four corners were fitted at the same time and are Continental Premium Contact 6 Two years ago the steering wheel was removed to 'correct' an alignment issue. During the most recent alignment, the steering wheel was found to be incorrectly aligned and removed to put the steering wheel back into the correct position. Suspension components were checked and the most recent alignment and found to be ok. I have to orientate the steering wheel slightly to the left (57 or 58 minutes on analogue clock face) to keep the car in a straight line. Looking physically at the front wheels, I can see that the o/s/f is slightly more toe out than the n/s/f despite both being aligned to same amount. In the alignment printout that I was given by the dealer, I can see that the o/s/f has slightly more positive camber of -0.36 than the n/s/f of -1.01. I have seen online that a car will 'move' towards the side with more positive camber. There is only 0.25 difference between the two sides which is nearly half a degree but I am not sure if this is enough to cause the pull to the right. Apologies if I am not using the correct phrase to describe how the car moves to the right with the steering wheel horizontal. I have also seen online, comments made that if the subframe is moved slightly, more negative camber can be added the side the subframe is moved towards. This 'movement' would also reduce the toe out that is experienced on the one side if the tie rod is located at the back of the wheel hub (which it is on my car). In theory, moving the subframe, appears to tick all the boxes to correct my steering issue but I am unsure. Is there anyone who could help point me in the correct direction please as I am unsure what is best to do. I have attached my wheel alignment printout with the camber difference highlighted in red. Thank you in advance for any help/guidance. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notsospeedy Posted October 30, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2021 Can't edit the post so adding to say that tyres were fitted at 15k miles having covered 7k miles to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted October 31, 2021 Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 Hello Before i ex[lain the geometry printout. was there a time it wasn't pulling, and now? if yes what was done ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notsospeedy Posted October 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2021 Hi Tony Many thanks for the reply. It wasn't pulling when I first got the car at 9500 miles. Have had a few wheel alignments carried out so something could have happened during one of these and the steering wheel was removed and refitted circa 2 years ago. The steering wheel has just recently taken off and refitted to be put back on correctly. Am not sure if the incorrect steering wheel alignment could cause a pull or is it the difference in camber or both. The car hasn't been in an accident since I had it. Would very much appreciate your explanation of the geometry printout as I have a basic understanding of the individual items but not of how one can affect the other. Thanks Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 1, 2021 Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 Have the front tyres been moved side to- side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notsospeedy Posted November 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2021 Hi Tony I haven't yet done that. I have considered doing it to see if the tyres are the cause, just need to find somewhere happy to swap the wheels over for me. I have attached photo's of nearside and offside showing that the offside is marginally toe out compared to the nearside. I appreciate that these might not add anything but felt best to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 2, 2021 Report Share Posted November 2, 2021 The toe plosions if not even to both wheels would definitely off-set the steering position. What reads strange is the datum point for the front toe is the middle of the rear? Basically the front wheels don't know where forward is. So if the rear toe is correct it will use that as a datum point. Has the steering wheel been moved to its original position? Reason i ask it the car has a steering position sensor meaning it reads the position and takes charge in the event you lose control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notsospeedy Posted November 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 Hi Tony Many thanks once again for the reply. The steering wheel has been returned to its original position and the steering sensor was reset by the dealer so all should be ok there. Would you mind explaining why it reads strange that the datum point for the front toe is the middle of the rear? Could the incorrect rear toe be 'driving' the problems at the front of the car. Just asking as I am very interested and would like to understand more. The front toe was set equally but physically not correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 3, 2021 Report Share Posted November 3, 2021 The front toe needs a datum point and that point comes from the rear, and it's called the thrust angle. Most tyre shops if asked what are you aligning to would say each other... No you're not, the front wheels are aligned to the middle of the rear. I am instructor in geometry and suspension calibration and i was asked by the biggest fast fit company in the UK to train their area managers. Not knowing their level of understanding, i initially start at the basics. Nearly all of them didn't know about the thrust angle!. In the end i decided to drop the training because most cannot understand geometry for more than two hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.