Car Slightly Drifting To Right (After Alignment + New Wheels Tires + Camber Arms + Springs)

idragmazda

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Hey all,

I'm getting this weird drifting sensation where at highway speeds the car will pull slightly to the right when I hold the clutch in or put the car in neutral. Once I let off the gas it tracks straight for a second or two, then starts drifting to the right.

I had alignment done and redone by a very reputable tuning shop that does alignments for various racing series. All specs are within factory range excluding rear negative camber (which is even on both sides). We rotated tires right to left and then back to front. Issue still persists.

Honda dealer mentioned steering head is off slightly, but I figure that be for the steering wheel? I'm going to have the steering head issue corrected at Honda hopefully next week.

It doesn't feel like torque steer (I've got 18x9.5 +42 on there now) or tramlining (265/35/18 PS4S). Car is lowered on Sportlines with camber arms in rear.
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Hey all,

I'm getting this weird drifting sensation where at highway speeds the car will pull slightly to the right when I hold the clutch in or put the car in neutral. Once I let off the gas it tracks straight for a second or two, then starts drifting to the right.

I had alignment done and redone by a very reputable tuning shop that does alignments for various racing series. All specs are within factory range excluding rear negative camber (which is even on both sides). We rotated tires right to left and then back to front. Issue still persists.

Honda dealer mentioned steering head is off slightly, but I figure that be for the steering wheel? I'm going to have the steering head issue corrected at Honda hopefully next week.

It doesn't feel like torque steer (I've got 18x9.5 +42 on there now) or tramlining (265/35/18 PS4S). Car is lowered on Sportlines with camber arms in rear.
A lot of users with lower offsets have stated that they noticed the car tram lining more. I'm not sure what the cause of said tram lining was (offset, tire width, tire type, etc.), so it is possible that it actually could be tram lining. I'm not sure how the suspension would factor into all of this either as that could either amplify the issue or decrease it. Keep in mind that most roads aren't level/flat to allow water to evacuate into the sewage system (or drain to the side of the road). This can create some bias in the direction the car wants to go.

A cross wind can also cause your car to drift to one side as well. I've noticed that cross-winds have a bigger impact on the CTR with my 18x8 +42 245/40/18 wheel setup.

I'd also argue that you can reduce the effect a little bit by downshifting instead of going into neutral and modulating the gas pedal to keep a constant torque/power to the road thereby forcing the car to follow the direction of your wheel more than what the wheels want to do if no force were applied to them. During a turn I've found this also helps reduce body roll (send some weight transfer to the rear of the car if I'm not mistaken).
 

Tim818

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A lot of users with lower offsets have stated that they noticed the car tram lining more. I'm not sure what the cause of said tram lining was (offset, tire width, tire type, etc.), so it is possible that it actually could be tram lining. I'm not sure how the suspension would factor into all of this either as that could either amplify the issue or decrease it. Keep in mind that most roads aren't level/flat to allow water to evacuate into the sewage system (or drain to the side of the road). This can create some bias in the direction the car wants to go.
Iā€™ve never had the problem with tram lining when I had my oem wheels lowered on Swift springs, now that Iā€™m running aftermarket wheels 19x9 +41 offset, the tram lining is kind of bad even with all of my suspension upgrades and good alignment.
 


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idragmazda

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dang. still having the problem? i thought you were able to figure it out.
I thought it was the tire. Then I swapped what I thought were the suspect tires on the rear (from left to right) and it is still pulling right.

I took the car to Honda for a transmission fluid servicing and the tech took it out for a spin. He said the steering wheel is angled ever so slightly to the left (2 degrees or so) so he thinks that is what it may be that I am feeling. I'm hoping this is what it is. I've already spent way too much money trying to diagnose this stupid problem.
 
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idragmazda

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Iā€™m in the area, want me to check it out?
Thanks, I think the Honda tech will be able to correct the steering wheel issue i mentioned above. I'm hoping this is it.
 

Ismael Lafluer

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I thought it was the tire. Then I swapped what I thought were the suspect tires on the rear (from left to right) and it is still pulling right.

I took the car to Honda for a transmission fluid servicing and the tech took it out for a spin. He said the steering wheel is angled ever so slightly to the left (2 degrees or so) so he thinks that is what it may be that I am feeling. I'm hoping this is what it is. I've already spent way too much money trying to diagnose this stupid problem.
My car came straight from factory with crooked aligned steering wheel. Fought with Honda for several weeks before they gave in and fixed it. They kept saying alignment and I kept telling these clowns the car is brand new, and I havenā€™t hit anything at all. The steering wheel is crooked and when i straighten it, it pulls to one side and when I turn it, it goes straight. Never really understood the politics of the dealership sometimes, Iā€™m just glad they fixed it. It was quite annoying. Good luck
 

DA1286

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I thought it was the tire. Then I swapped what I thought were the suspect tires on the rear (from left to right) and it is still pulling right.

I took the car to Honda for a transmission fluid servicing and the tech took it out for a spin. He said the steering wheel is angled ever so slightly to the left (2 degrees or so) so he thinks that is what it may be that I am feeling. I'm hoping this is what it is. I've already spent way too much money trying to diagnose this stupid problem.

Did you try swapping the front tires left to right? Iā€™m having a similar issue after putting titan 7 18ā€ +45 and PS4s on the car. Went for alignment, still having the issue.

Before the wheels and tires went on the car drove straight and didnā€™t pull whatsoever. Iā€™m thinking itā€™s a tire. Wondering what to do next
 
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idragmazda

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Did you try swapping the front tires left to right? Iā€™m having a similar issue after putting titan 7 18ā€ +45 and PS4s on the car. Went for alignment, still having the issue.

Before the wheels and tires went on the car drove straight and didnā€™t pull whatsoever. Iā€™m thinking itā€™s a tire. Wondering what to do next
I did swap left to right. Thought it was pulling opposite so I called tirerack for a replacement tire. Still having the issue.

Hoping Honda techs can figure it out this week. Will report back
 


DA1286

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I did swap left to right. Thought it was pulling opposite so I called tirerack for a replacement tire. Still having the issue.

Hoping Honda techs can figure it out this week. Will report back
Please let me know. Was hoping that switching front tires would isolate the problem but I donā€™t have a jack
 

DA1286

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I did swap left to right. Thought it was pulling opposite so I called tirerack for a replacement tire. Still having the issue.

Hoping Honda techs can figure it out this week. Will report back

Update for mine

Took the car to my shop today with the right pull. They flipped front tires L and R. The pull changed direction to a pull to the left. We then rotated the R front to the R rear and the problem went away. So, the front right tire was causing a left pull. They are ordering me a new Michelin, but I wish I could just go back to contis. No problems with those.
 

DA1286

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I did swap left to right. Thought it was pulling opposite so I called tirerack for a replacement tire. Still having the issue.

Hoping Honda techs can figure it out this week. Will report back

Any update on yours? I am still noticing the car push left on hard acceleration and then drift right after taking foot off the gas.
 

davemarco

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I started having this problem on my stock Contis after suffering a blowout of the front right. The factory tires only had about 1K miles on them (and tread was still practically new on the other front tire), so I went ahead and replaced just the one. When I got the car back, I noticed it pulling gently to the right on throttle, and correcting gently to the left off throttle. Swapped right to left and the issue reversed itself. Rotated both sides front to back and now it pulls back to the right again, albeit much much less.

I was initially thinking that the impact from the blowout must have damaged my suspension, but both Honda and I did a visual inspection and everything looks and feels good (the bushings are perfect and the front right wheel won't budge an inch when jacking it up and trying to shake it). I'm starting to think that this car is just insanely sensitive to asymmetric tread wear on tires.

Last thought - I do feel like my steering wheel is still slightly off to the right. I've had two alignments already - is there a separate way to just adjust the steering wheel itself?
 
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idragmazda

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Any update on yours? I am still noticing the car push left on hard acceleration and then drift right after taking foot off the gas.
Honda techs adjusted the steering wheel slightly and now itā€™s slightly off the other way, but the pull is still there. Theyā€™re telling me itā€™s torque steer from the ā€œtuneā€. I NEVER experienced this with stock wheel and all season tires.

Iā€™m going crazy. My personal thought is that itā€™s a dragging brake caliper on the right side.

I drive the car up to 30 then put it in neutral and it starts drifting right

Then, while in neutral still, I straighten out the car, let go of wheel, and it starts driving right again ā€”> this is why I donā€™t think itā€™s torque steer.

Can you try this and let me know what happens?
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