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staticflo
09-16-2003, 07:00 PM
Ok, i'm not having a very good time with these new tein s tech springs I got. Don't get me wrong the car looks and handles much better, but i'm going through some annoying problems with everything.

Here goes, I take my car in for an alignment. I get it back later that day and drive to school and I notice that when the steering wheel is centered I drift horribly to the left. I take it back and tell them and they say they will fix it. I go back for the 2nd time and pick it up. I test it out right away and it does the same damn thing. I go back for the 3rd time and they say they will get it right. Later on, I pick it up and the guy tells me I need a front camber kit and that is why my steering is off. He tells me he fixed it so that the tires won't bald but now when I center the steering wheel I slowly drift to the right. He told that it will all be corrected with a front camber kit.

Has anyone ever heard of this, I want a definitive answer before I go and buy a camber kit for the front, so if anyone on here has any info to help me out id appreciate it a lot.

-mike

ep pilot
09-16-2003, 07:11 PM
I don't know for sure, only because I'm not that knowledgeable with the Ep3 suspension yet, or should I say with lowering a Mac Pherson strut vehicle. Remember most drops back in the day were all control arm & double wish. But I mess with & half to deal with suspension with my job all day long. If the camber off a bit the car could have a slight pull, but caster ultimately determines whether the car pulls drastically or not.


()--o-- <----- an exaggerated description of caster, portraying
() the car is pointed ^ up. One wheel or foot print
slightly ahead or back.


-Ryan

Si Death
09-16-2003, 07:12 PM
from what i heard.....

car lowered more than 1.75 inches = camber kit

audomatik
09-16-2003, 09:01 PM
thats odd... my car is completely fine. tires are fine. i see no need for a camber kit, i am looking into getting new tires anyway, but if you get wider tires, you probably won't even get any uneven tire wear. don't listen to the alignment people, they fucked something up. did it do that to begin with? no... make them get it right, you're paying for it... if you need a camber kit the 3rd time trying to fix it, why didn't he notice you needed on the first time?

jandetuning
09-16-2003, 09:28 PM
Originally posted by staticflo
Ok, i'm not having a very good time with these new tein s tech springs I got. Don't get me wrong the car looks and handles much better, but i'm going through some annoying problems with everything.

Here goes, I take my car in for an alignment. I get it back later that day and drive to school and I notice that when the steering wheel is centered I drift horribly to the left. I take it back and tell them and they say they will fix it. I go back for the 2nd time and pick it up. I test it out right away and it does the same damn thing. I go back for the 3rd time and they say they will get it right. Later on, I pick it up and the guy tells me I need a front camber kit and that is why my steering is off. He tells me he fixed it so that the tires won't bald but now when I center the steering wheel I slowly drift to the right. He told that it will all be corrected with a front camber kit.

Has anyone ever heard of this, I want a definitive answer before I go and buy a camber kit for the front, so if anyone on here has any info to help me out id appreciate it a lot.

-mike

If the camber is off, it should not make the car pull. I think the guy that did your alignment is full of shit. I initially had Neuspeed Race springs on my car. That was a 2.25" drop and I went less than 1 degree negative in the front. The rear will need a camber kit, and the track angle will need to be adjusted.

Generally, when a car pulls, or fails to track straight, it is a toe problem. Caster could be an issue, but it is not adjustable on a Honda, and Should Not change much on a MacPhereson strut suspension when it is lowered. Either the guy doesn't know what he is doing, or their alignment rack needs to be calibrated. I would try another shop, preferably one with a newer Visualiner rack.

phatfreeza
09-16-2003, 11:11 PM
i agree. big o tires around my area did a superb job aligning my car after getting the s techs. no pull, or anything like that. i'm gonna say SHAME ON THE ALINGMENT people. good luck! :cool:

Suk02Si
09-16-2003, 11:16 PM
they may just need to readjust the tie rod arms because the toe may be off a tad

staticflo
09-17-2003, 02:07 PM
ok, I took my car to another shop and had them do the alignment. They showed me on the computer that everything was in spec my camber was off a tad but still in the green. Even after there alignment everytime I center my wheel I still pull to the left. The new place told me it is becuase the suspension is altered and that it is much more sensitive and it probably just the road. Yet even on the highway which are usually completely flat the car does the same thing. This is really pissing me off, what else could possibly be wrong to make my car do this? I really don't know what to do anymore my tires aren't going to wear but it is annoying to have to keep my wheel tilted to go straight.....

glw
09-17-2003, 03:08 PM
Originally posted by staticflo
ok, I took my car to another shop and had them do the alignment. They showed me on the computer that everything was in spec my camber was off a tad but still in the green. Even after there alignment everytime I center my wheel I still pull to the left. The new place told me it is becuase the suspension is altered and that it is much more sensitive and it probably just the road. Yet even on the highway which are usually completely flat the car does the same thing. This is really pissing me off, what else could possibly be wrong to make my car do this? I really don't know what to do anymore my tires aren't going to wear but it is annoying to have to keep my wheel tilted to go straight..... tire condition and pressure... brake drag... but it really seem more like an alignment issue. i believe centering the steering wheel is part of the alignment process. at least my last alignment they asked me about it... good luck!

staticflo
09-17-2003, 08:04 PM
I'm thinking about just taking my car to the dealer and having them check everything out and seeing if they can possibly find out what the problem is here....

Jpax
09-17-2003, 08:26 PM
This is simple but when you take your car in for aliment, make sure EVERY tire is At the SAME PSI. like 32 psi. reason is if your front right tire is below 32psi, say 28 psi and the front left tire is 28 PSI. and they do an aliment on it. The car will be perfect in the green and still pull to the lower PSI tire in the front , that is the Front Left tire. because one tire is lower and the other is higher it will be out of spec. one other thing also. the springs need to set in i would drive on it for a couple of days. then have it aliened. But you can do it right away also and then have it done again once its set in.

I have Tein S techs and my fron camber is in spec , the rear is only were i needed a camber kit. the fronts are perfect.

staticflo
09-17-2003, 08:29 PM
Originally posted by PaXiE
This is simple but when you take your car in for aliment, make sure EVERY tire is At the SAME PSI. like 32 psi. reason is if your front right tire is below 32psi, say 28 psi and the front left tire is 28 PSI. and they do an aliment on it. The car will be perfect in the green and still pull to the lower PSI tire in the front , that is the Front Left tire. because one tire is lower and the other is higher it will be out of spec. one other thing also. the springs need to set in i would drive on it for a couple of days. then have it aliened. But you can do it right away also and then have it done again once its set in.

I have Tein S techs and my fron camber is in spec , the rear is only were i needed a camber kit. the fronts are perfect.

Not a bad idea about the tire pressure but, I got it aligned a week after the install so shouldn't they have been settled by then I drive the car daily.

oldschoolimport
09-17-2003, 11:22 PM
as far as the car pulling when the wheel is straight, the steering wheel is not centered and you are turning some when the wheel is straight. have the shop center the wheel THEN do the alignment. one tie rod will have to go in and the other out. it is more trouble to do both sides some than crank one side and forget about the other. they are taking the lazy way out. if the turned both some then the wheel would still be centered. they adjusted it all on one side and messed you up. raise hell and take the manager for a ride, express your displeasure, explain your patience and demand a refund so you can take it to someone who WILL do the job right. good luck.

02SilverSiHB
09-18-2003, 09:48 AM
what size rims and tires/type of tires are you running? Front camber usually doesn't change when lowered with our front suspension design, but ever car is different.

staticflo
09-18-2003, 12:53 PM
im on stock wheels, and who moved my thread into here?

sniperSI
09-18-2003, 01:19 PM
Here is something to ponder.


When i bought my SI that thing would pull left if i let go of the steering wheel. I called honda their like "Torque steer" blah, I knew they were full of it but anyways so i was gonna get it algined, never got around to it, and it went away.


FF: 1 year later

New tires, alginment, SAME THING (this time i have 1.5 inch drop) So i was gonna take it back, never did and guess what , it went away.


FF: few months ago.

3rd gear syncro went, they had to drop the engine and a bunch of shit to get to the tranny, They realigned my car before i got it back and wham! Pulled left again.


I left it alone and yet again, the alignment is normal.


I wonder if EPS has anything to do with it.

It's like you have to kinda fight the wheel to keep it going stright. Kinda hold it center because it feels like it wants to pull left so bad. I just did a couple of quick short yanks to clockwise and it seems to correct itself. ODD i must say. Maybe i'm just nuts or something.

staticflo
09-18-2003, 03:17 PM
My problem is every time I center the wheel now it drifts to the right. I have to hold the steering turned slightly to the left to go straight.

02SilverSiHB
09-18-2003, 06:48 PM
Originally posted by staticflo
im on stock wheels, and who moved my thread into here?
thought maybe you had aftermarket tires, anyway, I moved it, because it deals with suspension.

02SilverSiHB
09-18-2003, 06:50 PM
Originally posted by staticflo
My problem is every time I center the wheel now it drifts to the right. I have to hold the steering turned slightly to the left to go straight.
now that I think of it, mine does the same thing off and on. For instance, I took my car to the shop and they aligned it. Within a few hours I noticed it started to drift to the right. Then another day I was messing with my suspension and loosened retightened my two bolts to the front right suspension and the car drove striaght. Then I loosened retightened them again, and back to the ol drifting to the right. Weird.

staticflo
09-18-2003, 08:35 PM
Yea its pretty annoying but I dont know what to do about it. I just hope its not something serious that was broken or anything during the install of my springs or even worse something that won't be covered under warranty and i'll have to pay out the ass to get it fixed....

Tenacious G
09-18-2003, 09:14 PM
staticflo,

this is the first time i've heard of a car pulling left or right following the installation of lowering springs and an alignment. however, i'm totally stock and my steering has never been centered. i pull to the left following the replacement of a defective front strut.

i'm taking mine in soon for 10K mile service and will have the issue addressed then and i'll bring up the issue.

2k2ep
09-23-2003, 07:47 AM
I have done many alignments and I would make a good bet that almost all that is wrong is the steering wheel center is off. Its the last thing they will do. It simply is locking the steering wheel in place and centering the the wheels with the tie rods. Most people are lazy asses and dont do this quite right sometimes it takes some testing and shops are (to busy) to do anything about it unless you complain they dont figure it there prob. DO NOT LET THEM BLAME YOU FOR THIS SIMPLE PROBLEM HAVE THEM FIX IT OR DEMAND A REFUND! This is your right, good luck.