Car wanders in lane after coilover install

[IntellecTEC]

I've been battling this problem for awhile now. After installing my Megan racing coilovers and performing a string alignment, my car seems to wander around in the lane. I've done this string alignment before with my stock suspension and I was only a 1/32 off according to the laser machine where I got it checked. So I'm pretty sure that my alignment is accurate.
I aligned it to:

0mm toe in-front
2mm (on each side) toe in-rear

0 degree camber-front
-1 degree camber- rear

I guess I should check my ball joints and steering rack mounts. Has anyone ever had this problem?

ps. my car is lowered about 2in from the stock ride height (1.5 finger gaps all around)

[Andrew]

my car does the same and i have the same coilovers (megan racing). from what i've read is that because the car is lowered and has different settings compared to stock it will follow the line of the road more than a car that is stock. that's my 2cents and i don't know if this is the most logical but it makes sense to me. i did a basic alignment so i know mine isn't off either

[bchaney]

There are some places that'll give you a free alignment check. Might be worth a try

You did well w the stock suspension, but maybe there's something new going on now that you're lowered

[IntellecTEC]

my car does the same and i have the same coilovers (megan racing). from what i've read is that because the car is lowered and has different settings compared to stock it will follow the line of the road more than a car that is stock. that's my 2cents and i don't know if this is the most logical but it makes sense to me. i did a basic alignment so i know mine isn't off either

Yea I've heard that it throws the suspenseion geometry off. But I figured that would be noticable in turns but not in a straight line. I guess Ill check my ball joints and see if they've gone bad.

[IntellecTEC]

There are some places that'll give you a free alignment check. Might be worth a try

You did well w the stock suspension, but maybe there's something new going on now that you're lowered

True, I'll probably re-align it for the heck of it.

[ep3egg]

did you replace your outer tie rods?

[Mr.EP3]

My car does the same thing after switching from HFPs back to stock. I've done like 3 alignments and still no luck. Starting to think it's my tires.

[socmex7]

Starting to think it's my tires.

this. if you've done your alignment then your tires may be the culprit. an easy check and one that's free too

[Andrew]

this. if you've done your alignment then your tires may be the culprit. an easy check and one that's free too

so what does it mean if it is the tires?

[IntellecTEC]

did you replace your outer tie rods?

I did replace my passenger side tie rod, but I have'nt replaced the driver side one. I need to shake the wheel and check for play on the driver's side too. Im hoping that its bad so I can stop searching for the issue and finally put an end to this.

[27rocks]

My car drives as straight as an arrow if the road is smooth and flat, but as soon as there is any imperfection in the road the car pulls a little here and there. I notice it more when the valving is on a stiffer side as well. This is due to the suspension just being slightly more in sink with the chassi. My older civic did the same once i put coilovers on it.

Now if it only pulls to one side then its an alignment issue or tire inflation problem. But if it wonders back and forth its normal.

[Zzyzx]

Welcome to the wonderful world of tracking & tram lining.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=47

By lowering the car as well as stiffening the suspension, you've made the car more susceptible to reacting to the imperfections of the road.

[IntellecTEC]

My car drives as straight as an arrow if the road is smooth and flat, but as soon as there is any imperfection in the road the car pulls a little here and there. I notice it more when the valving is on a stiffer side as well. This is due to the suspension just being slightly more in sink with the chassi. My older civic did the same once i put coilovers on it.

Now if it only pulls to one side then its an alignment issue or tire inflation problem. But if it wonders back and forth its normal.

Alright I think I've figured it out. When you lower a car past a certain point, the caster (rake angle) becomes more negative which makes the car feel like its "wandering" down a straight away.

Check out this article:
http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=4

I'm going to sacrific my nice low looks and lift my car about an inch all the way around and then re-align to see if it took care of the problem.

[Twisted-X]

Welcome to the wonderful world of tracking & tram lining.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=47

By lowering the car as well as stiffening the suspension, you've made the car more susceptible to reacting to the imperfections of the road.

I've noticed this when running +2 sized summer tires on different vehicles.