Steering pulls to the left when accelerating and to the right when decelerating

[kaotik78]

Hey all,

Got a weird issue with my ep3 that was evident right after I swapped my 17's for OEM 16's for the winter season.

After I swapped out my 17's with Toyo Proxies this past weekend with the OEM 16's and tires, I noticed that the car wanted to pull to the left during acceleration, even more so if you put your foot right into it. When I change gears the car pulls to the right again, and when you release the clutch the car pulls back to the left.

Between the storm/cleanup/work I haven't had a chance to get the car up on jacks and take a look. I did go over everything when I had swapped the wheels and all was good and tight.

I went around a corner rather fast yesterday, it was wet out, and the rear actually broke loose and swung around on me, luckily I head into work at 4am, but certainly woke me up. I'm not sure if the rear breaking loose was just me forgetting I'm not on wider stickier tires, or if the thrust angle/rear alignment really needs to be adjusted for the 16's. Years ago (I gotta remind myself how old I am) I had a car that had 17's on it, and in the winter I'd run 14's, never had an alignment issue and that was more of a sizable increase/decrease in rim size.

I did the following this summer, JRSC, tie rod's, cv axles, LCA bushings, ball joints, skunk-2 pro-c coilovers, new wheelbearings, and the alignment was done at a speed shop using strings.

I've checked tire pressure on the stock tires and ran it evenly on all four sides.

It tracks down the road straight on the highway but when I touch the gas it'll pull. Brakes in a straight line as well.

Course now I've muddled up the troubleshooting forumla by not leaving well enough alone and adding aftermarket coilovers, upgraded bushings, so trying to rule out issues is a bit more difficult for me.

It kills me but I might just put the summer tires back on to use as a 'control' of sorts since it wasn't doing it with those.

So has anyone else come across this?

[b_ron]

Maybe its the accuracy with alignment using strings? Maybe something with the fronts toe-ing outwards? Just a guess.

[Ba82Ep3]

Some tire patterns will pull more than others... but that might not be your issue. Im assuming youre running an open (stock) diff with the JRSC? The stickier tires with more power will tend to pull on power... but the pull direction should follow road crown/bumps/ruts. An LSD is a different animal...

The biggest reason im still running steelies w/shitty tires is to avoid snapping axles and calm down my steering input when i lay down the power. Who cares if the smoke rolls off shitty tires in a 2nd gear pull? lol

[kaotik78]

Yes, I haven't put a LSD in the transmission. I'm guessing it's the really sub-par tires that came with the car when I bought them. The string alignment could also just be that, it's more accurate vs machine's. Just have to wait till these are about toast then when it comes time for new tires, I am probably going to run the same size 17's but in winter tread, now that I see they make lower profile tires with winter tread. That could in essence eliminate any alignment issues since I'd just be swapping same sized wheels/tires from summer to winter. Albeit a rather expensive venture but necessary because of where I live and would at least keep it out of the alignment shop each season.

[Her-Name's-Ally]

Ide say drive a few hundred miles on the tires then start doing some pulls to see if it has changed. I feel I always have this problem when I change/rotate tires.

[Ba82Ep3]

Yes, I haven't put a LSD in the transmission. I'm guessing it's the really sub-par tires that came with the car when I bought them. The string alignment could also just be that, it's more accurate vs machine's. Just have to wait till these are about toast then when it comes time for new tires, I am probably going to run the same size 17's but in winter tread, now that I see they make lower profile tires with winter tread. That could in essence eliminate any alignment issues since I'd just be swapping same sized wheels/tires from summer to winter. Albeit a rather expensive venture but necessary because of where I live and would at least keep it out of the alignment shop each season.

I pefer the string method myself... but it can be a pain to do if you have to raise and lower the car for each adjustment. You really should move the car after lowering it to the ground to let the suspension settle for it to be most accurate.

[kaotik78]

Thanks for the input. It's just crummy stock tires that were sitting in the garage over last winter so they're not the "best" and I believe the combination of switching wheel/tire sizes and the JRSC now has the car feeling entirely new to me when I put the stock tires/wheels back on. It's settled in more this week I've noticed. Next time around I'll get another set of 17's and just have snow's on them instead of bouncing back and forth between 16's and 17's.

[ragebomb]

Hey OP, just wondering how this situation is for you now? Did it settle in more?

I have the same problem.

My car was last aligned 6 months ago. Was perfect.

This week I changed to coilovers. They are set evenly. I also put on a different set of tires that I've had on the car in the past.

Took the car to be aligned.

On the way home (and maybe on the way there?) I noticed the car pulls to the left on acceleration, then pulls to the right when I lift off the gas to shift gears.

I thought it might be the damper stiffness settings, so I checked and adjusted those. No difference.

From what I've read online, it may be as simple as the tires having uneven pressure (more pressure on one side than the other), or uneven wear, etc.

I'm going to try moving my tires front to back (they're directional) to see if there is a change.

It's sad b/c the car is almost un-driveable right now! :(

[ragebomb]

Today I moved my wheels front to back, and side to side. The problem still persists, and actually got worse. I noticed that the problem is more pronounced under 45 mph. Above 45 mph it doesn't happen as much. Also the problem is worse when going downhill than it is going uphill.

Tire pressure - just adjusted by the alignment shop. They are all 33psi.

Alignment - just done a few days ago. Everything is in spec except caster (just a tad off), which is even on both sides in front.

Tire condition - they are brand new with less than 1,000 miles on them. Visually I don't see any bubbles, uneven wear or other problems with the tires.

Dampers - I just checked them again and they are set identically (fronts are 6 clicks, rear are 3 clicks).

Any ideas? I'm Googling and not coming up with much.

[Low35]

Jack up the front of the car and grab the wheel and wiggle it side to side and top to bottom. If there is any play in there you can have a range of issues. Make sure the suspension bolts are tight. If you inner or outer tie rods are shot your car will fall out of alignment. Also the lower ball joint and front and rear lower control arm bushings should be inspected along with the front sway bar end links. My car has had all of these problems so I know first hand. All that stuff works together so it all has to be good at once to have problem free suspension and steering.

[ragebomb]

Jack up the front of the car and grab the wheel and wiggle it side to side and top to bottom. If there is any play in there you can have a range of issues. Make sure the suspension bolts are tight. If you inner or outer tie rods are shot your car will fall out of alignment. Also the lower ball joint and front and rear lower control arm bushings should be inspected along with the front sway bar end links. My car has had all of these problems so I know first hand. All that stuff works together so it all has to be good at once to have problem free suspension and steering.

Low35, thanks man. I wobbled my wheels and found the the front passenger side tie rod end link nut had come loose. There was just the faintest bit of a rattle, but it was there. Luckily the cotter pin was still holding it in. The nut had been stripped when I installed it and I didn't notice. So there was just enough play in the end link that it was causing the bad steering! I replaced the nut and cotter pin, went back for an alignment, and the problem is fixed!

[Low35]

Good stuff! That's good that it was something simple. Take care.