What's bent?

[adigraham]

Happy Easter Guys and Gals!

Since i had a bash into a kerb in the snow i have had 4 new alloys fitted (old ones knackered anyway) and balanced and also the car laser tracked whoch was in the required limits.

The steering wheel is slightly off center still to the right and the car still goes to the left if the steering wheel is let go on a flat bit of road ... is an suspension lower arm bent or something?

 

[rodenal]

You sure your track rod ends dont just need adjusting?

 

[Tooks]

Sounds like it could just be lazy alignment people!!

The lazer tracking should have highlighted anything more serious, but quite often they just adjust one trackrod, where they should really clamp the steering wheel tight and then adjust both sides.

My steering was just like yours, and I spent ages arguing the toss with the alignment place about adjusting both the trackrods the same amount so that the steering wheel was central again. They said it wasn't possible!!

I just did it myself in the end! I adjusted the trackrods, made one shorter by a quarter turn, and one longer by a quarter turn, and the steering wheel was then straight.

 

[adigraham]

But why would it still veer to the left .. will adjusting the track rod ends sort this?

They didn't charge me for the laser check as they said it's within the limits ..

 

[madvw]

8L's pull to the left under 100% perfect alignment anyway, it's weird, but they just do.

brother in laws's 8L was eating up front tyres, and went to get it aligned - it was way out. Afterwards, it felt loads better, but pulled to he left......

i guess it depends on how hard it pulls to the left.

 

[batwad]

I've always thought my A3 pulls left slightly, as did every one I test drove when I was hunting for one.

Sometimes I think it's due to the camber of the road; it somehow seems more "sensitive" to roads with a slight right-to-left camber.

 

[Tooks]

I forgot to say that mine pulls slightly to the left too, even on an apparently flat road, though of course very few roads are perfectly flat!

 

[Prawn]

my 1.8T 8L pulls to the left a little, as does my mums 1.9tdi 8L, as does my dads b5 A4, and our old audi 80 estate! infact, all the audis we have ever had seemed to pull to the left a fraction! even after 4 wheel laser alignment!

 

[CLS3]

The pulling to the left could well be due to torque steer, but as Tooks said Adi it does sound like the toes on your front wheels are wrong.

 

[s3ollie]

find a quiet road and try driving on the right hand side. if it pulls to the right then the trackings fine. mine pulls to the right on the right hand lane and pulls to the left in the left lane so i think the steering is just sensetive to any camber as said before