Slight pull to the left at high speeds

[moline]

took my crz for a long drive this weekend and noticed a pull to the left at freeway speeds.

took it to the dealer today to check the alignment.
they just called. didn't find anything out of the norm.
but there was a TSB for the civics for alignment issues. so they applied that.
(i think just switching tires??)

tech said thinks are fine now. i'll pickup later today and see.

anybody else have/noticed?

later
dan

[oldchap14]

The early S2000s had alignment problems caused by ratcheting down the cars too tightly to the ship's deck when shipping from Japan. This caused extreme tire wear as well as alignment pulls so insist on seeing and getting a copy of the alignment report specs in case you need to justify tire warranty claims.

Same thing happened on some NSXs which were also made at the Suzuka factory and shipped acorss the Pacific.

[moline]

thanks for the info.

just picked up the car. seems better but will take on a freeway drive tonight for a check.

the TSB just switched the left and right tires. go figure??

later
dan

[Shatner]

Are you sure it's pulling left? I've noticed that the steering is so tight that if you're moving at a good pace, the wheel will stay in the direction you pointed it. Try straightening the steering wheel and try again. Might just be that.

[moline]

the crz was alittle better after they applied the TSB. but still had a slight pull to the left.
even on normal on city street at low speeds. but most noticably on 'sport' at >70mph.

took it back this morning. service tech said he'll look at the alignment and make sure.
they just called, alignment was off by 13 degrees on the right front side - from factory!?!??

have been adjusted and fixed. picking up in alittle while. hard copies of the alignment machine also.

thanks for inputs.

later
dan

p.s. my most recent 2 seaters were a porsche 996 (02 targa) and 07 saturn sky redline (tuned w/ extras). crz definitely is as much fun to drive. wouldn't really call it a 'sports car' though. (but then again, i haven't had it to 8k rpm yet!)

[moline]

the honda dealer re-aligned all four wheels.
they spec'd it to a 2010 Insight - didn't have the alignment specs (camber/toe) for the CRZ yet.
(forgot the machine name?)
the other wheels were in tolerence ranges - so i guess it''s not a problem?

the front right wheel toe was .13degrees - tolerence was -.12 to .12 d
its camber was within specified range (-0.3d)

took it a spirited freeway cruise. seems alot better. but still seems a slight pull every so often.

since the car only has ~300 miles, i think i'll wait till the tires are broken in and see how it handles. right now, handles pretty well but i think could be better.

was going to look at some tire/wheel combination. but might hold off till i know i don't have a problem.

will new wheels/tires help? (thinking about 18"????)

later
dan
p.s. i'll post the alignment tolerences in another thread for future reference.

[Goose]

Saw this thread after posting on your other thread. Glad the car feels a bit better after the alignment.

The Insight specs are biased towards economy and therefore will want to wander more than a more performance-oriented setup. I would definitely hold off on changing wheels/tires until you've exhausted reasonable alignment options. As I mentioned in the other thread, the CR-Z may have a more performance-oriented alignment. Unfortunately, as with most cars these days, there isn't much that can be adjusted. About the only thing to do for pulling/tracking is adjust the toe in/out.

If the dealer hasn't fixed the pulling problem with this alignment, I suggest having them set it to a very mild toe IN of 1/16" per side (total toe-in of 1/8"). This should improve tracking without hurting mileage or tire wear.

Sorry for being long-winded, but I'm really into how a car handles.

[91CRXTC]

ive noticed this same problem but more when im in traffic, my S wheel is to the right and car pulls left alittle. I only noticed when i was in left lane on high way so figured it was the road leaning. Will have to look at other times, lanes and speeds to see.

[moline]

thanks for info guys - good info.

the alignment is much better, but there still seems like there's still a slight pull to the left. (even after making sure the steering wheel is going straight/right - it'll pop back to the left??) but it's not as heavy as before. believe me before the alignment, after 1 hour of driving, you felt it!

i'm talking to the evasive motorsport guys and trying to work a deal on the ssr 18"x7.5"
(went down there today and the fit was fine - plenty of clearance. they even put on
18"x8.5" and would work but stuck out alittle. they may mod for track/de crzs- roll lip and/or cut.)

they're also through in a front end alignment along with the balances. so i may do it just to check/double-check the alignment tolerances that were set by the dealer.

hopefully this may solve? (hugh said some hondas have this problem and throwing larger wheels/tires sometimes solve, sometimes doesn't.)
maybe i'll have the toe adjusted again to see if that helps also.

thanks
later
dan

p.s. i too am picky about how my cars handle. the black crz i drove was impressive. but not sure if long drives would be enjoyable with current steering.

[Chris]

I never had any problems with steering pull to the left or right when I drove from Texas to Cali.