Is the alignment shop feeding me BS?

Springs, Struts, Swaybars, Bushings, Tower Braces & more
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Is the alignment shop feeding me BS?

By teal_dx
- Mon Jul 02, 2007 7:17 pm #12884 I got my car aligned last week, right away I noticed that the car seemed to stick to the road better in turns. I also noticed that I had to hold the steering wheel slightly left of center when going straight, but I wanted to do some highway driving to be sure it was not crappy city roads causing it to do that. So I did some highway driving over the weekend and every time I noticed that I had to hold the steering wheel slightly left of center when going straight. If I let go of the wheel, it would slowly self center and the car would begin pulling slightly to the right.
So I made another appointment for today and when I got there, the tech that did the alignment the first time told me there was nothing else they can do. All they can adjust is the toe (because of how much it is lowered) and the toe is in spec. Then they told me that they could see if there is a camber kit for my car, but I'm not interested in having them upsell me something that I don't think I need that bad.
my current specs after having it aligned are:

Front Left:
Camber -2.0
Caster 1.3
Toe -0.04

Front Right:
Camber -1.7
Caster 0.7
Toe -0.02

Front:
Cross Camber -0.3
cross caster 0.6
Total toe -0.05

Rear Left:
Camber -0.6
Toe .06

Rear Right:
Camber -0.3
Toe .08

Rear:
Cross Camber -0.3
cross caster 0.14
Thrust angle -0.01


The car did not pull to the right before I brought it in, nor has it pulled any way in the 7 years I have owned it. First they said that putting wider tires and lowering cars will cause them to follow ruts or slopes in the road. Then I told how I drove the car on the OH Turnpike (nicest highway in OH) and it still pulled to the right in every lane. Next They told me that it may have not been noticable before because having the alignment specs so far out may have compensated for it. (but all that really changed was the toe)
So they said that it could also be the tires on the car, due to uneven wear or a broken belt, and offered to rotate them. I said Thanks but I was missing work & had to get back. I said I have another set at home that I'll put on and see if there is any difference. I took my civic there a few years back, they are a reputable company. It's not pulling so hard that I can't deal with it, The only reason I noticed is because I notice little things like that.

So I'm going to get my HX wheels balanced finally and put them on to see.

I am just wondering if this sounds like BS to anyone else. If there is a way to adjust lowered civics so that the steering is centered. Or if the shop is trying to upsell me a camber kit or a new set of tires. :?

By sqsi
- Mon Jul 02, 2007 7:38 pm #12888 mine did the same thing when I had 17's on it and it was lowered. I have front and rear camber kits(well needed if lowered)The tech told me that was normal too. I went back to 15's and a 2 inch drop and still a little problem, ended up having bad control arm bushings. replaced all of them and it seems to be ok now.
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By teal_dx
- Mon Jul 02, 2007 7:56 pm #12891 I should give a little background on the car....
92 civic dx.
adj coil overs and Tokico HP shocks installed in late 2002. All bushings were replaced with Urethane ones a year or 2 later.
At that time I was lowered about 1 5/8" & I bought Ingalls camber kit for the front.
I had it on untill I tore my car apart in late 2005 for a complete rebuild. I sold the camber kit as my civic is no longer a daily driver, I wanted some more negative camber for track use (auto-x)
Installed ASR rear subframe brace and front & rear sway bars.

I put about 100 mi on it before I had it aligned and did not notice anything like how it is pulling now. But, the wheels I used in those miles had old cheap mis-matched tires. Then I drove it for a couple more days with the same wheels/tires that are on right now and still didn't notice any pulling. But the specs were also out of alignment at that time.

By sqsi
- Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:05 pm #12893 Strange. I had my 17's on stock set up for 3 months with no issues at all. Then I put Koni full threaded suspension, the camber kits, front H brace and rear lower tie bar. it was bad but didn't pull to the right until after the alignment. maybe it needed to break in? I don't know.
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By teal_dx
- Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:08 pm #12894 Hmmm maybe a slight pull isn't uncommon after all :?
These cars were never intended to be race cars 8)

Looks like I'm not the only one with this problem... anyone else have a similar issue with a slight pull or slightly off center steering?
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By ChicagoMike
- Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:01 pm #12905 The toe on my car is set as close to zero as possible. My steering wheel is also centered perfectly, yet I have the same issue........a very little pull to the right. I just live with it because its not all that bad.

The other thing I just thought of is to make sure that your car is lowered evenly all the way around. If one of your front shocks are lower than the other, you'll pull to that direction.
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By Graham
- Tue Jul 03, 2007 12:41 am #12926 Mine pulls slightly to the right aswell - has done ever since i bought it

Never noticed if my wheel is off centre though, ill check tomorrow

My coilovers just arrived today so after theyre on ill get mine alligned and see if i notice any problems
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By stefan
- Tue Jul 03, 2007 11:20 am #12944 I heard a car is supposed to pull to the right a little...
So when you fall asleep, you don't pull to the wrong side of the road and have an accident with something (somebody) else than a tree or ditch.

My car is lowered about 3? inches, on 15" wheels (195-50 tires), has a slight pull to the right, and my steeringwheel is also slightly off center.

I have no idea about what toe/camber/whatever I'm running now, never had it aligned.
I'll take it to an expert tho, it'l cost about twice the time and money compared to a tirefitter, but at least he does it perfect.
First I want to have my new brakes/swaybars/struts on...
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By Graham
- Wed Jul 04, 2007 12:50 am #13052
stefan wrote:I heard a car is supposed to pull to the right a little...
So when you fall asleep, you don't pull to the wrong side of the road and have an accident with something (somebody) else than a tree or ditch.


Here if i fell asleep my car would pull towards oncoming traffic :shock:
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By Greasedmonkey
- Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:06 pm #13093 Car is technically spose to pull off to the right ever so slightly. Its put in that was as a safety thing. If you fall asleep at the wheel, the car drifts off to the right away from on coming traffic. So you dont die in a head on while your asleep, you just drift off onto the shoulder or ditch.
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By stefan
- Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:42 am #13143 In the UK people drive on the wrong side of the road 8)
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By Greasedmonkey
- Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:18 am #13153
stefan wrote:In the UK people drive on the wrong side of the road 8)


Thats your own damn fault. we cant help you there.
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By stefan
- Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:12 am #13163
Greasedmonkey wrote:
stefan wrote:In the UK people drive on the wrong side of the road 8)


Thats your own damn fault. we cant help you there.


:crazy:

I'm in Holland man
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By Graham
- Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:48 pm #13216 Its me thats in the UK, right now my car isnt going anywhere so pulling slightly to one direction is the least of my concerns :lol:
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By Racing Rice
- Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:59 pm #13880 My old civic use to pull to the right a little after an alignment. My Del Sol hasn't been aligned yet and is as straight as an arrow. Find out when I take it in for an alignment.
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