ok, can you guys help me clear alignemnt issues?

[ESPER]

CAR: 1995 240sx, tires 1 weeks old kumho ecsta mx 205-55-16

PROBLEMS:at highway speeds, steering wheel vibrates, on occasion.

seems the car pulls slight to right

excessive tire wear after 1 week (practiced drifting 2 nights)on outer portion of tires

SOLUTIONS TRIED:tire pressure front: 36 Rear: 34

alignment:Front left camber -1.1 right -1.8Toe is 0.03 degrees in on bothSAI is 14.3

rear left camber is -1.6 and right is -2.1toe is 0.09 degrees in and 0.06 degrees in

guys tell me that they cannot adjust alignement anymore and that since the tires have started to wear out evenly they will continue to do so for the rest of their lifespan.

any other ideas?

[chmercer]

omg 9 inches of toe that cannot possibly be right.

[ESPER]

0.09

[ESPER]

but should i just expect this out tread wear or what else can i do to solve this? you see i dont know much about alignment issues so i dont know if they are bull****ting me or not!

[ESPER]

i mean, does EVERYONE's car run perfectly straight all the time?? based on my settings, does my car run to the right cuz of the excessive camber on both right wheels? also, would replacing all the bushing with an energy suspension kit put an end to the steering wheel shaking at high speeds??

someone?

[C-Kwik]

Any car with proper alignment should drive straight if the road is flat. Some roads are lower on the edges and can cause a slight pull to the right.

Bushings may help, but only if worn bushings are the problem. If it's say, an unbalanced wheel/tire or worn tie rods, then it will do nothing for you.

And I don't see why they can not align it if ther tires have wear. Alignments specs should not be measured by referencing the tire.

And as far as heavy wear for a week of use, keep in mind you used them to drift. lateral loads generally place a high amount of load on the outer edge of the tire. Add to this the heat and friction that comes with the high slip angles used in drifting and you probably have your answer to that riddle.

[racerx]

camber and caster are not adjustable on the stock 240 suspesion setup. If you want to get it right and be able to set it up nice for drifting than get yourself a set of pillowball mounts for the front struts. Adjustable tesion control rods too. For the rear you need upper control arms that are adjustable. They definitely aren't bull****ting you. It's simply not adjustable in stock form. New bushings would probably help pull everything back in proper. I would also have your wheels rebalanced that seems to be what is causing the vibrations. When you get the car back make sure the weights are together and not spread on the wheel.

[ESPER]

ok will double check the vibrations with the tire balancing first, thanks guys!

[burnin240sx]

another option but not likely is that your roators need to be balanced

[burnin240sx]

If your gona get the upgrades mentioned by racerx then you might want to find a reputable alignment shop. They do more work with aftermarket suspension and have better knowledge of what you’re looking for and can help you untill you know what your doing with your suspension.

[BoyWonder]

I have the exact same problem with steering wheel vibration.. was diagnosed to be a bad tierod on the passenger side.

[jodancer25]

I have the same issue with my steering wheel vibrating (at speeds over 65, and actually the whole car vibrates) and it pulls pretty hard to the right. I got pulled into a ditch on a dirt road earlier this week so I figured maybe that threw the alignment off. However, I went in and had it aligned at a reputable shop and I still have the same problem. I don't know much about mechanics, but I was wondering if maybe I needed to have my tires rebalanced or mounted? I noticed burnin thought perhaps the rotors needed to be balanced? I just had my rotors replaced about two week ago. Would going in to ditch cause me to have to get them rebalanced? (I didn't go in very far or deep, but it was wet enough to where I had to get pulled out.

I also just had the passenger side lower ball joint replaced as well as new sway bar links and a drivers side Axel to try and clear up the vibrating steering wheel. Does anyone have any other ideas on what might be the problem? And is there any way to check myself to see if if the tires or rotors need to be balanced? I hate to have to go back to the shop without knowing the problem...

[compactfean]

That'd what shops are for is to diagnose the problem and fix it. If they misdiagnose the problem that is on them. But to get to the main issue, you need to have a complete shakedown done. Shake the tire top to bottom and watch the tire. Is there is play coming from the center, replace wheel bearing, if there is play at the ball joint/s replace them. Same with the control arm bushings, all this is done shaking (or in the bushings case forcing) the tire with your hands at 12oclock and 6. (with the front of the car off the ground) then you shake the tire at 3 and 9 oclock to see if there is any play in the inner and outer tie rods ok thr steering rack. (you may need a helper to shake while you watch and feal) the last thing (and very likely could be your problem) is check your tortion rod.bushings for any tearing or leaking. If they are bad they leak this jelly filled stuff and if bad will cause the front end to shake. I understand your thought process on the rotors but nobody balances rotors,.just resurfaces them I'm sure is not your problem. If your tires have been balanced and your car shook before your ditch incident id say they are fine.
The very last thing id look into is if ALL of this checks out fine (which I'm sure won't) then lol into the tsb on the steering rack. There is a part that wears out that can also cause vibration but I'm sure you will find your problem before that.

[compactfean]

Oh and for the simple fact it pulls pretty hard right after a fresh alignment indicates warn components. I had the same problem and aligned my car multiple times until I replaced all my front end bushings and problem went away. (thankfully I did all my own alignments)

[jodancer25]

Thanks so much for the info. I will check into this and hopefully will clear up the problem. I am not super knowledgable when it comes to auto mechanics but I am learning to do as much as I can... Mainly because I have been screwed over so many times by "honest" shops and mechanics that I like to have some idea of what needs to be fixed before I take it in if I can't fix it myself.