Question - car goes left or right on straight drive

[Bosrudorfer]

I got some used 17' rims with ES100 tires 90%, with the rear driver side being brand new 100%. I drove on stock suspension for 2 weeks and the only problems I encountered was the car (steering wheel) went either to the left or right and I had to correct this. This was during a straight drive, corning was good (and still is good)

I recently put on Tanabe GF210 springs (1.5" drop) and the car drove great, didn't have the problem I had before BUT this was before I had the alignment done which now I have that problem again. >

What the heck could be causing this? I have front and rear strut bars coming Thursday and the rims/tires were balanced from Discount Tire. They mentioned I had some minor pot hole damage to the rear rims but nothing serious or that I could feel.

I can also post my alignment number page and it seems my right caster is off by .6" if that effects this. <--- within normal specs I have been told.

Thanks!

[McRussellPants]

-maybe your just not used to the way stiff sidewall tires track on the road.

-something is loose in the suspension. maybe your FLCA bushing is toast, I don't think an alingment shop would pick up on that... your tension rods could be crap too.

[Bosrudorfer]

I have had 19" before on another car. I am not super worried at the moment since I am just starting the suspension modding. I am also going with SPL V2 tension rods, nismo power brace, and TEIN pillow ball upper mount front <--- so I can adjust caster.

I heard about tension rod bushing but can't found where they sell them. Also the car has extreme low mileage so nothing is from wear or tear unless it goes bad from sitting for a long time.

Thanks as always!

[Ni2s4s0aSnX]

Could be a power steering problem, could be a steering column problem, could one or more of many suspension parts that would be causing the problem. Just take a look a your front suspension parts and see if anything looks out of the ordinary.

[onosqv]

I have had 19" before on another car. I am not super worried at the moment since I am just starting the suspension modding. I am also going with SPL V2 tension rods, nismo power brace, and TEIN pillow ball upper mount front <--- so I can adjust caster.

I heard about tension rod bushing but can't found where they sell them. Also the car has extreme low mileage so nothing is from wear or tear unless it goes bad from sitting for a long time.

Thanks as always!

Please learn about your suspension first. I'm assuming you mean to say "so I can adjust caster" to the tension rods and not the pillow mounts.

Also, you won't need tension rod bushings because you already have spl tension rods, which are a hard pillowball bushing.

To see if your wheels/tires are all messed up, try rotating them (front to back, left to right, etc depending on how much time you have) and see if it pulls any different. If it does, then those guys who balanced your tires either lied or ur wheel really is bad.

Hopefully, you don't have any frame damage - doesn't sound like you do from what you are talking about, but keep that in mind.

As for your alignment, go ahead and post the numbers. You have to bring the car back to the alignment shop & tell them the symptoms so they can adjust accordingly.

Lowering your car will make your alignment #'s worse. From your description, it seems you aligned it before installing the springs, which makes that last alignment nearly worthless.

[whiterps13]

it sounds like an alignment problem. keep in mind that when you modify any part of the suspension, its likely to throw off the entire alingment to some degree. you should consider buying all your suspension parts at one time, and then have your car aligned. it makes more sense to me to have everything installed at once.

[Bosrudorfer]

Let me start by saying the car has 19k miles on it so worn out parts are at most non existent unless from sitting a long time.

Ni2s4s0aSnX - You might be correct but the power steering seems to be working fine. I had a concern from the reservoir "swirling" but have been informed and seen for myself that other S14's also have this. I am going to do a power steering fluid change soon.

brokeAs240sx - I was unaware of the SPL tension rods having hard pillowball bushing. I also don't have them but will be purchasing them very soon. I'm new to the whole in-depth suspension modification. I have done several spring/shocks swaps though.

You confused me on the pillow mounts. I'm new to them but aren't they used to adjust the caster? Our cars are all MacPherson suspension so the pillow mounts can be used to adjust the caster in the front correct?

As for the tires I was thinking of trying that but would only be able to do front to back due to the tires rotation.

And finally what would you recommend I purchase? Should I just get the SPL tension rods? The pillow mounts not needed?

whiterps13 - Yea I wanted to lower the car asap. I will be ordering a group of suspension parts in the coming months and will put them on all at once and have an alignment done. Plus the shop I do it at gives a 1 month warranty so I can come back numerous times in that month.

This may seem strange but I have noticed that the steering problems seem to happen mostly in the morning after the car has been seating over night....

[onosqv]

19k? what car is this? If this is a 98 240 like in your profile, then keep in mind these parts are still 8 years old. Granted, there is only 19k on them, but that means they were sitting around for much of their life, nature & time still take its toll on parts regardless... less of a toll, but still something to consider.

Ok, since you were nice about it, I'll try to explain a little. I know it's a little confusing - you can blame the marketing guys for these aftermarket part names.

The pillowball mounts... keyword "mounts"... go on top of your strut/shock & spring in place of the regular strut mount. In the front, you can adjust camber w/ it.

Like so:

The SPL (and others) adjustable tension rods, toe rods, tie rods, traction rods, rear upper control arm, etc all have pillowball bushings... keyword "bushings"... these replace the stock rubber bushings in place w/ a metal one. That's why I said you don't need new tension rod bushings if you buy the spl tension rod.

Stock tension rod:

SPL tension rod:

Notice that the large stock bushing is now a tiny metal piece.

To adjust camber in front: camber bolts that go thru the spindle/shock and/or camber plates (i.e. pillow mounts w/ camber adjustment)

To adjust caster in front: adjustable tension rods

To adjust toe in front: adjustable tie rods

To adjust camber in rear: camber bolts that go thru the spindle/ruca (rear upper control arm) and/or adjustable ruca

To adjust toe in the rear: adjustable rear toe rod

I hope that clears it up for you. But now I get to give you a hard time: all of this information could have been found from clicking and spending a little time with:

[Bosrudorfer]

Yep it's the 98 S14, 19k original miles on her. She was in storage for the past 2 years so I got other problems such as a small rear main seal leak but that's a different issue.

I understand what your saying, I have been reading Clintons 240SX repair manual and now know not only how to take stuff off and back on but what the heck they do. Thanks for clearing up alot for me. I also just noticed I was reading the Tein pillow mounts product description wrong, it does state camber but for some reason I got it confused with caster *doh*

As for the search I never find anything I need. Trust me I have tried everything, archived, specific forum sections, everything. The search on the forum isn't the best.

Once again thanks, I appreciate it!

P.S. My front & rear strut bar are arriving today ^_^ w00t and I guess I wont need those TEIN pillow mounts.

[onosqv]

That's awesome... but you do realize strut bars have nothing to do w/ pillowball mounts rite? Good luck man.

[Bosrudorfer]

That's awesome... but you do realize strut bars have nothing to do w/ pillowball mounts rite? Good luck man.

Yea I was just stating I was getting some more suspension mods today.

[jdm_master_X]

I got some used 17' rims with ES100 tires 90%, with the rear driver side being brand new 100%. I drove on stock suspension for 2 weeks and the only problems I encountered was the car (steering wheel) went either to the left or right and I had to correct this. This was during a straight drive, corning was good (and still is good)

I recently put on Tanabe GF210 springs (1.5" drop) and the car drove great, didn't have the problem I had before BUT this was before I had the alignment done which now I have that problem again. >

What the heck could be causing this? I have front and rear strut bars coming Thursday and the rims/tires were balanced from Discount Tire. They mentioned I had some minor pot hole damage to the rear rims but nothing serious or that I could feel.

I can also post my alignment number page and it seems my right caster is off by .6" if that effects this. <--- within normal specs I have been told.

Thanks!

quick suspension 101 for everybody so we get things clarified (ill draw a diagram later)

caster: the alignment angle viewed vertical from the side of the vehicle, measured from the top of the tire. so if the top of the tire is rearward, that is negative caster. the top going forward is positive. caster is strictly a directional angle. in most cases caster on either side of the car should be close if not equal, with a typical degree between both sides. if the alignment is off, caster will pull the car to the most negative side of the caster measurement (so if your caster is more off to the right, it will pull right). and only the front has caster measurements

camber: the alignment angle viewed vertical from the front of the vehicle, measured from the top of the tire. if the top of the tire is away from the inside of the tire well, its negative. if its tucked in, its positive. the max difference between both sides is a quarter of a degree and is a directional and wear angle. camber has to also compensate for the three degree road crown on most roads here in the US, in this case, is slightly more negative. camber pulls to the most positive.

toe: viewed vertical from the top of the vehicle, its the angle showing the front of the tire either pointing right (positive or TOE OUT) or left (negative or TOE IN). critical wear and directional angle. also controls thrust angle. prefered to have the toe equal on all four tires (like a perfect rectangle) so the car tracks straight. the rear toe (thrust angle) should be perpendicular with the imaginary vehicle centerline so the rear will track evenly with the front tires (assuming the front is also perpendicular with the centerline). if the rear isnt like the front, depending on where the rear is pointing, it will attempt to make the car pull in the opposite direction of its pointed angle.

lowering a car will cause the camber to be off by a lot. if you dont have an available adjustment (aftermarket) for it, there isnt much that could be done. it will also throw off your caster. could i have a copy of your alignment sheet?

rear camber and rear toe on s13/s14 is correctable, along with front toe. i hope the alignment tech did the alignments in the correct order and within the correct differences. the order is always REAR CAMBER, REAR TOE, FRONT CASTER, FRONT CAMBER, FRONT TOE (assuming he is doing all four wheels, if not, then disregard the rear settings).

i believe that your rear camber also helped throw of the rear toe, causing the car to handle a little erradic on the straight. a good way to test car behavior is to drive the car on a straight, letting go of the wheel for six seconds. take note of the direction the car is tracking and then let me know, along with your alignment sheet. thanks and good luck!!!!

[Bosrudorfer]

Here is my sheet before I installed the springs with the 17" rims.

OLD SCAN

NEW SCANNow Scanning!

Thanks!!!

[Bosrudorfer]

Ok Here is the new one =D

[onosqv]

I hope you didn't pay for that new one, cuz they actually made front camber worse/more uneven.

[Bosrudorfer]

I hope you didn't pay for that new one, cuz they actually made front camber worse/more uneven.

No didn't pay for it but my 1 month warranty ended today.... **** it was a different guy too since the usual guy (Dustin) blew his motor and couldn't make it to work. Guess I'll pay them a visit tomorrow.

UPDATE: Just called them, I made an appointment tomorrow evening and they will honor the 1 month warranty still. We shall see. What should the average specs be so I can be prepared? Good thing is Dustin's back.

And THANKS!

[Bosrudorfer]

Bump anyone. I want to be alittle prepared when I go tonight.

Thanks

[onosqv]

Just tell them your car's symptoms. They can even drive w/ you in the car to see. From there, they should be able to tell you what is wrong - of course, it all depends on how honest they are and how much work they want to do.

[Bosrudorfer]

Well I went tonight and it went perfect. The normal tech (Dustin) was there and he fixed everything up. The car now drives great and like a rock! He also checked the bushing and brakes and everything is fine. Here is the new and final print out until several months down the road when I get more suspension parts. Thanks everyone for the support/help!