I had a new set of Toyos fitted to my 94 WRX a couple of months back and the car now pulls to the left. When I first drove it I noticed it so I had the alignment checked. This showed the near side front was a little out and this was corrected. Problem is that now it pulls even more. I went back to the tyre company that supplied the tyres and they had a look, said there was nothing obvious wrong with the tyres and if there was a problem then the steering wheel would also be vibrating. They drove it and said it was just the camber of the road, and when you get on a piece of road that is flat then it goes in a straight line, but I don't agree.

I know my car, it didn't pull before, and now pulls more since the alignment was fixed. Question is what do I do next ?

Has anyone had similar problems with Toyos ? Do they all do this ? I bought them because they get such good reviews so didn't expect to have problems with them.

I have considered swapping the tyres from front to rear to see if that changes anything, but haven't had time to do so yet, could this help or is it unwise on a 4 wheel drive car ?

I have also considered going back and having the alignment looked at again while I am there so I know it is spot on, which should then only leave the tyres, but how do I get it confirmed there is a fault with a tyre ?

Can anyone help me get to the bottom of this ?

Thanks

Ken

 

Ken E
i know this sounds basic - but check tyre pressures are same for both front wheels. if ok swap left/right at front only and test drive - if it is a tyre it should now pull the other way. if if it still pulls the same way - suspect the tracking. have them chcek it while you watch - free of charge !!!

jhd

 

be careful swapping the tyres - a lot of tyres are directional. front to back should be fine though and at least would rule out the tyres. could you have hit a pothole at some point. maybe bent something? presumably the tracking would have showed this though

Steve

 

Car was serviced last week at same time and place as tracking done so pressures should be OK, but I will check them tonight.

I haven't hit anything at all, so I don't think anything can have been bent or damaged. I was there when the tyres were changed and it was jacked up on the jacking points so I don't expect any problem caused by jacking it up (had a previous bad experience with an MR2 being jacked up in the wrong place when having a puncture repair so am wary of this).

Based on responses so far, I think the plan has to be:

1. check pressures, adjust if necessary, try again tomorrow
2. if problem still there then will have tracking rechecked when I'm there
3. if this is ok or if adjusted again and still there then swap tyres front to rear (they are directional)
4. if problem cured then it will be the tyre, go back to tyre place again
5. if problem still there then part exchange car for something that goes in a straight line !!

I suppose I could put the old tyres back on, but have spent £440 on new ones and full alignment so seems rather a waste, plus I would have to pay to have them swapped over and a puncture repaired so total would be around £500 for a puncture to be fixed !!

Thanks

Ken

 

The alignment check you had, was it front wheels only?
There are available full alignment for all 4 wheels.
Mine had a rear wheel out of alignment causing it to veer left.
Also they equalised the length of each track rod between the end of the rack and the wheel ball joint. This meant that when going over large humps at a healthy speed the car tracked true throughout the suspension travel. The stearing wheel might then need re-aligning - Subaru used to put the stearing wheel straight, then muck up the geometry.

Fords had a nightmare with their cars with lots of money spent on tracking the front wheels just for parrallel in the static position. Problem was variability in lining up the rear subframe and suspension on the production line. The garage I used had a "Sun" made system. Same people who do engine exhaust analysers. Think they were located in the Kings Lynn area if memory serves. No financial connection, it was a kit car builder who put me onto them because he had to deal with King pin inclination, camber, caster, etc. A kit can finish up with horrid geometry. You lot think tyre pressures make the car bad!

 

No, I had the full alignment done on the car. When it was checked only the toe on the nsf was out a little and this was corrected. Camber and everything else was correct. It was done by a subaru specialist who have done everything alright on the car before so I am expecting it to have been done correctly.

I have checked the tyre pressures this morning and although it was difficult to get an accurate reading on the pump at the petrol station, both fronts had the same pressure and both rears had the same pressure so I am ruling this out.

Thanks

Ken

 

Try swapping tyres diagonally across the car. This worked on the wifes Golf.
Be carefull though if you have directional tyres as this will put rotational direction the wrong way round.
Also check that if they are directional they are facing the right way.Its very easy for a novice tyre fitter to make a mistake and get them the wrong way round.

 

Cheers Scooby T, but the tyres are directional so I can't do that, and they are going in the right direction. I think front to rear is the only option unless I pay out and have them removed and turned around, so will try front to rear first.

Ken

 

just a thought - could worn suspension bushes/mounts cause this?

Steve