If my car is pulling left when I let off....

[aCab]

It's the alignment, right? Tires have the same pressure. Most of the time, it tracks fine, but when I left off, it pulls left and when I get on it from zero throttle, it pulls right.

This is only going 60+ MPH.

It also feels like I'm getting blown around by the wind a lot at time when I'm on the interstate, but I'm pretty sure no wind is blowing.

Advice?

[My_yella_s2k]

does the highway you are driving in have road rut? ... a heavily travelled road will have 2 dips in the road where cars/trucks travel alot.. causing it to "indent"

it also would be only the alignment if the car is pulling at all speeds... not just when letting off the gas..
though, for good measures, check ur tire pressures...

[aCab]

does the highway you are driving in have road rut? ... a heavily travelled road will have 2 dips in the road where cars/trucks travel alot.. causing it to "indent"

it also would be only the alignment if the car is pulling at all speeds... not just when letting off the gas..
though, for good measures, check ur tire pressures...

It's on all road surfaces, even newly paved ones. I checked my pressures again tonight and they are they same.

Someone on another forum suggested it could be the bushings in the rear control arms getting worn out, so the torque causes it to pull both directions.

[velocity]

i was gonna say check your pressures but you said you already did.

[repiv]

i was gonna say check your pressures but you said you already did.

It's amazing how many times we've seen this. The owner swears up and down that the tire pressures are exactly where they should be. Yet, when they go out and check again, they discover that the pressures were, in fact, NOT OK. "Gosh, they were fine last time I checked." :o

However, if the tire pressure can be confirm beyond any doubt, to be right on, then some other questions need to be asked:

1. Are the tire sizes the same left and right?
2. Are there any irregularities in the tire tread or sidewall?
3. Is the wear even and symmetrical from left to right tire?
4. Are these tires new to the car?
5. Is there a foreign object lodged in the tire somewhere?

[aCab]

Thanks for the help guys. Just checked the tire pressure and everything checked out. I'll be getting an alignment next week - hopefully that'll fix it.

[Brad_H]

Have the brakes been serviced recently? Perhaps a sticky caliper or something else is causing the brake at one of your corners to drag.

[aCab]

Have the brakes been serviced recently? Perhaps a sticky caliper or something else is causing the brake at one of your corners to drag.

Honda dealership replaced the front pads and turned the rotors about 3k miles ago. Both wheels dust evenly, and the dealership didn't mention anything.

The problem seems to have gotten worse with my new rear tires.

[gomarlins3]

i was gonna say check your pressures but you said you already did.

Ditto.

[gomarlins3]

The problem seems to have gotten worse with my new rear tires.


I bet the problem is what repiv suggests- a problem with the 'new' tires.

[Jasonoff]

It's the alignment, right? Tires have the same pressure. Most of the time, it tracks fine, but when I left off, it pulls left and when I get on it from zero throttle, it pulls right.

This is only going 60+ MPH.

It also feels like I'm getting blown around by the wind a lot at time when I'm on the interstate, but I'm pretty sure no wind is blowing.

Advice?Your symptoms do not suggest alignment. It also suggests the driver side rear tire is a smaller diameter. (IE less pressure) or the passenger rear is a larger diameter (more pressure).

If it was a bad bearing the car wouldn't track straight.

This is pretty much straight physics. Either your symptom list is faulty or your tire pressure gauge is :). What kind of gauge is it and how does it read pressures? Even a 0.5lb difference it could cause your symptoms.

[darkside]

This might sound dumb, but if the new rear tires are directional , did you check to make sure they are mounting the right direction?

[repiv]

The problem seems to have gotten worse with my new rear tires.

An alignment won't likely change what's going on, but if you haven't done an alignment for a while and your previous tire wear would warrant it, then sure, go ahead and do one. A car that pulls one way on accel and the other way on decel, is generally related to tires or rims.

A sticky or dragging brake won't likely cause such differential pull on accel and decel. It will pull in the same direction all the time.

Remember my previous comment ................................. ??
4. Are these tires new to the car?
You may have had some irregularity with one or more of the rims previous to your new tires. Perhaps the rim is bent. Did you perhaps by chance get your front rims mixed up with your rear rims at some point? The OEM rear rims have a smaller center bore hole. If someone tried to ram it onto the front axle, this could have damaged the bore hole and won't allow the rim to mount properly ever again.
It has been reported that some brand new tires can contain irregularities that can make for weird rolling characteristics.
Are you by chance running aftermarket rims? If so, are you using hubcentric rings. Sometimes, failure to use rings will cause odd rolling characteristics.
You should tell us all details pertaining to rims, tires, any rotation that may have been attempted, any other suspension modifications, pothole hits?. Lack of this information will only make for possibly improper guesses and bad diagnosis. You could spend inordinate amounts of money trying to fix something that isn't broken.

PS. You also mentioned on the "other" site, that you confirmed tire pressures "HOT". This is not a good way to measure tire pressure. Tire pressure should almost alwasy be done when "cold". The only exception is if you are altering pressures at the track to determine a better grip for the given track at hand. Since you are trying to diagnose a problem that has normally been associated with tire pressures, this should be done when cold.
Hot tire pressures cannot be altered correctly as you are injecting cold air into already hot tires. Additionally, tires heat up differently from one corner of the car to another and based on weight and load on that corner.

[repiv]

This might sound dumb, but if the new rear tires are directional , did you check to make sure they are mounting the right direction?

Good point. If only one tire is facing the wrong direction, then this could create some issues. However, if all tires are mounted "backwards" when using unidirectional tires, then there should be no adverse affects until the roads get wet. Unidirectional tires are only that way for water shedding. On dry roads, it doesn't matter.
A last thought ............... There is the issue to do with assymetrical tires. Again, if one is turned around when mounted, this will affect the tracking of the car. Whether or not it will create differing accel and decel pulls, is possible but unknown.

[Jasonoff]

Good point. If only one tire is facing the wrong direction, then this could create some issues. However, if all tires are mounted "backwards" when using unidirectional tires, then there should be no adverse affects until the roads get wet. Unidirectional tires are only that way for water shedding. On dry roads, it doesn't matter.
A last thought ............... There is the issue to do with assymetrical tires. Again, if one is turned around when mounted, this will affect the tracking of the car. Whether or not it will create differing accel and decel pulls, is possible but unknown.I have actually mounted my RE050's on backwards once lol. The tread pattern is different from what I'm used to.

Which way is the proper rotation? :p
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/bridgestone/bs_potenza_re050_ci1_l.jpg

[BearNVa]

Mine started doing this awhile back and it started costing me a bunch of money because I was stupid. Check your axle nuts and make sure they are tight. If they are not then you will start to hear a noise eventually. Just my opinion.

[repiv]

I have actually mounted my RE050's on backwards once lol. The tread pattern is different from what I'm used to.

Which way is the proper rotation? :p
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/bridgestone/bs_potenza_re050_ci1_l.jpg

Hmmm, you're gonna goon me on this one, aren't you? :o

I'm going to say ...............................................
That center portion with the hash marks that form a bunch of "V's". I'll guess that the point of the V should hit the road surface first, pushing the water to the outer portion of the tread. You don't want water being channelled to the middle of the tread. If we were looking at this tire through a vertical glass wall, that tire should be rolling DOWN the page.

[Jasonoff]

They're actually unidirectional. They only specify outside\inside on the sidewall :lol:

[repiv]

You mean UN-unidirectional, right?

I just had a feeling you were going to goon me. :smack4:

[indys2kfan]

Just picked up on the "New rear tires" aspect of this issue. When I put only new rears on last fall, I got the same condition. Tread sqirm, once got 500-700 miles on the tires the issue went away. Dunlop Direzzea's Z1's rock by the way!

[Jasonoff]

Hah ya... ununidirectional :p.

I drove on them for a week (dry for most of it). Then once the pavement was wet something felt off. Sure enough the outside sidewall said INSIDE... whoops :lol:

[DaveL]

Just picked up on the "New rear tires" aspect of this issue. When I put only new rears on last fall, I got the same condition. Tread sqirm, once got 500-700 miles on the tires the issue went away. Dunlop Direzzea's Z1's rock by the way!
Yes, when I put new rears on in October, the squirm was intolerable. My problem was exacerbated by putting CRAP tires on the rear at that time. And the squirm did diminish after a while (more than 700 miles I think) ... although I'm not sure my car did specifically what this thread is about. Hard to tell ... it just felt all over the road in hard cornering. I put another set of new rears on TODAY ... and it felt better just driving home. Oh well ... live and learn.

[aCab]

Hey guys, thanks for the info.

The Tires are 245/40/17 General Exclaim UHPs. They are facing the right direction, have the same pressure, the rims are on the right corners and unbent. The tires have close to 1600 miles on them now, so I'd expect them to not squirm anymore.

I have noticed recently that while cornering hard left, the car isn't nearly as stable as cornering hard right. I got to thinking it could be something to do with the strut, but have not been able to confirm anything.

I'm getting an alignment this tomorrow or thursday before I head up to deal's gap for the weekend.

Talking to a friend at the tire place, I'm going to run 40psi in the fronts and rears and see if that does anything.

Like I stated, the car is fine under about 60-65mph, and even then it's only when I let off/get on it really suddenly and the throttle closes/opens. Any other time (easing off/on), nothing happens - or it if does, it isn't as noticeable.

Like I said, it feels like the rear end is almost swaying around, though I can't feel it in the wheel. Also, when the car pulls left/right, it just does it, the wheel doesn't pull at all. taking my hands off the wheel while moving, the car tracks straight, but when I let off going 60+, it drifts left, and opposite for getting on it, but the steering wheel doesn't even twitch.

I hope I can get this figured out soon. I can drive the car just fine, it just doesn't feel very stable at times.

if anyone is in ATL and could help me diagnose it by driving the car, that would be great.

Thanks.

[repiv]

The Tires are 245/40/17 General Exclaim UHPs.

Let me get this straight. You're running the same size tire (245) on all 4 corners? The S2000 is supposed to have a staggered tire set up. That is to say, you should be running 215 on the front with 245 in the rear. The car's suspension was designed to have this staggered configuration. If you run the same size tires all around, you wil have a tendency to have high speed tracking issues. That is why most high performance sports cars have narrower tires in front than in the rear. With the same size tire on all 4 corners, how do you know that you don't have the rims mixed up?
Although some people run the same size on all 4 corners, they are doing so for various reasons that are more important to them than high speed tracking.
Additionally, you really should not be going with 40 psi in a car that weighs 2800 lbs. This will cause too much center tread bulge, giving you compromised grip and handling.
It seems each time you reply, you expose something new. Is there anything else you might want to tell us about your car? :think:

[aCab]

Let me get this straight. You're running the same size tire (245) on all 4 corners? The S2000 is supposed to have a staggered tire set up. That is to say, you should be running 215 on the front with 245 in the rear. The car's suspension was designed to have this staggered configuration. If you run the same size tires all around, you wil have a tendency to have high speed tracking issues. That is why most high performance sports cars have narrower tires in front than in the rear. With the same size tire on all 4 corners, how do you know that you don't have the rims mixed up?
Although some people run the same size on all 4 corners, they are doing so for various reasons that are more important to them than high speed tracking.
Additionally, you really should not be going with 40 psi in a car that weighs 2800 lbs. This will cause too much center tread bulge, giving you compromised grip and handling.
It seems each time you reply, you expose something new. Is there anything else you might want to tell us about your car? :think:

No, the rears are 245s, the fronts are 215s (still Exclaim UHPs, but with about 6k miles on them).

[Geo02s2k]

Talking to a friend at the tire place, I'm going to run 40psi in the fronts and rears and see if that does anything.


40 psi should be WAY too much air pressure. That may be ok if you are going for really high gas mileage on the interstate across Nebraska, but not so good for a run through the twisties. As Repiv stated, even 1/2 a pound difference can be apparent in this car, so you can sort of figure out what you would do by putting 6 to 8 extra pounds of air in the tires. (Whoops. Dave already addressed this. )

[aCab]

Oh, and the 40 psi is to compensate for the weak sidewalls the tires have.

[aCab]

so what PSI should I run? 34 all around made the tires feel squishy.

[Geo02s2k]

What tires did you have on before the Generals?

[aCab]

I agree that 40psi is too high for the mtns, but the problem isn't in the mtns, its on the interstate. I don't mind airing up/down when i go. I just want to solve issues of daily driving.

[aCab]

What tires did you have on before the Generals?

RE050s up front with 43k miles on them. :eek: and a set of Generals on the back.

[Geo02s2k]

I've had the Fuzion ZRi's and now a set of Kumho SPTs on the rear. These tires are pretty comparable to the Generals you've got, but quite a bit squishier than the RE050s. Generally I've had pretty good luck with 34 psi for normal daily driving and 32 psi for more aggressive outings.

Pumping the tires full of air will make the tire flex somewhat less, but will also stop it from working the way it is supposed to. Like Repiv said, it will cause premature wear in the center of the tread with the resulting loss of stability and traction.

[repiv]

Oh, and the 40 psi is to compensate for the weak sidewalls the tires have.
This won't cure the pull issue.

so what PSI should I run? 34 all around made the tires feel squishy.
Rule of thumb is to start with what the manufacturer recommends and adjust a pound at a time till you get the desired affect. The plate stuck on your door jamb says what you should be running for tire pressure. A squishy feel is a function of the brand of tire and can't be corrected by tire pressure. I don't have direct experience with Generals, but it would appear by your own testamony that they are not of the caliber of the Bridgestones that came with the car. I have not known General tires, even ones designated ultra high performance summer tires, to be of superior quality and handling. If you compare the tire ratings on TireRack, this is quite obvious. I fear that quality control may be severely lacking and this might be part of the reason for your problems. A badly built tire can have flaws that manifest itself in what you are experiencing.

[speedracer]

I have had the same condition 3 times. The first two times, there was a problem with the rear axel connecting to the rear diff. The last time it was low tire pressure.

[aCab]

I think I'm going to swap wheels with a buddy for a day and see if that fixes anything. If it does, then I guess it's the tires. If not, then I have bigger problems.

[gomarlins3]

I think I'm going to swap wheels with a buddy for a day and see if that fixes anything. If it does, then I guess it's the tires.

Or it could be the wheels.

[Jasonoff]

Or maybe the rear camber is like this

/------| :)

[aCab]

Or maybe the rear camber is like this

/------| :)

it's funny you mention that - i feel like i slightly more negative camber on the pass side (just eyeballing it) than the drivers side. Oh well. I'll be going to get a UK spec alignment tomorrow or Friday. We'll see how it turns out.

[Firepig]

What's funny is that Ihave the same problem...Only it pulls LEFT when I get on it and RIGHT when I let off the gas. This is on a 2007 with OEM Bridgestones.

Now, in my case, I had a little blowout on my left rear tire. When I took it to the dealer (because they were the ONLY ppl that actually had two OEM tires - I wanted to replace BOTH rear so that the wear would be the same) they tore the replacement left tire. SO, they replaced the RIGHT rear and put the old right rear on the left rear.

Hitting the gas at around 70 mph would put me in the next lane. Letting off would put me in the right lane. I thought it was due to the directional right rear on the left side. Well, when they finally put on the correct left rear tire it still does the pull thing. The only thing it can be now (I hope) is alignment unless they banged sometihng up in the tire changing drama....

[repiv]

What's funny is that Ihave the same problem...Only it pulls LEFT when I get on it and RIGHT when I let off the gas. This is on a 2007 with OEM Bridgestones.

Now, in my case, I had a little blowout on my left rear tire. When I took it to the dealer (because they were the ONLY ppl that actually had two OEM tires - I wanted to replace BOTH rear so that the wear would be the same) they tore the replacement left tire. SO, they replaced the RIGHT rear and put the old right rear on the left rear.

Hitting the gas at around 70 mph would put me in the next lane. Letting off would put me in the right lane. I thought it was due to the directional right rear on the left side. Well, when they finally put on the correct left rear tire it still does the pull thing. The only thing it can be now (I hope) is alignment unless they banged sometihng up in the tire changing drama....
Always confirm the tire pressures immediately after you witness the pull. People always say that their tire pressures are fine, but they checked it "yesterday" or "this morning", only to find out that by the time they experience the pull, one tire lost some air or one tire had a screw in it.
It's a lot cheaper and easier to check tire pressure and check for an imbedded object than it is to go get a complete alignment. unnecessarily.

[desmo4]

Your symptoms do not suggest alignment. It also suggests the driver side rear tire is a smaller diameter. (IE less pressure) or the passenger rear is a larger diameter (more pressure).

If it was a bad bearing the car wouldn't track straight.

This is pretty much straight physics. Either your symptom list is faulty or your tire pressure gauge is :). What kind of gauge is it and how does it read pressures? Even a 0.5lb difference it could cause your symptoms.

That was I saw in the past, my tire gauge was off by several pounds. It went to the trash and a new from Pegasus Racing oil filled calibrated gauge replaced it.

Jonathan

[Bieg]

That was I saw in the past, my tire gauge was off by several pounds. It went to the trash and a new from Pegasus Racing oil filled calibrated gauge replaced it.

Jonathan

I have been preaching this for years. First money spent should be on a good calibrated racing gauge. :thumbup:

[repiv]

I saw a really cool device yesterday on Motorweek (Goss's Garage). It's a gauge that's attached to an air source that pumps up 2 tires at once and the reading is the pressure of both tires hooked up in tandem. Not only would this allow you to equalize both left and right tires, but you would know that both tires are at the same pressure. It's almost always because the tire pressure are not equal from left to right that causes this pull on decel and accel.
This device may be a bit on the anal side, but it would be perfect for some people due to their specific driving conditions.

[SpitfireS]

I saw a really cool device yesterday on Motorweek (Goss's Garage). It's a gauge that's attached to an air source that pumps up 2 tires at once and the reading is the pressure of both tires hooked up in tandem.
:thumbup:
Great idea!
Relatively easy to make.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/general/ge_exclaim_uhp_ci1_l.jpg
Is this the thread pattern of the tire the OP is using?
The pic is from TireRack.
IMO the central V-block pattern ridge has too many grooves, it makes the car unstable.

I once had a pair of Michelin Pilot Exalto's at the rear.
Looked much like these:
http://www.apothema.gr/files/productImages/002_michelin-pilot-exalto.jpg
Also, a "cut" central ridge.
Within a couple of days they were off the car, it felt dangerous at highway speed to change lanes.

:yo:

[asnbanker]

I had this happen and it was a nail and some metal fragments in my tire. I plugged and it fixed it.