Ok, I know if posted on this several times, but I have yet to resolve my problem. Problem: my car is pulling to the right--which is particularly noticable on the highway. If I release the stearing wheel, 3 seconds later I'm in the next lane.

1) At the time that I bought my evo it was pulling to the right a little.

2) I brought my car to Firestone whereupon I purchased a lifetime alignment. At that time, I received the first firestone alignment. Afterward, the car drove PERFECT--no pulling to the right whatsoever.

3) Two months later, I decided to change my alignment specs to:
Front Camber: -2.0
Rear Camber: -1.0
So, I went back to firestone and they gladly accomodated my request. Afterward, I enjoyed the better handling, but it was pulling to the right again. Ever since that time, I've gone back for 2 more alignments (at different firestone locations) and after each new alignment it STILL pulls to the right.

After this last alignment (yesterday), I noticed that my rear toe is now set to:
Left: .13; Right: .20 (Is that a wide enough difference to be causing a problem?

Also, the tech told me that the reason why it was pulling to the right was because my left front tire had less air (41 psi) in it that my right front tire (45psi). [Doesn't it seem that should make the car pull in the other direction--to the left?] Anyway, after he did the alignment he added some air to the front left tire and it made no difference--it still pulls to the right.

In reply to one of my past posts, a member advised me that unbalanced camber WILL NOT cause the car to pull one direction or another. So, my camber can't be causing this, is that right? My current camber is, along with all my current specs (as of yesterday):

Front Camber: left: -2.00; right: -2.14
Front Caster: left: 3.50 ; right: 3.50
Front Toe: left: -0.09; right: -0.03

Rear Camber: left: -1.31; right: -1.28
Rear toe: left: 0.13; 0.20

Could it be my uneven rear toe that's causing it to pull?

I am at a total loss for what to do next...

 

If your front toe really is at .9 on the left and .03 on the right, you need to get that fixed. Thats pretty far off. It really easy to get toe exactly on with the tie rods so I am not sure why they dont have them set the same. Also camber WILL cause your car to pull. It will pull to the more positive side and caster will pull to the more negative side.

 

Isn't that a lot of pressure? I think the manual calls for 32 and 29... I could be wrong.

 

Also, I'm not sure how to fix your problem, but I feel your pain with the mis-alignment issues. I have had mine fixed too many times to count. Good luck!

 

Ok, you must have just edited the front toe numbers because it reads different now. That looks better. Also you might want to try swapping the tires from side to side and see if it pulls the other way. Tires can cause it to pull for sure. Its a good idea to measure wheel base as well if you are really running out of options. Just measure the distance from the center cap of the front wheel to the same spot on the back wheel. Do this on both sides and make sure its the same.

 

Your align looks good. It is true that camber and castor don't cause pulling one way or the other. But toe, tire type and tire pressure do. Honestly your toe seems as close to 0 as humanly possible, remember thats about 0.13 and 0.2 degrees that is almost next to nothing. Uni-directional tread pattern are know to pull one way or another depending on the tire type, so does a difference in tire pressure. Also, sticker tires usually pull one way or another, so does uneven tire wear .... its just the nature of the beast ....

 

Sorry, I usually dont try to correct people on here but I dont want everyone getting the wrong info. I have been doing alignments for a long time and camber and caster will most definetly cause pulling if they are not even on both sides. They can be out of spec and not cause the car to pull if and only if both sides are equal. Try adjusting your camber and caster on one side and not the other and go drive it, it will be probably be pulling like hell. Caster will not cause any tire wear though, it will only cause a pull. Camber will cause a pull and wear tires if out of spec. Toe will do both as well but it wears tires the most out of all of them which is why its the most important part.

 

The only other thing that I could throw out there to consider is whether or not the car is lowered and if the Firestone alignment machine can accomodate that or not. It's a problem I ran into at a couple of different shops having alignment equipment that was out dated which would give different reading everytime they hooked it up to the car.

 

I'm having the same exact problem right now. My alignment guy at NTB told me it's the tires. I'm going to swap out the front tires to see if he's right. He also told me that the evo doesnt have caster adjustment, which means there is not way you can accommodate for pulling either to the left or right... Is that true? I'm quite annoy by this.

 

I will most definitely try swapping the front tires to see if it causes a left pull.

Regarding the high tire pressure, currently I'm using Khumo ASXs, which call for a max of 51 psi. 45psi seems to significantly improve the handling, which is why I use it. But, at this point, I would much rather poorer handling than to constantly yank my constantly-right-pulling evo back into the lane on the highway!!!

So, is this correct?: Camber, caster, and toe may cause pulling? And, if so, would those of you that have more knowledge than me please "interpret" my alignment setting and tell me if anything is "off" or "uneven" enough to cause pulling?:


THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP--THERE IS SUCH AN ABSENCE OF INFORMATION (and knowledge among the alignment techs at these shops) on this issue....any knowledge and expertise you all are willing to provide is VERY appreciated!

 

I would blame the tires. There is a chance that the previous owner's alignment cause the tires to wear unevenly. No matter what you do to fix the alignment, the tires will still cause the vehicle to pull to one direction. Rotate the tires front to back and try that. You shouldn't be swapping left to right with assymetric tires or with AWD for that matter according to the owner's manual.

 

Is it a bad Idea to swap left to right even if it's just as a test?

 

He's right Evo doesn't have caster adjustments...

 

It shouldn't hurt for a test.

 

I would say your problem is the alignment shop. Find a better place. I had similar issues. One technician at a local shop literally gave up when he could not get the toe correct. I have been to at least 3 different places. the last shop I went to specialized in race/autocross alignments, and only then did I find someone competant enough to align my evo properly.