pulling to the right problem

[Nditiz1]

My ex racecar pulled really bad. I'm no alignment specialist, but have strings, poles, levels, and an angle finder. I dialed in the car and it still pulled. I thought it was due to the previous wreck. I had pretty much given up until I purchased some race scales. I was grossly off, but the cars ride height were matching side to side. I touched nothing with the alignment. I only adjusted the 4 corners to get the criss cross to match. Took it for a drive and it was straight as an arrow. You already said it was perfectly corner balanced. Just wanted to let you know what it was on my car.

Also, I even modified the alignment trying to get it to go the other way. It improved it, but not all the way. Also my fender heights do not match side to side and thats ok because it goes straight which was more bothersome before.

[917_Langheck]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

the car was NOT pulling right before the suspension refresh. .

I picked up the car when the refresh work was done…..

I know he didn’t hit anything test driving it when he completed the job….but why he didn’t notice the issue before I came to get the car is also puzzling

Why indeed. But something happened that he either should have recognized immediately when test driving and settling in the car for nominal static load, or disclosed and repaired if he did in fact cause the issue.

Cars don't magically begin pulling one way or another just sitting, otherwise the issue would be observable.

he just isn’t the type to do that and not say something…

We all want to think the best of people we believe we know, but that is a risky assumption.

[safe]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

all ER rubber bushings and new spring plates with new bushings.

Did you (or the shop) fit new rubber to existing suspension parts?
Where they installed with the correct angles and same on both sides. The rubber doesn't "move" it flexes and brings additional spring rate to the suspension.

ER = Elephant Racing? I would call Elephant and get some guidance from them for possible issues.

[ramonesfreak]

Everything installed by the shop. I stopped by there this morning and he said all the bushings installed without any issue.

He is totally positive that the tires are fine. He also switched them (without removing tires) and it still pulls right, not left. He said is positive that there is no broken belt in the tire. No uneven wear pattern.

He also measures ride height properly - not at fender lips but at the torsion bars.

He is going to keep tweaking the alignment and corner balance until its right

[safe]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

Everything installed by the shop. I stopped by there this morning and he said all the bushings installed without any issue.

It doesn't mean they did it correctly. Rubber bushings isn't race car stuff, they might not be experienced with street car stuff.

You have already have the right answer in front of you.
-It wasn't there before.
-Not the tires
-not the ride height
-not the alignment

In my opinion you have 3 possible culprits.
*Faulty parts
*Faulty measurements (alignment) by the shop
*Faulty installation

I would lean towards the last one.

[ramonesfreak]

Agreed. I asked him about faulty parts...he said everything looked ok but he agreed it needs to be ruled out.

I trust his measurements. However, he is going to double check and do some experimenting....glad I dont have his job because this is a PITA.

As for faulty installation....no idea. Could be and he understands that he needs to go back through everything to check.

Frustrating to try to improve safety and handling of the car only to open this can of worms.

My own feeling is that its the tires but when I told him, he shook his head and said nope...something else aint right but its not the tires.....

so since I am not a mechanic...I gotta go with what he says. Hopefully I get the car back before salt is on the road here.

[David Inc.]

Any difference in pull when accelerating vs. braking? All engine and trans mounts good?

[ramonesfreak]

no difference at all....car pulls right at all times. breaking doesnt make the pull more pronounced

engine and trans mounts look ok but are original

[Antomero]

I’m putting my money on the tires being the issue.

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by Antomero

I’m putting my money on the tires being the issue.

Thats my thought too.

If he cant resolve it with the alignment tweaks or doesnt find a bad part or bad install, i will start throwing money at new stuff like tires and bump steer kit i guess

It doesnt seem like he is charging me for this diagnosis because he thinks it has something to do with the install which puts my mind at ease

Im $6,500 into this project so if we can avoid buying more stuff...i will be happy

[David Inc.]

I'm struggling to think of a bushing issue that would make it always pull to one side regardless of acceleration v. braking, that wouldn't also be apparent in static alignment.

Edit: A bump steer kit wouldn't be the fix, when that's the issue you'll feel the car pull every which way depending on road surface, it's predictably chaotic. I'd imagine the guy has other Porsches in the shop, should have a spare set of wheels and tires he could throw on there.

[EC900]

If the alignment is based on OEM specifications , does it make any difference that those are 930 TR, and maybe require a different spec from a standard 911 ? I don’t know spec.

I would try and find a source, member or local PCA with a hour or two to spare that has a set of 4 wheels/tires that you can swap out for a quick trial run and eliminate totally the tire issue.

Here’s a costly and labor intensive experiment: Swapping the corners or rotating the tires is not the same as reversing the mounting; same wheel, same tire, just reverse the sidewalls form inner to outer.

[LucaScali]

Try raising the right front corner a bit.

[Nditiz1]

Can he provide the balance measurements? Also, as far as ride height I pretty much throw those out the window now. Well at least on cars with accident damage. Corner balance is where it's at.

[ramonesfreak]

I’ll try to get the numbers next week

[PeteKz]

I had Same issue as Nditiz1. Except mine pulled to the left. Corner balance fixed it. You can try changing the right front t bar adjuster to see if it makes a difference.

It’s not bushings or ball joints or steering rack or tie rods. Might be tires, but can you swap front to rear to double check?

[ramonesfreak]

After another month, picked up car today. Fixed. It was the rack not quite centered. Adjusted tie rods and rechecked front torsion bars and now it tracks straight.

Symptoms that narrowed it down were, saw a tire rub mark in right wheel well; seemed harder (heavier, more resistance) to turn wheel to the left; could not get steering wheel mounted straight after refresh…was off by about 2 splines. Wasn’t tires..wasn’t brakes and even installed bump steer kit which did nothing. Took 3 months at shop to do this refresh and to go back to fix issue but all is well that ends well.

[John W.]

Glad your car is running straight again. Thanks for letting us all know the solution.

[asphaltgambler]

Hey man, just saw your post. What we need to know is the exact camber and caster numbers print-out on all 4 from the alignment. He should have that or at least be able to recall that from the alignment machine's last vehicle info

[safe]

I'm not buying that explanation, a slight offset of the rack don't affect the alignment.
They found something obvious they missed before and throws this out there.