jsmith

i've logged a couple of thousand miles on my CPO is250, with lots of highway driving. on left lanes it pulls to the left such that i have to keep a light pressure on the steering wheel to keep it straight, otherwise it drifts onto the left shoulder. it seems to be ok on the right lanes. i thought maybe the steering was sensitive and the natural roadway "crown" was doing it. my other cars do it when the angle is significant on the left lane, but less noticeably so. it had 28k miles on it when i got it and had brand new dunlop sp5000's installed by the dealer. the alignment has been checked twice and they are spot on. tire pressures checked and are at specified pressure. should i let them swap the front tires or try rotating them (front-back) first? are they gonna tell me this is normal?

vapid2323

I would go to a parking lot, where its flat and see how it feels.

jsmith

can't feel it driving around town or in a parking lot. you can only feel it in highway driving. i think they might have to adjust the alignment a bit within tolerances. it's spot on the same on each side for each axle.

minato

iTrader: (1)

I would check tire pressure
also proper wheel balancing and alignment.

blackgpgt

iTrader: (4)

Check to see what kind of alignment they did and the results they came out with...Sometimes even when things are "in the green" by their standards they are still off

azfsprt

iTrader: (4)

It could be that the alignment is off due the fact that you are not on the car. I know when I had my s2000 they almost always told me to be in the car to get the proper alignment. The alignment will change adding a driver so have it adjusted with you in it, Especially if you weigh more than 170lbs which is average for most. SOME places only check camber settings did you have them check the Toe settings?

If Tires are properly inflated that should not be a problem. But just double check with the dealer, my last car was a cpo civic that did the same thing and I checked the same exact thing and finally noticed that the steering wheel was not centered (who knows why). Just because its a CPO doesn't mean its perfect like new.

Swapping the tires front-rear and vice-versa should not make a difference if they are all new like you mentioned. Unless the tire ratings or types of tires are different like a Z rated versus a Y,W or H rated, different brand tires... etc.

If possible get a second opinion from another shop and or dealer.

droolerk9

Most often pulling is caused by tires. Switch the side that your tires are on and see if that fixes the problem. Having new tires doesn't mean that they will be perfect, something can be wrong with the tires that will cause a pull.

It is true that your weight should be in the car when an alignment is done, you should also be fueled up too. And you should have whatever you usually have in the car - in the car. If you usually have an anvil in the trunk, you should have that in the trunk at alignment time.

When you get an alignment, the shop will endeavor to put your car within the manufacturers specs (i.e. in the green), The car has only a factory toe adjustment, and toe will not cause the car to pull. Caster or camber can cause the car to pull, but those are not adjustable on an unmodified IS.

Have you car checked again. Really more information is needed to diagnose why the problem is occurring. When you had an alignment, your car suspension should have been checked. It really, shouldn't have been a "set the toe, and collect the dough" sort of thing.

jsmith

i'm taking it in day after tomorrow. i have mentioned it to the service advisor and will discuss with him when i drop it off. at the dealership where they checked the alignment, they do it the moment you drive in and give you a printout. the only measurement that was a little off was left rear camber. all the other measures were equal on both sides. i was not in the car when they measured.

the printout shows where the reading is on a visual scale between end values
front toe: -04 to 0.12 (mid) same both sides
front camber: 0.3 to -1.2 (3/4 of the scale to -1.2) same both sides
rear toe - .04 to .20 (1/4 of scale to .20) same both sides
rear camber 0.0 to -1.5 (mid - a little off on left, maybe -.74 vs -.75 on right)

service history shows alignment done immediately after new tires were mounted. i know that tires can vary and cause this and the dunlop sp5000's are more economy than performance. i've had dunlops that pulled horribly when brand new.

jsmith

quick update - dealer made adjustments and it now drives straight with excellent on center feel. the toe/camber is no longer about the same on both, but still in "green".