possible causes of IS swerve above 65 mph
01-31-11, 10:30 AM
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possible causes of IS swerve above 65 mph
Recently I became the owner of a IS350.. Man... what a ride. For horsepower wise, this car eats most of the cars on the road. but after i drive it for a while, i notice something isn't quite right about the handling of the car.
First I notice the car pull to one side when i brake, so i went in and did an alignment job, and now it doesn't pull anymore. I notice the natural position of the wheel will make the car go to the right. so i went back to the guy who did the alignment job, he said my wheels are not good (Pics Included), alignment only fixes pulls during brake.
Now I feel when i am driving over 65 mph, the steering wheel is very unstable, it's almost feel like it's slipping, or swerve to sides without turning the wheels.
My question is what causes this kind of abnormal behavior, chipped rims? wheel balance? wheel bearing? Thank you for your input in advance, and have a nice day.
First I notice the car pull to one side when i brake, so i went in and did an alignment job, and now it doesn't pull anymore. I notice the natural position of the wheel will make the car go to the right. so i went back to the guy who did the alignment job, he said my wheels are not good (Pics Included), alignment only fixes pulls during brake.
Now I feel when i am driving over 65 mph, the steering wheel is very unstable, it's almost feel like it's slipping, or swerve to sides without turning the wheels.
My question is what causes this kind of abnormal behavior, chipped rims? wheel balance? wheel bearing? Thank you for your input in advance, and have a nice day.
Last edited by mslugx; 01-31-11 at 10:39 AM.
02-01-11, 01:09 PM
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Sounds like a worn suspension component, possibly your control arm bushings? Have you gotten under there to look? An unbalanced wheel will usually be more noisy than cause you drift. A tire with low pressure is more likely to cause that.
02-02-11, 05:32 PM
#4
wow....
sooo, only in a few situations will alignment cause a pull only during braking... chances are that a pull only when braking is actually a brake issue...
if the vehicle feels unstable whilst driving, I would think it was a lazy alignment tech... just because it is within specs does not mean its a good alignment... perhaps you got a printout of the specs before and after?
another potential issue you may be feeling is something called tramlining... some cars do this more than others, some alignment settings are more sensitive to grooved roads than others, and lower profile tires typically are affected more as well... the way to find out is to drive on different roads than you are used to... large trucks and large amounts of traffic cause grooving in the roads which causes this phenomenon many times...
wheel balance will cause a steering wheel shake, vibration, or shimmy, but never a pull... bad tires can cause a pull that may be hard to diagnose...
wheel bearings and scratched wheels will have no effect on any of this, unless severely damaged or worn, even then, it usually manifests itself as a shimmy, vibration or a roaring sound while driving...
I would start with getting a printout of the alignment settings so that we (I?) can see them, and have someone experienced take a close look at the tires - perhaps a tire is starting to wear very badly or even a defect forming, which can cause something similar to what you are experiencing...
one last note, if you alignment guy said that alignment only fixes pulls while braking, he either a) has no idea of the basics for alignment and just follows what the computer tells him to do or b) is just outright lying to you...
without mounting the wheel on a balancer and spinning it, its hard to say if it is bent or not, but, I wouldn't imagine, judging from the picture you posted, that there were any issues with the wheels...
if it was my vehicle and I was relying on others to fix the problem, like a shop, I would first take it somewhere that specializes in wheels and tires for a thorough evaluation and at least a proper balancing (make sure they use tape weights on the inside of the wheel close to the spokes, and possibly a clip on weight on the inside rim flange). This shouldn't cost more than $30-$50...
After I was sure there was no issue with wheels or tires, then take it somewhere (or to the same place if they do both) to have the suspension looked at for loose and worn bushings, bearings, ball joints and tie rod ends. Then once all of that stuff checks out, have the alignment re-done. This time it would help to have a referral from someone (perhaps on here) so that you know the guy knows what he is doing and will not lead you in circles as your current alignment guy is doing.
sooo, only in a few situations will alignment cause a pull only during braking... chances are that a pull only when braking is actually a brake issue...
if the vehicle feels unstable whilst driving, I would think it was a lazy alignment tech... just because it is within specs does not mean its a good alignment... perhaps you got a printout of the specs before and after?
another potential issue you may be feeling is something called tramlining... some cars do this more than others, some alignment settings are more sensitive to grooved roads than others, and lower profile tires typically are affected more as well... the way to find out is to drive on different roads than you are used to... large trucks and large amounts of traffic cause grooving in the roads which causes this phenomenon many times...
wheel balance will cause a steering wheel shake, vibration, or shimmy, but never a pull... bad tires can cause a pull that may be hard to diagnose...
wheel bearings and scratched wheels will have no effect on any of this, unless severely damaged or worn, even then, it usually manifests itself as a shimmy, vibration or a roaring sound while driving...
I would start with getting a printout of the alignment settings so that we (I?) can see them, and have someone experienced take a close look at the tires - perhaps a tire is starting to wear very badly or even a defect forming, which can cause something similar to what you are experiencing...
one last note, if you alignment guy said that alignment only fixes pulls while braking, he either a) has no idea of the basics for alignment and just follows what the computer tells him to do or b) is just outright lying to you...
without mounting the wheel on a balancer and spinning it, its hard to say if it is bent or not, but, I wouldn't imagine, judging from the picture you posted, that there were any issues with the wheels...
if it was my vehicle and I was relying on others to fix the problem, like a shop, I would first take it somewhere that specializes in wheels and tires for a thorough evaluation and at least a proper balancing (make sure they use tape weights on the inside of the wheel close to the spokes, and possibly a clip on weight on the inside rim flange). This shouldn't cost more than $30-$50...
After I was sure there was no issue with wheels or tires, then take it somewhere (or to the same place if they do both) to have the suspension looked at for loose and worn bushings, bearings, ball joints and tie rod ends. Then once all of that stuff checks out, have the alignment re-done. This time it would help to have a referral from someone (perhaps on here) so that you know the guy knows what he is doing and will not lead you in circles as your current alignment guy is doing.
Last edited by mitsuguy; 02-02-11 at 05:38 PM.
02-04-11, 04:31 PM
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thanks for the reply mitsuguy and BentValve. I did believe what the first technician, then i took it to another guy, he doesn't find any problem, and cause me 10 dollars. Then i toook it to a third guy, he put the car on the machine, and .......bang..... he found the spindle is bent because the previous owner hit the curb, and that's how the rim got damage too. i will have to buy a brand new spindle to fix this problem, 235 for the part, and 150 for labor and alignment. Hopefully it will fix all my problem, and drive it like a real car. Currently I am driving 60 on freeway like a granny, i am pretty sure there is more to IS350 than 60. Thank you guys for your input tho.
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