Pulling left. . . after tracking (pics)

[jam1991]

Had an on-going issue with car pulling to the left quite severely. Was the same before I fitted my KW V1's and went for four wheel alignment this weekend hoping to resolve the issue.

Before


After - Went out and tested and the car is doing exactly the same, no difference despite the alterations. Absolutely doing my head in!

When the wheel is straight, red stitching (197) at the top, let go of the wheel and it drops off to a 5 to the hour, clock position.



Any suggestions or input to the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
JAM

 

[nutnutwelshman]

Lower ball joint ??? Just a thought ????

 

[Jonesy]

i have this exact problem, changed my lower ball joint on the passenger side, track rod end both sides, and drop link both sides, got it tracked again and still happening.
ive had mine like you have described for 2 months. i cant get to the bottom of it and i feel like just getting rid of it, because of it

im guess its either something wrong with the rack or we r both taking it to places who dont know their arse from their elbow

 

[nutnutwelshman]

Jonesy One of the guys on RS MEGANE went too Honslow tyres said the guy was bang on

 

[jam1991]

i have this exact problem, changed my lower ball joint on the passenger side, track rod end both sides, and drop link both sides, got it tracked again and still happening.
ive had mine like you have described for 2 months. i cant get to the bottom of it and i feel like just getting rid of it, because of it

im guess its either something wrong with the rack or we r both taking it to places who dont know their arse from their elbow

I feel your pain mate, I have had both balljoints done and replaced the bottom arms when fitting my KW V1's. If I sit in the outside lane of a dual carriageway and let go of the wheel it doesn't take long until the car moves over into the inside lane.

It seems intermittent on mine, like depending on throttle position. When accelerating it doesnt happen. . .

 

[smithandroper]

I would go back and ask them to check the castor. They will tell you its non adjustable and that's why its Gray on the printouts but that's just because they haven't measured it. If its out it will most likely be worn bottom arm bushes/ball joint.
Also have you tried swapping your front tyres from side to side (make sure they are not rotational )

 

[Jonesy]

Jonesy One of the guys on RS MEGANE went too Honslow tyres said the guy was bang on

where abouts r they? ive been told that universal tyres in hayes are good as well

I feel your pain mate, I have had both balljoints done and replaced the bottom arms when fitting my KW V1's. If I sit in the outside lane of a dual carriageway and let go of the wheel it doesn't take long until the car moves over into the inside lane.

It seems intermittent on mine, like depending on throttle position. When accelerating it doesnt happen. . .

exactly what i get, and its pissing me off

 

[nutnutwelshman]

Hi Jonesy www.hounslowtyresltd.co.uk/

 

[Paul4d]

I thought that pulling to the left was due to the subframe not being in the correct position. Swear ive read something on here about some special washers being needed to locate it properly. I suffer from this pulling to the left issue but its not that bad to worry about it and its not scrubbing tyres or anything.

 

[Tree200]

I thought that pulling to the left was due to the subframe not being in the correct position. Swear ive read something on here about some special washers being needed to locate it properly. I suffer from this pulling to the left issue but its not that bad to worry about it and its not scrubbing tyres or anything.

I was just thinking the same, sure there was some special shims in Japan that help this. Mine does it to but no extra wear on the tyres as a result.

 

[Jonesy]

pretty sure its got nothing to do with the subframe. after all, took mind in for tracking two months ago and this is when all this happened. subframe wasnt touched. im sure its the same for jam

 

[Willis]

Subframe won't be touched when doing tracking.

However like anything on a mass produced car, there is tolerances. Have a search on here for Rigid Collars, they basically sit inside the bolt holes on the subframe to the chassis and try centre the bolts as well as prevent any further movement. So basically they're removing the tolerance from the part they're applied to. They are expensive though, £250-ish for a full car kit. A subframe having play in it or not being dead centre will always have some effect on the geometry of the suspension connected to it.

I'm not saying it is that but it could be. It could also just be an inherent trait in the RHD Clio, could be something as simple as it being very sensitive to road camber and don't forget our camber is the wrong way around compared to the rest of the continent so I'm willing to bet LHD cars don't suffer from it and equally our cars wouldn't either if driving on the other side of the road. If anything, you could argue it's a clever design to neutralise the effect of road surface camber on the car... On LHD models at least.

 

[Jonesy]

Subframe won't be touched when doing tracking.

However like anything on a mass produced car, there is tolerances. Have a search on here for Rigid Collars, they basically sit inside the bolt holes on the subframe to the chassis and try centre the bolts as well as prevent any further movement. So basically they're removing the tolerance from the part they're applied to. They are expensive though, £250-ish for a full car kit. A subframe having play in it or not being dead centre will always have some effect on the geometry of the suspension connected to it.

I'm not saying it is that but it could be. It could also just be an inherent trait in the RHD Clio, could be something as simple as it being very sensitive to road camber and don't forget our camber is the wrong way around compared to the rest of the continent so I'm willing to bet LHD cars don't suffer from it and equally our cars wouldn't either if driving on the other side of the road. If anything, you could argue it's a clever design to neutralise the effect of road surface camber on the car... On LHD models at least.

lol.... but its not that. my car drove dead straight without the above issue.

 

[Yiannis197]

I had both of these issues and I got them sorted.

The pulling to the left issue was the subframe for me. Everything was spot on (and I mean everything) but the car would still pull. Not in the continent though!! Massive pull to the left, pop in the train for the channel crossing, out in France dead on straight!lol

Anyway, I dropped the subframe to fit a different anti roll bar and I specifically asked my mechanic to make sure they align the subframe to the chassis to the mm. As Will said the holes are slightly bigger than the bolts so there is always room for error when fitting. The car got sorted.

Now the steering position...The steering wheel ring would be bang on 12 o' clock while tracking, everything seemed fine but when I'd drive it'd go 5 to. So I popped to Mark Fish and he did it for me, I don't know what he did though, he must have messed about with the steering centering making tiny adjustments at the time. I had to go out for 2-3 runs to make sure the ring was at 12 o'clock position. Sorry for not being more of a help...

 

[smoggy mark]

I had both of these issues and I got them sorted.

The pulling to the left issue was the subframe for me. Everything was spot on (and I mean everything) but the car would still pull. Not in the continent though!! Massive pull to the left, pop in the train for the channel crossing, out in France dead on straight!lol

Anyway, I dropped the subframe to fit a different anti roll bar and I specifically asked my mechanic to make sure they align the subframe to the chassis to the mm. As Will said the holes are slightly bigger than the bolts so there is always room for error when fitting. The car got sorted.

Now the steering position...The steering wheel ring would be bang on 12 o' clock while tracking, everything seemed fine but when I'd drive it'd go 5 to. So I popped to Mark Fish and he did it for me, I don't know what he did though, he must have messed about with the steering centering making tiny adjustments at the time. I had to go out for 2-3 runs to make sure the ring was at 12 o'clock position. Sorry for not being more of a help...

My memory is crap but did you get a new rack?that might help with the pulling to the left.

 

[Yiannis197]

No Mark. My car was pulling with the knackered 197 rack and after fitting the new 200 cup one.

 

[smoggy mark]

No Mark. My car was pulling with the knackered 197 rack and after fitting the new 200 cup one.

Or right good to know as got a feeling this problem James has might come my way,good bit of information here just incase.

 

[Gsxrpaul]

i had this exact same issue,
i took it to my mechanic and he had a good look over it and replaced the steering rack axial ball joints. genuine renault parts were £65 each side.
he said the subframe was perfectly aligned after i pointed him to this thread to possibly give some ideas of what could be the problem.
fixed it perfectly, feels like brand new now!
hope it helps other out too!

 

[Foxspeed]

you need to systematically check all the items and not rule them out until they are checked...

perhaps it might be worth checking the subframe to see how/needs its aligned?

 

[Womble]

Ok I thought I would revive this thread, as I have the dreaded left pull. Car is aligned in the middle of all the tolerances apart from the rear toe, still within tolerance but not in the middle, I'll probably shim that this summer. Anyway I run Michelin PS3s which is an asymmetric tyre, mounted on Speedlines. I have just switched to my cup wheels with Hankook icept EVO winters, which has a mixed tread pattern half asymmetric and half traditional for the winter grip. Guess what my quite severe pull has gone. Now previously my car pulled left on the left side of the road and to the right on the other side of the road, so my car seems very sensitive to the asymmetric type of tyre, which makes sense, really as the cross tread on the non asymmetric will not follow the road as well as an asymmetric. Just a thought, and a share of my experience.