Caster & camber angles - front
#1
Caster & camber angles - front
Hi all,
Despite having the wheels aligned, the car won't drive straight and keep pulling to the right, quite a lot indeed.
I now suspect that there is an issue with the caster and/or camber angles.
I know how the camber can be adjusted, however I'm unclear about the caster: the service manual mentions shims to move around but I fail to see them... does anyone have some picture or a schema that could clarify things?
Despite having the wheels aligned, the car won't drive straight and keep pulling to the right, quite a lot indeed.
I now suspect that there is an issue with the caster and/or camber angles.
I know how the camber can be adjusted, however I'm unclear about the caster: the service manual mentions shims to move around but I fail to see them... does anyone have some picture or a schema that could clarify things?
#5
first thing I did, but no dice.
to clarify, I did it myself with a thin rope tied around the car, passing through the center of the wheels.
so both front wheels are (approxmately...) aligned with their rear counterpart. Yet, still pulling to the right. A friend mentioned it could be the caster or camber -- and the other option is that both rear wheels aren't parallel, which would be a problem since as far as I know there is no setting for this, only the camber.
I even tried setting a visibly positive toe, zero difference (the tires are worn and need replacing soon so it's not too bad if I finish them off, but I'd like to make sure I can replace them without seeing uneven wearing right away)
to clarify, I did it myself with a thin rope tied around the car, passing through the center of the wheels.
so both front wheels are (approxmately...) aligned with their rear counterpart. Yet, still pulling to the right. A friend mentioned it could be the caster or camber -- and the other option is that both rear wheels aren't parallel, which would be a problem since as far as I know there is no setting for this, only the camber.
I even tried setting a visibly positive toe, zero difference (the tires are worn and need replacing soon so it's not too bad if I finish them off, but I'd like to make sure I can replace them without seeing uneven wearing right away)
#6
first thing I did, but no dice.
to clarify, I did it myself with a thin rope tied around the car, passing through the center of the wheels.
so both front wheels are (approxmately...) aligned with their rear counterpart. Yet, still pulling to the right. A friend mentioned it could be the caster or camber -- and the other option is that both rear wheels aren't parallel, which would be a problem since as far as I know there is no setting for this, only the camber.
to clarify, I did it myself with a thin rope tied around the car, passing through the center of the wheels.
so both front wheels are (approxmately...) aligned with their rear counterpart. Yet, still pulling to the right. A friend mentioned it could be the caster or camber -- and the other option is that both rear wheels aren't parallel, which would be a problem since as far as I know there is no setting for this, only the camber.
this is not diy level stuff
Last edited by xalty; 04-17-2023 at 08:09 AM.
#7
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#10
Changing toe-in will not solve pulling to one side. Yes, correcting the camber (and possibly caster, to some extent) will solve the pulling (provided, of course, that the overall car geometry is not seriously out).
#12
ok I found a shop nearby that specializes in "special" cars it seems -- there are maseratis, porsches, an audi r8 in their frontyard so I'm confident they would know what to look and how to properly correct the issue.
got a feeling it won't be cheap but well.
i'll update with their findings when I can have them give it a look!
got a feeling it won't be cheap but well.
i'll update with their findings when I can have them give it a look!
#13
#15
4 months later exactly, I finally had the timeto bring it to a mechanic and have it checked and the wheels aligned.
The mechanic called and said all was ok, he had done the alignment and no issue to report.
(unfortunately, he gave me a bill but no report so I don't know what exactly changed... he has a stellar reputation in the area though, so I don't know what to think).
It seems that it improved a bit -- driving with an horizontal wheel, it runs straight (don't need to turn it a bit to the left anymore, although I need to test that some more).
The main issue remains however: if I stop holding the wheel, it immediately rotates about 15-20° right and the car sways in that direction.
If he did what he said, I'm not sure what the cause for this behavior is. Any idea? (or did he just do nothing on the car...)
The mechanic called and said all was ok, he had done the alignment and no issue to report.
(unfortunately, he gave me a bill but no report so I don't know what exactly changed... he has a stellar reputation in the area though, so I don't know what to think).
It seems that it improved a bit -- driving with an horizontal wheel, it runs straight (don't need to turn it a bit to the left anymore, although I need to test that some more).
The main issue remains however: if I stop holding the wheel, it immediately rotates about 15-20° right and the car sways in that direction.
If he did what he said, I'm not sure what the cause for this behavior is. Any idea? (or did he just do nothing on the car...)
#17
#20
X308 is very picky when it comes to wheel aligment. Some car's are not and some are. Rear wheels needs to be exactly aligned as do front. Wide wheels underlines the misaligment. Rear camber is the most less affective.
My aligment result.
You may not understand my motherlanguage. So I must translate.
The most right column of greens from the top to bttom are results in degrees:
Front toe sum
Front toe separate
Front camber
Caster
KingPing and sum angle are only measurements.
Rear toe sum
Rear toe separate
Rear camber
Thrust angle
Thrust angle is very important to have as close zero as possible.
With those values car goes straight when the road is flat, steering wheel is straight and stays straight without touching it. Car goes in to the road grooves softly front first, does not twitch in etc. Comes out of the groove likewise. Steering wheel returns close to center by itself, so it has some feel to it. And wheel has same force to turn to both directions from the center. This car like to pull very slightly where the road is tilted. But that is normal beahviour.
My car had same constant pull to the right when I bought it. All values were "in green" so acceptable. But it wasn't that really.
My aligment result.
You may not understand my motherlanguage. So I must translate.
The most right column of greens from the top to bttom are results in degrees:
Front toe sum
Front toe separate
Front camber
Caster
KingPing and sum angle are only measurements.
Rear toe sum
Rear toe separate
Rear camber
Thrust angle
Thrust angle is very important to have as close zero as possible.
With those values car goes straight when the road is flat, steering wheel is straight and stays straight without touching it. Car goes in to the road grooves softly front first, does not twitch in etc. Comes out of the groove likewise. Steering wheel returns close to center by itself, so it has some feel to it. And wheel has same force to turn to both directions from the center. This car like to pull very slightly where the road is tilted. But that is normal beahviour.
My car had same constant pull to the right when I bought it. All values were "in green" so acceptable. But it wasn't that really.