Ok I am frustrated! About 2 month ago I hit a HUGE pot hole and bent my rims, both right side rims...front and back (Stock rims, 2010 Forte SX Sedan 6-Speed) I had the rims sent out and repaired and they came back looking like brand new! After driving for a few weeks I noticed my tires kind of getting that "thump thump" sound and overall loud tire noise and it drifted very slightly to the right. I pulled the 2 front tires and they were wearing horribly on the inside edge. I have uni-directional tires so I rotated front to back and went and got a 4-wheel alignment. Car still drifts to the right slightly and steering wheel was turned very slightly left when going straight on the highway...took it back they rechecked all measurement and said the alignment is "dead on" as is the toe in and toe out.....car STILL drifts slightly to the right and the tires that I rotated are beginning to wear on the inside edge again! WTH is going on.....any suggestions?? I had the alignment done at STS Tires in PA and they told me that there is no adjustment to get the steering wheel centered....but the alignment is dead on....then why are my tires wearing on the inside edge???
I would try another alignment shop. While toe in/out is certainly important, there are many parameters that need to be checked. Try to find a dedicated alignment specialist that has a good reputation - be advised that such shops don't necessarily have the latest technology. An alignment tech that understands alignments is worth far more than the latest fancy laser alignment machine.
Be sure to have the various suspension components carefully checked during the alignment. Hitting a pothole that large may have bent something that isn't normally messed up (lower arm? strut? subframe?).
Thanks for the tips! I am pretty sure it is not the rims since it is happening to both the left and right side...that being said...I have an appointment tomorrow morning with a shop that speciailizes in alignments....we will see what happens!
I ended up taking it to another tire shop and the alignment is exact....however either the toe in or tow out is screwed up! The inside edges of the tires are wearing...and wearing bad! I then took it to the dealer and the dealer tried telling me "that's how performance tires wear"....which I know is a load of crap! I need new tires soon but I am afraid to purchase them until I get the front end issues resolved! Anyone else ever have toe in/out issues??
camber is usually what wears the inside or outside of a tire. toe will cause a dragging of the tire, which would make the tire wear across the bottom unevenly. toe is almost always out when it's time to do an alignment on the car. are they giving you printouts when you get your alignment checked?
Just my 2 cents... I was in an accident with my truck and had the tires aligned. When I drove it home the steering wheel was turned to one side. I was told by several people (including the Firestone regional manager) that this was a sign that something was bent. In my case the rear axle was bent. Perhaps you have something bend as well. Have you taken it to an _alignment shop_? They are going to be the experts.
i think its radial pull from my tires, but i have yet to confirm this
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A little, yes. Roads are going to be slanted this way so water does not pool in the middle.
meh, right AND left lanes. roads are more ^ around here. if they're slanted. I'm not talking about 2 way roads, i'm talking like separated by a huge grass median.
Sounds like bent suspension components. I bent the frame rail on a truck hitting some concrete with a wheel. The dealer aligned the truck and said all was well. I refused to pick the truck up because there was noticeable ride height difference between the left and right side. Turns out I had bent the frame where the upper control arm bolt mounted.
The steering wheel is straight....it drives straight.....absolutely no vibration.....BUT the inside edge of both front tires are wearing down extremely fast! I also now get allot of tire 'noise'. The print out from my last alignment shows left front camber at -0.81 and toe at -0.00 right front camber -0.94 and toe at -0.00. According to the printout the specified range for camber is -1.14 to -0.14
Do you have any custom alignment shops in your area?
Some shops, actually adjust your alignment to what your car needs, not to the specified range. So sometimes these shops might solve issues normal alignment doesn't.
I would say maybe just keep up with rotating the tires but the rear of this car has even more neg camber. -1.5* is nominal spec for rear camber.
on stock tires the camber shouldnt show up that badly, I didnt have anynoticeable camber wear on my stock tires. the camber in the rear, though, killed the tires that were on the 17" (235/40/17), which is why I'm rolling on steelies again with new falkens in stock size.
on stock tires, though, camber within spec shouldnt show up too badly or quickly.
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WTH Alignment!
Isana
Corsa Blue SX Forte Sedan
