Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

I have a series 2 R33 GTST that is annoying me..

Its 99% standard, just had all 4 discs machined and all 4 corners had new brake pads.

I drove the car for about 1000kms and it ran perfectly, then out of nowhere it started pulling hard to the left.

I had it checked out by a mechanic and discovered my caster bushes were buggered, so I had them replaced and got a four wheel alignment done. The car still pulls to the left just as bad.the person that did the wheel alignment said it might have a bent strutt.

I doubted this as the car started pulling out of nowhere on the freeway without hitting anything.

When braking real hard the car is perfectly straight and pulls up perfectly, but once the brakes are let off it will pull to the left again.

Any ideas or common faults? I was thinking a brake might not be fully releasing?

Please post any ideas :)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/406528-pulling-to-the-left-help/
Share on other sites

OK, so obvious causes are tie rod ends, rack ends, and ball joints. Any one of these (if badly worn or damaged) can sit nicely in a given position whilst being wheel aligned, then shift to another position once the car is under way and has dynamic loads on the suspension. The same can be true of upper and lower control arm bushes.

It may also be at the back. If you have a stuffed HICAS tie rod end it will steer the car, although that usually doesn't feel like the front end pushing so much as just being strangely unstraight driving.

It also could have been a shit alignment initially.

Unfortunately for a simple thing, it often is done incorrectly. I've had some shocking alignments over years from reputable places even after I've told them what spec to align to;

1. They think they know better and don't do what you ask

2. Their equipment isn't calibrated correctly so it might be right on "paper", but the car is actually out.

You can tell the car isn't "right" by just driving 500m down the street. So that is also something else to consider as well.

Did you replace your caster bushes with adjustable items?

What are your wheel alignment specs?

Are your tyres directional and if not have you done a left to right swap?

Thanks for your ideas guys, you all raised valid points.. Tyre pressures all good, not sure on alignment specs, just standard I guess.

Non adjustable caster bushes fitted.

I have booked it into a different mechanic next week, so il be sure to update you after that.

Thanks again

It MIGHT also be the set-up itself

0 toe with equal caster (left/right) and lower offset wheels will also feel like it is pulling left pretty hard on our cambered roads.

ie. A 0 toe car with equal caster and flush wheel will follow the grooves in the road VERY closely. If you let the wheel go on almost any slightly cambered road will cause a obvious steer to the side of the road.

Normally the caster is split left/right to compensate somewhat.

Obviously this doesn't explain the sudden onset. For that I am thinking tyre wear.

Edited by simpletool

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • How's everyone going? Just a shout-out introducing myself. I'm James, I live on the north side of Brisbane. I bought an R33 that had been left to rot in someone's front yard for 14 years. Apparently, it has immobiliser/fuel issues. Long story short, it's suffering from a seized engine, plus whatever else turns up once it runs. The car is pretty good considering it sat for so long. It pretty much died after being imported. It has a bunch of Jap parts and a full Top Secret body kit. It's painted Fiat Turchese Festival, or aqua blue if you're not French. Another project to throw money at!
    • So the clockspring is responsible for the indicators cancelling on their own? I thought that was the function of that white thing in the center (any idea what it's called?)
    • Can you log IAT? Whilst WTA coolers have their place, doing any sort of sustained run is not one of them There are fixes that slow down the heat soak, like ice boxes, which don't last that long, and interchillers, which are fairly expensive, up grades to the WTA cooling radiator, which may require a bigger pump, and upgrades to the reservoir size,  and upgrades to the cooling fans, but, it all still heat soaks, and takes ages to come down in hot weather  For a turbo, that isn't locked into WTA like my PD blower is, can you not possibly swap to a nice air to air intercooler????, it would be better for sustained runs then, and have alot less things that could go wrong in my opinion 
    • So, the other thing I've sorted is a baseline dyno run up at Unigroup's new location. The auto trans was a little unco-operative by both shifting down when the throttle was floored on the dyno (so Mark had to ramp it up more slowly than in a manual) and also by shifting up at 6,000 even in sports mode instead of the indicated redline of 7,000 Still, on a hot day it made 240rwkw at 16psi which seems about right for 300kw (400hp) through an auto at the wheels.  The shape of the curve is not quite right because it was not full throttle to about 4,500 to stop it kicking down, but until I can get a tune on the auto trans control this was the best we could do.....full boost will be well below 5,000 once that is sorted, I'll get some data logs when I can to confirm For comparison, the R32 made 255 at 12psi (at 4,500) on the same dyno with tune, n1 turbos, cam gears, big exhaust but otherwise all standard so the v37 is likely a little better out of the box. One thing that is very clear is that the standard water to air intercoolers are not up to sustained use at full throttle in warm ambient temps. After about 5 runs (so only a few minutes full throttle), it was pulling boost and timing and dropping 10-15% power. Unfortunately I didn't get that printout and the Unigroup guys are away at the moment, will try and get hold of it on their return. So, looks like a healthy engine to start modifying and the only real area of concern is the w2a heat exchangers which the aftermarket has plenty of solutions for    
    • I maintain it actually looked really nice in person. So much so that I thought "No, this is illegal" but there it was, clear as day. I think we can easily call the wing and wheels/height to be transformative. Not saying it's better than the GR Whatever, or the 86, or the WRX STI or anything of that sort (the internet says it all bolts up so you can buy best of all worlds?) but it's still at least a thing and not nearly AS bad as people say.
×
×
  • Create New...