Hacked Orf

[rosss]

Left drift. Ok looking at some of the messages I can see that this is a recurring theme so excuse the slight repetition but I think my story is slightly different.

Got our Furby used, 2nd owner on a 54 plate. It's done ~20500 mls. Until about 2 or 3 months ago it would drive dead straight up and down all the roads that I go on at any speed. Was delighted with it apart from a few trim issues. Fair nuff.

Then, some "event" happened which left a gash in the side of the front passenger tyre and ever since the streering wheel has been off center and the car now has a distinct left drift tendency (more exagerrated at higher speeds).

I got new tyres (cause of the gash and got a decent deal), 4 x Avon ZZ3s, and got the tracking done - no difference to the drift. 3 tracking attempts later still no difference. The guy at quik fit the last time said "I can't put it to a zero setting" something about the back wheels not being perfectly dead on.

Thing is that it's been for a service this week and the dealer insist that it's not drifting. WTF

So the question is, what is there that I can get a garage to look at that might cause this. Apparently the steering gear looks fine last time the tracking was done.

Some one said maybe a bush is away at the back somewhere.

Any advice appreciated, I'm getting to the stage now where it's spoiling my enjoyment of the car - what little I get to drive it ... :-(

RS

[Armegatron]

Unfortunatly I dont have a solution, but mine does this too so Ill eagerly be watching the thread for answers.

Come on everyone, help us out!:P

[mekon]

what did you hit and how hard did you hit it ? tracking only makes sure the wheels have the proper toe in/out you might have knocked the suspension geometry out of alignment i once had a mate who hit a sleeping policeman (concrete:rolleyes: ) and after that the car would not straiten up after turning a corner as he had bent the sub frame and needed the car completely re-jigging to get it straight:eek:

Richard

[mluton]

Might be in need of a full geometry check.

[ric04vrs]

mine was ok with the original Michelins on the front , changed them to Dunlops , then i got the pull to the left , it is slightly less of a pull when i have my track day Toyos on instead , so it could be tyre related , try swopping the front tyres side to side if they aren't directional , or front to back if they are

[rosss]

Thanks all for your replies so far. It's appreciated.

Mekon - I dunno what happened. I hadn't driven it for a few weeks (I have a junker fiesta for work). My wife swears blind she has no idea when or what happened. I suspect something car park related when my wife wasn in it.

mluton - do I just get a dealer to do that or can an independent do it. I'm a bit disolusioned with my local main dealer just now, due to their complete lack of giving a hoot at the service

ric04vrs - I might try the tyres, although the drift was happening with the Michelins after "the event" and prior to getting the Avons

Ross

[thirty3]

As someone mentioned a full laser wheel allignment will tell you...this is not cheap......

[sharkrider]

mine was ok with the original Michelins on the front , changed them to Dunlops , then i got the pull to the left , it is slightly less of a pull when i have my track day Toyos on instead , so it could be tyre related , try swopping the front tyres side to side if they aren't directional , or front to back if they are

I agree with the poss that it is tyre related, I've never banged the front wheels, but have done 58k, so gone through several sets of front tyres..., never needed the tracking doing, tyres wear evenly (apart from the "roundabout" edge lol..) and the F1's would always start to drift to the left as they wore, and the drift would always be gone when new tyres fitted, this set (pirelli p-nero's) are great, but have always pulled to the side a little... there is nothing wrong with the car, it's probably just tramlining, and following the "camber" of the road, which would "normally" make it pull to the left, just the same principle of being able to take you hands off the wheel on an oval cambered bowl, and watching the car steer itself....

I wouldn't worry, and certainly wouldn't let it spoil your enjoyment of the car..

UNLESS of course it's a very pronounced pull to one side :thumbdwn:

[Tigger_1979]

It maybe that one of the wheels are set back line the wheels up straight (difficult to sort but possible with long planks of wood then measure the distance from centre to centre of front and back wheels on both sides they should be the same

only problems you may find is getting the wheels pointing forward as a slight turn to left or right will mean the distances wont be equal

if it is set back then you will notice tyre wear on one wheel only if the tracking is zeroed

HTH

[rosss]

Interestingly, the guys that did the last tracking said "they coouldn't get a zero setup" - as far as I understood it, it was something to do with the back wheels not being 0 straight ahead - or something.

I just wish I knew what had happened to it. Did I mention that the streering wheel is also off centre now too - at the same time the tyre damge happened...

On the plus side I was progressing "Briskly" along the motor way at the weekend (steering in to the right to go in a straight line) and got a grin back. !!!

The dealer claim it is simply camber sensitivity but we all know camber sensitivity doesn't just start happening - it's usually present from the get go as a characteristic.

:-(

[mluton]

My motor used to turn to the left, i put this down to the road camber, but even on the flat it slightly went to the left.

Though when driving with the steering wheel straight the car went straight.

I adjusted the steering wheel position and pushed the steering wheel right in as you can adjust the height and forward / backward position on the Octy.

Not sure if you can do this on the Fabia.

And this has eliminated nearly all of the misterious left turn on my car. The slight movment is that small, it doesnt bother me.

With steering wheel fully towards me its alot more severe than when its fully in.

Give it a try.

[rosss]

I'll certainly try that!! I recalll adjusting the steering column position not all that long ago ......

[flabio]

i had a full, 4 wheel laser check on my felicia,it wouldnt go around corners,used to hop and slide.it was

[rosss]

is it best to get the laser geometry check/setup done at a Skoda dealer (one that I trust) or independent?

[Evil Miyagi]

Left drift. Ok looking at some of the messages I can see that this is a recurring theme so excuse the slight repetition but I think my story is slightly different.

Got our Furby used, 2nd owner on a 54 plate. It's done ~20500 mls. Until about 2 or 3 months ago it would drive dead straight up and down all the roads that I go on at any speed. Was delighted with it apart from a few trim issues. Fair nuff.

Then, some "event" happened which left a gash in the side of the front passenger tyre and ever since the streering wheel has been off center and the car now has a distinct left drift tendency (more exagerrated at higher speeds).

I got new tyres (cause of the gash and got a decent deal), 4 x Avon ZZ3s, and got the tracking done - no difference to the drift. 3 tracking attempts later still no difference. The guy at quik fit the last time said "I can't put it to a zero setting" something about the back wheels not being perfectly dead on.

Thing is that it's been for a service this week and the dealer insist that it's not drifting. WTF

So the question is, what is there that I can get a garage to look at that might cause this. Apparently the steering gear looks fine last time the tracking was done.

Some one said maybe a bush is away at the back somewhere.

Any advice appreciated, I'm getting to the stage now where it's spoiling my enjoyment of the car - what little I get to drive it ... :-(

RS

I'm also having this after hitting a kerb at mph. small slit in side wall of brand new Eagle F1 tyre. So not only did I have the cost of a new tyre from kwik fit but my car now also drifts to the left.

I have had the tracking checked at 2 different garages and it is spot on.

I will also be watching this thread hoping for a resolution.

[moderamen]

I'd be surprised if a main dealer would have the kit to do a full four wheel alignment. The laser set-ups tend to available at specialist wheel places (forget Kwik-Fit). Try local specialists. You can reset the tracking as often as you like but if the back wheels are out of alignment you're wasting your money.

[Stuart_J]

Hopefully its only tracking but it depends how hard you hit the car.

A full chassis alignment can be done but that involves putting the car on a jig at a bodyshop & will take 2-3 hours minimum. if its badly out simply putting the wheels straight & measuring from the front of the wheel arch to the wheel will give you a clue

Its probable only a 4 wheel check you need & its best to hunt out a specialist if possible rather than your average Kwik Fit etc.

Im not sure where you live but if you can get to Cheltenham try Powerstation, they do a lot of race cars as well so tend to track cars with a wealth of experience.

In Hampshire Micheldever tyres are also pretty good.

have you bashed either of the rear wheels as these can also be knocked out of line which will cause the car to crab slightly

Due to the camber in the roads cars will all tend to drift left & as others have said different tyres can have a major effect on how the car runs but if it suddenly started then you should be able to rule these out.

[flabio]

i had my 4 wheel tracking done at a specialist tyre garage in Blackwood, south wales, he said, he often gets new cars from the jaguar dealer in Cardiff,as new cars can have the rear wheels out of align when they leave the factory.

[speedydaveb]

...Im not sure where you live but if you can get to Cheltenham try Powerstation, they do a lot of race cars as well so tend to track cars with a wealth of experience...

I'm a Impreza owner myself (on here trying to find out some info to help a computer illeterate neighbour!) and can vouch for Powerstation after having my car four wheel lazer aligment - it's not cheap though, cost me

[Stuart_J]

I'm a Impreza owner myself (on here trying to find out some info to help a computer illeterate neighbour!) and can vouch for Powerstation after having my car four wheel lazer aligment - it's not cheap though, cost me

[rosss]

Stuart_J - Not sure if anything happened at the back wheels, don't even know what happened at the front - I hadn't been driving it for a while, the missus had it.

All, thanks loads for all the suggestions, I'll take em on board and report back if I get a fix.

[r_holmes22]

Dunno if it will help, but my 2001 reg Fabia started pulling to the left about a year ago and it turned out the anti-roll bar at the front needed replacing. Once this was done (cost roughly £150) the car went in a straight line again. The dealer says this is common on the Fabia and, indeed, my colleague's 2002 car had the same replacement a few months back.

Might not be relevant if yours came on really suddenly, but thought I'd share just in case. Good luck sorting it out. I swear mine's started to drift left again since the chappy at Wilco Autosave altered the tracking when I had a tyre replaced a few weeks back!