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Steering felt good after alignment, but now starting to feel it diminish?

9K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  tommasom 
#1 ·
Hello, 2011 RT.

I had an issue in the past where I bottomed out and ruined the part of the cradle where the control arm goes in. I had the front lower control arms replaced and the cradle replaced.

It seems that after I get an alignment and ask him to make it tight, the car feels great for about a month, then it gets a little sloppy again. I believe the alignment shop is adjusting toe and playing around with the tie rod threads to get it to the tight feel how I like.

-why is the car reverting back to the kinda wonky loose feel after a month or so. After the alignment, the car feels dead arrow straight and really tight steering. But after a month of driving, it is back to a little wandering, and not the same confidence...


thanks
 
#2 · (Edited)
also when the alignment man says that he is "adjusting the tie rods just a notch" and it feels tighter, what does that mean?

is it possible for it to lose its tightness after like a month?



Also, what the does the alignment man mean when he says "i can make it a notch tighter". Is he referring to the tie rods. If so, will it loose this tightness in about a month.



When i originally got my car back after the cradle replacement, he said that he did the alignment within specs. Car tracked straight and such, but didnt feel tight and crisp. I ask him to make it tighter and he adjusted it a few notches. I really liked it.



But it now seems to have "wore off"
 
#4 ·
Nothing about alignment will "tighten" anything. How old are the tires? Adjusting the toe can cause some extra drag and the car can feel tighter, but that increases tire wear a lot and will decrease MPG, you might find a better shop.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, it seems like this is a typical scenario:

-car feels loose and wonky, some play evident but still driveable.
-bring car to alignment shop, fix toe settings, car now tracks straight, but steering still seems loose for my liking. Says he will adjust the rack a notch or two. Car is to my liking.
-2 months later return for same issue.


The total front end work to my car includes a cradle replacement, 2 lower control arms one on each side with the bushing and ball joint, new rotors and brakes.

-what could knock the alignment out after 2 months if it has new lower control arms after the cradle was replaced. Will hard driving and cornering with this car like tail out stuff affect the alignment badly?
 
#7 ·
Oh, and maybe quit high speed jumping your car like the "Dukes of Hazard";) What you are experiencing is they are adjusting the toe in like this = /\. And the tires are taking the "play" out making it feel "tighter". Once the tire wear has worn and adapted, it will loosen up again - like what you are experiencing.

SO yes, hard driving and cornerning will make the car "feel" it is out of alignment when in actuallity, if you had it aligned with new tires...you are constantly adjusting your alignment to the tire wear. Waste of time and $$ not to mention the wear on the handling of a 4000 lb brick.
 
#8 ·
Wraith SRT I see what you are on about and am interested. You say that after they adjust the toe and once the tire wear has worn and adapted, it will loosen up again.

-I see what you're saying, but what would make this happen after a month or two. Why would it feel loose after. The toe is taking the "play" out, but why is there that "play" to begin with"?


-Also Wraith, can worn out tires affect the loose steering too?
 
#10 ·
well i put new tires on and got an alignment done and it feels much better. I also had the steering components tightened which helps too in terms of stability.

Stuff like hard cornering will knock the toe out and such, so alignments will help.

Also the steering might **** to the right due to the roads and such. These cars have a big ride height and low profile tires like 20's will cause some constant having to adjust the position on bad roads.
 
#11 ·
[QUOTE=tommasom;1Ok so im at the dealer right now. I am getting 4 new tires and a wheel alignment. My steering wheel is also canted to the right. It is very annoying and i stressed it to them that i wanted it fixed. All my suspension is still stock. So ill let you know what they did if my steering wheel centers, and my ride quality is restored.
 
#12 ·
Post Alignment and new tires.

OK SO, 3 hours later I got the car back and the steering offset was corrected. tech said he did everything to spec after assuring the steering wheel in the car was centered. He said normal you do not have to visually make sure the steering wheel is absolutely centered in the car because when you set everything to spec down below, it should center, But he said in my case he did visually confirm along with the alignment adjustments. My ride Quality is back, It doesn't feel loose when switching lanes, and I was hearing knocks and thumps that I no longer hear.

I had Pereli P-ZERO 245/45/20 and I replaced them with 255/45/20 and so far 30 miles, and way better ride.

Tech mentioned my rear sway bar link bushings are dry rotting and will need replacement soon.

Also learned that our cars have independent suspension, and on uneven roads with wide tires it would tend to pull you to the sides causing you to constantly adjust your steering.
 
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