Car pulling to the right under acceleration

[SMOG]

I've had this problem ever since I had 2 new tyres fitted and wheel alignment done. The car was fine when I bought it, but had noisy front tyres (2x Dunlop SP Maxx XL) and mismatched rear tyres (1x brand new Avon ZZ3, 1x badly worn Bridgestone Potenza).

I went to a local place I got off Backcircles who I've used in the past. I bought 2 new Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics XL which I put on the front (Dunlops now on rear) - and had the wheel alignment done. (cost: £330).

I went for a drive that evening up the M1 and found the car was pulling to the right every time I accelerated, and then it would drift to the left when I took the foot off the throttle - strange. Booked the car in the following week. When I collected it they were surprised because the reading when I brought it in didn't match when it left them the first time. (I'm not an expert, but looks like they undid what they 'corrected' the first time). The guy asked me if I hit any pot holes or banged the wheels violently. Of course I hadn't!

Anyway, car felt a lot better, but on a flat open road it's still pulls mildly to the right under heavy acceleration, then drifting left on lift-off. It also feels different turning left to when it turns right. Turning left (esp. under acceleration) I feel more resistance, the steering feels like it's on an 'edge' and wants to snap back right.

So the car is going back for a third time. I'm assuming the garage has messed-up the alignment - but I'm wondering if there could be another underlying issue. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

One thought is that the asymmetry of the Goodyears is causing the pulling, but surely that's not possible? Is it a bad idea to mix asymmetric and non-asymmetric tyres the way I have? The car tends to drift about, and the Goodyears feel very 'wooly', not much feel, but then I've heard they can take a while to bed in?

Thanks.

[bacillus]

How many miles have you done on the Goodyears as they do need 100+ miles before they start working "properly"...

[SMOG]

How many miles have you done on the Goodyears as they do need 100+ miles before they start working "properly"...

I've done nearly 400 miles on them - mix of town, B roads and motorway. So they should be 'bedded-in' by now?

[Ubbs]

Hi this is my first post so please go easy I have been a lurker since 2009, I purchased an approved used mk5 gti 5 door from Leeds VW and I had this exact same problem didn't notice it on the test drive, but noted the steering was out which the salesman said he would sort picked the car up on the 25th July 2009, now on drive home it was doing the exact same thing you are describing to a point where it was downright dangerous took the car back next morning and they confirmed the alignment had been done and confirmed "it's not quite right" at that point I handed the car back to them, 5 weeks later 3 alignments a brand new diff ( VW technical recommend this ) still not sorted, the workshop decided to start changing suspension components off another gti the had in stock the fist thing they changed was the front nearside track control arm and that cured the problem.

If you looked at the new and old tca's side by side It would have been very difficult to spot the slight kink in it while on the car on the bench it was very apparent!! On all three alignments there was nothing on the printouts to suggest there was something bent car was spot on afterwards,

The car was px ed for a scirocco r in march this year, the golf has been right up there with the best vw's I've owned mk4 r32 (new 2003) oettinger modified s3 and 2 corrado vr6's (1 new in 95 and 1 used with 10 k on the clock)
Hope this helps
Ubbs

[kierongti]

assume they would have noticed if the console bushes were knackered... might make it pull???? just had mine changed and makes a difference with the general drive of the car..

[SMOG]

Hi this is my first post so please go easy I have been a lurker since 2009, I purchased an approved used mk5 gti 5 door from Leeds VW and I had this exact same problem didn't notice it on the test drive, but noted the steering was out which the salesman said he would sort picked the car up on the 25th July 2009, now on drive home it was doing the exact same thing you are describing to a point where it was downright dangerous took the car back next morning and they confirmed the alignment had been done and confirmed "it's not quite right" at that point I handed the car back to them, 5 weeks later 3 alignments a brand new diff ( VW technical recommend this ) still not sorted, the workshop decided to start changing suspension components off another gti the had in stock the fist thing they changed was the front nearside track control arm and that cured the problem.

If you looked at the new and old tca's side by side It would have been very difficult to spot the slight kink in it while on the car on the bench it was very apparent!! On all three alignments there was nothing on the printouts to suggest there was something bent car was spot on afterwards,

The car was px ed for a scirocco r in march this year, the golf has been right up there with the best vw's I've owned mk4 r32 (new 2003) oettinger modified s3 and 2 corrado vr6's (1 new in 95 and 1 used with 10 k on the clock)
Hope this helps
Ubbs

Many thanks for sharing the info Ubbs 

Sorry to hear about the problems you had. My big fear is that it's something suspension-related like yours which could prove costly to fix. I will definitely ask them to give everything a good check inc. the track control arms - although not being a VAG specialist I'm not convinced they'll know what to look for. My car is a MY05 with 80k, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised if some bits are worn and need replacing. It's booked in this Thursday, I'll let you know how i get on.

How's the 'Rocco R? 

[SMOG]

assume they would have noticed if the console bushes were knackered... might make it pull???? just had mine changed and makes a difference with the general drive of the car..

Will get that checked too, thx.

[the bruce]

Check lower ball joint and front arm rear bush or even better replace both.
Ball joint > OEM, rear bush > S3 or WALK.

[Ubbs]

The r is is taking some getting used mostly down to the dsg! On the golf all four wheels were examined to see if any had been changed due to pot hole damage, they hadn't (all had the same manufacturing number) Which leads me to believe (imo)that these arms may be inherently soft so they don't cause other suspension damage, the temporary arm they put on was off a gti that had done 60k mine had only done 34k
The service team at Leeds VW were great throughout the time the car was there I could have rejected the car but it was mint and the right spec.
Ubbs

[SMOG]

Check lower ball joint and front arm rear bush or even better replace both.
Ball joint > OEM, rear bush > S3 or WALK.

Thanks. I think I'll just print out this thread as I'll never remember all these things. 

On the golf all four wheels were examined to see if any had been changed due to pot hole damage, they hadn't (all had the same manufacturing number)

That's another thing I'm worried about - damaged alloys.

[the bruce]

If there's a rim damaged this will cause vibration.

Replace the ball joint cos these are cheap. We had similar effects on my girlfriend's
Golf like you have and the problem was gone with new lower ball joints.

Do a SEARCH on this forum for S3 arm, S3 bushes and WALK because of the stock
bushes are known as too soft and wearing out very quickly.

[SMOG]

Update:  Alignment/tracking done for the 3rd time last Thursday. Again, the wheels were 'out' compared to the readings when it left them the 2nd time. I had suggested it could be operator error or machine error… which didn't go down well. They insisted there was nothing wrong with their machine and the only way the wheels could be so 'out' each time it came in was if I'd hit pot-holes or kerbs at high speed. They insinuated/suggested that 4 or 5 times, despite my denials!!

When I got out the 3 separate sheets to compare them (uploaded below) I mentioned how the right-side was always 'out' when it came back. One of the technicians said that's because pot-holes are usually in the middle of the road!! Anyway, despite them 'correcting' the alignment for the 3rd time the car is still pulling to the right. They said they didn't notice anything that might be causing it. Some of the bushes had perished but not worn enough to be causing problems.

1st time:

Car was pulling very noticeably after this. So, took it back for...

2nd time: (note how the right-side is now out of alignment)

Car much better, but still mild pulling. So, took it back for...

3rd time: (again right-side out of alignment, plus now left toe out)


Better still, but still mild pulling under acceleration, and 'loose' handling. Funny how they corrected the castor this time when they said they couldn't adjust it.

The car had an MOT end of Feb and an interval service in March. Today I took the car to VW main dealer for the coil-pack recall. They gave it a complimentary safety check, I asked them to check the suspension for wear or problems - clean bill of health. That's just typical - when you think your car is fine - they give a long list of stuff that needs attention. When you know something needs attention - they tell you it's fine.

This is annoying because I have a Jabbasport remap pencilled for next week (need to confirm on Sat). Now I'm thinking I need get the handling sorted out first. By the way the car's behaving I think it could be the ball joints as Bruce suggested. Also, thanks for the heads-up on WALK, definitely worth considering.

Cheers.

[john_o]

id be tempted to go to a VW specialist or a suspension outfit that only do alignment to get a proper diagnosis.
centering the rack, then aligning the track rod ends isnt always done correctly.