Michelin Arctic Alpin/Alignment trouble
’94 TA
42k miles
Excellent condition
About 6 weeks ago, I had snow tires put on my TA. Immediately after the snow tires were put on, the car pulled to the right. To give you a little background, the summer tires I took off are 245/16’s. When these were on the car, it drove straight and did not pull. The snow tires I purchased are Michelin Arctic Alpin’s and they are 215/16’s (directional).
I purchased the snow tires through Discount Tire and they had them put on and balanced. That night, I had to drive down to Salt Lake City (about 50 miles away). The car pulled to the right on the freeway. At first, I thought it might be a tire pressure problem. My schedule was very busy back then and I wasn’t able to check the tire pressure for a few days. When I did, the pressure in each tire was at 35 psi. I decreased the pressure to 32 psi in each tire and took it for a test drive. It still pulled to the right.
Because of my busy schedule, I wasn’t able to make it back to Discount Tire for a couple of weeks. When I did make it in, they swapped the passenger side tires (front to rear) and I took it for a drive to see if it made a difference. Well, it still pulled to the right. I drove back to Discount Tire and they swapped the driver side tires (front to rear). I took it for a test drive and it still pulled to the right. At this point, I had to leave and get home.
The following weekend (end of November), I decided to take the car in to check the alignment just to make sure this wasn't the problem (remember that the car drove straight with my summer tires on). I took it to Sears at a local mall so that I could do some shopping while they worked on it. Sears found this and made the following adjustments (I can email the data to you if you would like/the file is too big for me to attach).
But, when I took the car home, I found that it was pulling to the right exactly the same as before.
A week passed before I could work on the issue again. Then, on December 5th, I took the car back to Discount Tire. They decided to swap the front tires (left to right) leaving them on the rims so that they ran counter their intended direction to see if that changed anything. I took it for a test drive and it drove straight! It had just the very hint of a pull to the left but it was very acceptable to me. I didn’t have time to go back to Discount Tire that night so I drove home.
On December 6th, I went back to Discount Tire and told them that it was driving straight. They put a new tire on the wheel that was on the driver front and put that wheel and new tire back on the passenger front. Then, they put the passenger front (that was running counter direction) back on the driver front. I took the car out for a test drive and it pulled to the right again!
Now, beginning to lose my patience, I drove back to Discount Tire. I told them to swap the rear tires so that they would run counter direction to see if this made a difference. I drove home and it pulled to the right still.
At this point, I’m not sure what to do. I could swap the rear back again (so that they are running the right direction) and then try swapping the front tires (left to right) to see what happens. Anyone have any suggestions? This is really beginning to get frustrating! I can’t stand this pull.
Regards,
Martin
42k miles
Excellent condition
About 6 weeks ago, I had snow tires put on my TA. Immediately after the snow tires were put on, the car pulled to the right. To give you a little background, the summer tires I took off are 245/16’s. When these were on the car, it drove straight and did not pull. The snow tires I purchased are Michelin Arctic Alpin’s and they are 215/16’s (directional).
I purchased the snow tires through Discount Tire and they had them put on and balanced. That night, I had to drive down to Salt Lake City (about 50 miles away). The car pulled to the right on the freeway. At first, I thought it might be a tire pressure problem. My schedule was very busy back then and I wasn’t able to check the tire pressure for a few days. When I did, the pressure in each tire was at 35 psi. I decreased the pressure to 32 psi in each tire and took it for a test drive. It still pulled to the right.
Because of my busy schedule, I wasn’t able to make it back to Discount Tire for a couple of weeks. When I did make it in, they swapped the passenger side tires (front to rear) and I took it for a drive to see if it made a difference. Well, it still pulled to the right. I drove back to Discount Tire and they swapped the driver side tires (front to rear). I took it for a test drive and it still pulled to the right. At this point, I had to leave and get home.
The following weekend (end of November), I decided to take the car in to check the alignment just to make sure this wasn't the problem (remember that the car drove straight with my summer tires on). I took it to Sears at a local mall so that I could do some shopping while they worked on it. Sears found this and made the following adjustments (I can email the data to you if you would like/the file is too big for me to attach).
But, when I took the car home, I found that it was pulling to the right exactly the same as before.
A week passed before I could work on the issue again. Then, on December 5th, I took the car back to Discount Tire. They decided to swap the front tires (left to right) leaving them on the rims so that they ran counter their intended direction to see if that changed anything. I took it for a test drive and it drove straight! It had just the very hint of a pull to the left but it was very acceptable to me. I didn’t have time to go back to Discount Tire that night so I drove home.
On December 6th, I went back to Discount Tire and told them that it was driving straight. They put a new tire on the wheel that was on the driver front and put that wheel and new tire back on the passenger front. Then, they put the passenger front (that was running counter direction) back on the driver front. I took the car out for a test drive and it pulled to the right again!
Now, beginning to lose my patience, I drove back to Discount Tire. I told them to swap the rear tires so that they would run counter direction to see if this made a difference. I drove home and it pulled to the right still.
At this point, I’m not sure what to do. I could swap the rear back again (so that they are running the right direction) and then try swapping the front tires (left to right) to see what happens. Anyone have any suggestions? This is really beginning to get frustrating! I can’t stand this pull.
Regards,
Martin
Does you car have a strut tower brace? I'm asking because it's possible to have let the adjustment slip during install.
but the alignment is where I would continue looking. Also, I wouldn't necessarily trust a Sears alignment... I've gotten bad ones even from reputable shops before.
, LTCC Coil Per Cylinder Ignition, OPTI High Voltage Deleted, 160, Short Stick, BMR-STB, adjustable Shocks, PP+ w/scan, !CAGS, Flowmaster 3" cat-back... 43k miles as of Aug. 2006
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