Car seems to want to change direction the faster I go, and more so under heavy acceleration.

Some info -
I am running 13x7 Rims (Soon to be 10x6")

-The wheels were aligned last week.
-There is no play in the steering wheel.
-There is no play in either wheel that is noticeable, but a bit hard to tell with absolute certainty when unable to lock the steering wheel.
-The rack does not appear to have any movement on the body.

Is it normal with 13x7's to have wandering steering ?
Will the large rim size magnify any movement in the steering system ?

Is there any other areas on the steering / suspension system that I should be looking at ?

Is it only under acceleration? I know it may sound silly but what sort of motor do you have? It could possibly be torque steer.

Steve,

I did actually consider that.

1380cc, apparantly 80 - 84hp atw.

But I can be cruising along at 90km/h on a straight, and the car wants to drift in a random direction. It's like the wheels are turning in a direction without me turning the wheel.

I initially thought I would jack it up and a wheel would have an insane amount of play...but nothing...

What are your wheels aligned to?

If the fronts have tow out, the car will have a slight tendancy to want to wander as there is no 'straight' position, when you accelerate this toe out would get worse.

Definitely not normal - I run 13x7s with similar power and I'd be concerned if that happened on my car.

This was a problem on my son's mini. Tried changing the tie rod bushes to no effect, turned out to be ball joint play.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Yeah, I am def. concerned. In the back of my mind there's this thought of it letting go completely and shooting off into the front of a Prado or something.



The guys at JAX aligned them to whatever they thought was best ?

I had faith in them due to them doing the aligments on AMCs (Australian Mini Cooper @ Berkley Vale) minis apparently.

When it comes to setting up alignment & geometry I have absolutely zero knowledge.

Have a real good look at the engine mounts and engine steady bars.

Of course it can be suspension components but if the engine is moving due to throttle on and throttle off as well as road variations then its also affecting the steering. The rubber engine mounts do separate from the metal occassionally

Mike

Well you can look for toe in/out yourself easy enough:
Set the wheels 'straight' and mark a straight line on the ground say 1m long next to each wheel.
Move the car, then measure the distance between the lines at each end.

If you get that we can go from there.

I will try and do both this arvo. Thanks for the tips.

they should have given you a print out when you had them aligned. If you post this to the forum, it wil be able to be said what they have been ajusted to.

Ie determine if everything geometrically is correct.

brenton

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Sounds lack a lack of caster. They may have reduced it to give the wide wheels clearance on full lock. Check the print out to see what they say it is. If they didn't give a print out, they should still have the job on file.

Never get a tyre place to do a wheel alignment. Always use a suspension place. Tram-tracking is most probably your alignment, if there is no obvious play in the suspension.

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1970 Cooper S ex-Bathurst & ATCC
1964 Austin Cooper S ex-Group C race car
1967 Morris Cooper S ex-Group B
1962 Mini Speed sports sedan
1968-71 ex-Peter Manton Shell car

While we are talking about tyres have you checked tyre pressures. If one is really out it could pull to that side

Are your steering arms tight?

I've had a loose steering arm before, and it pulled to one side

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You're so square
Baby I don't care

Max - I had Cody (Mini Deluxe owner) do my alignment at Pedders, West Gosford. He knows how to do it properly. And let me know if you want to sell your 13s. I am finishing up a Moke atm and may decide to put on some better wheels.

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke