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      07-27-2018, 01:07 PM   #1
christofis135i
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Pulling to the left?

2011 135i. Car seemed to be pulling to the left hard. While on the freeway if I let go I'll jump over 3 lanes rather quickly. Need to use some force to hold the wheel straight. Got a brand new set of hankook Ventus v12 EVO's and had an alignment done. Still did not fix the pull. The alignment shop told me there is definitely something wrong with the front left wheel as they could not fix it with an alignment.

Took the car home and inspected everything around the area. Nothing seems to be broken/bent or out of place. Every once in a while it will drive perfectly straight. Had discount tire road force my wheel and they didn't really find anything on the tire. They suggested it was a bent wheel.

My next approach is spinning just the wheel to see if it's bent or swap over the from wheels since the tires are directional.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
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      07-27-2018, 01:42 PM   #2
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I'd have thought the alignment place would have an idea. Did they run out of adjustment ability and not get it in spec? What parameter was off? That should get you started.

Those are directional tires, be sure they are turning the right direction Probably are but if one is correct and one backwards that might create a pull if the friction forces are different?

Any local indy shops that specialize in BMW's? What size town / what town or city are you in?
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      07-27-2018, 02:05 PM   #3
christofis135i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tracer bullet View Post
I'd have thought the alignment place would have an idea. Did they run out of adjustment ability and not get it in spec? What parameter was off? That should get you started.

Those are directional tires, be sure they are turning the right direction Probably are but if one is correct and one backwards that might create a pull if the friction forces are different?

Any local indy shops that specialize in BMW's? What size town / what town or city are you in?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tracer bullet View Post
I'd have thought the alignment place would have an idea. Did they run out of adjustment ability and not get it in spec? What parameter was off? That should get you started.

Those are directional tires, be sure they are turning the right direction Probably are but if one is correct and one backwards that might create a pull if the friction forces are different?

Any local indy shops that specialize in BMW's? What size town / what town or city are you in?
I can call them and have them email the alignment paperwork. No way it should be the direction lol but I'll definitely double check that. One local shop that did the alignment didn't inspect it.. I should've told them too. Another one that's kinda close wanted $900 for a RDC module lol. Located in s/e Michigan. Macomb/Oakland county. Lot of bs shops around, hard to find a decent one. I'm a DIYer but this is something out of my league.

EDIT- alignment results attached. Looks like the front left camber is the issue?
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      07-27-2018, 02:53 PM   #4
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I'd wait for more experienced opinions but my guess is no the camber is not the issue. It doesn't show that it is in spec, but the actual amount isn't bad at all, plenty of people shoot for that and more and don't have the issues you're describing. There's a half degree difference in your #'s and that could be a thing but it doesn't feel extreme enough.

You mentioned new tires, and I'm assuming if you're talking about hopping 3 lanes rather quickly that you aren't on a seriously banked road (i.e. for drainage) or just quickly hopping out of a single lane (i.e. car not nestling in the ruts that sometimes get baked and pounded into asphalt).

Wish I could help more. tires & alignment normally solves issues, your cambers are indeed different but I feel like it's still something else. I'd start looking at what creates that camber (i.e. arms) and see if perhaps something is bent, or loose - bad bushing in one of the arms.
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      07-27-2018, 03:04 PM   #5
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Switch your front tires left to right(just to test)... go for a drive and see IF the car pulls the other direction. I bet it will. Probably a bad belt, inside your tire.

You did check your tires for proper inflation, right ?
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      07-27-2018, 03:17 PM   #6
christofis135i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Switch your front tires left to right(just to test)... go for a drive and see IF the car pulls the other direction. I bet it will. Probably a bad belt, inside your tire.

You did check your tires for proper inflation, right ?
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Originally Posted by tracer bullet View Post
I'd wait for more experienced opinions but my guess is no the camber is not the issue. It doesn't show that it is in spec, but the actual amount isn't bad at all, plenty of people shoot for that and more and don't have the issues you're describing. There's a half degree difference in your #'s and that could be a thing but it doesn't feel extreme enough.

You mentioned new tires, and I'm assuming if you're talking about hopping 3 lanes rather quickly that you aren't on a seriously banked road (i.e. for drainage) or just quickly hopping out of a single lane (i.e. car not nestling in the ruts that sometimes get baked and pounded into asphalt).

Wish I could help more. tires & alignment normally solves issues, your cambers are indeed different but I feel like it's still something else. I'd start looking at what creates that camber (i.e. arms) and see if perhaps something is bent, or loose - bad bushing in one of the arms.
I didn't notice any difference between both control arms. I can double check everything and the bushings after work. It happens on all roads. Highways here aren't too banked. Now that you say bushings it does sound like a blown out one would cause a slight adjustment in camber. But all these stance cars don't pull so camber doesn't seem like the problem.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Switch your front tires left to right(just to test)... go for a drive and see IF the car pulls the other direction. I bet it will. Probably a bad belt, inside your tire.

You did check your tires for proper inflation, right ?

They're directional so not possible. I thought about switching the front wheels only. If it pulled to the right after that it would be a bent wheel. Wish I had my own tire machine.. I hate paying to have it removed and re mounted.
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      07-27-2018, 03:48 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by christofis135i View Post
They're directional so not possible. I thought about switching the front wheels only. If it pulled to the right after that it would be a bent wheel. Wish I had my own tire machine.. I hate paying to have it removed and re mounted.
It IS possible... just to drive with them for some short miles(ten or twenty, miles). Not permanently.

Just switch them from R to L and see IF the car pulls in the other direction. Then you know... that you have a tire problem and not an alignment problem!

Dack
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      07-27-2018, 06:15 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
It IS possible... just to drive with them for some short miles(ten or twenty, miles). Not permanently.

Just switch them from R to L and see IF the car pulls in the other direction. Then you know... that you have a tire problem and not an alignment problem!

Dack
Correct & agreed, wish I'd thought of that. I had a pull after an alignment about a year ago, I did this for a few days (same tires, actually) and it did change my pull direction from one side to the other.

I had some funny wear going on the tires causing my problem (they were NOT new like yours) and the alignment was good. Different case but similar troubleshooting. It's totally safe for a while, don't worry about trying it.
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