Just got my KW coilovers installed. Took my car down to do an alignment and it is pulling to the right. Camber/caster and toe are all within the range according to the computer. Steering wheel is also straight. Ride height is even and tire pressure is correct. we are scratching our heads and can't figure out why it's pulling right. Are we overlooking something simple? Any input is welcome.

 

Give us a little help here... What are the alignment number as you have it on the car? How old are the tires? Are they unevenly worn? Does this happen on all roads, or maybe just some with a crown?

 

Did you have the car corner balanced? There are a whole bunch of things that are wrong with your post... We need the numbers, and we need to understand what the intent is for your driving? And also who did the setup for you?

Lot of guys will argue not to get the car cornerbalanced when new coil-overs are put on, but this chassis really does need it in order to perform properly, especially after having such a transformation.

Mike

 

rear axle: camber left -1.47
right -1.48
toe left .09
right .06

front axle: camber left -034
right -034
toe left .09
right .09
tracking differential angle left and right -1.19

caster left 8.27
right 8.18
sai left 15.02
right 16.46
We did the alignment using the factory wheels with stock tires. The tires have 7k miles on them, but show no wear. We thought it may be a tire issue so I went home and swapped back to my HREs with new PS2s and the car still pulls right the same amount.
I did not have it corner balanced. The alignment was done by a really good friend of mine at the BMW dealership using their alignment rack. My intent is to just drive the car on a regular basis. No or very little track time.

 

The rest look ok. These numbers don't make sense. You mean maybe -1.3? Even if there is a typo, they are the same on both sides. Mike is probably right about corner balancing.

 

here is the bad news...if you corner balance it now you will need to align it again

 

I really don't want to corner balance the car. I don't want uneven wheel gaps. I just want a lower ride height and the car to run run straight. I don't plan to track the car.

 

well, there is another possibility here...you need to make sure there is no brake drag on the front right wheel or a bad wheel bearing...assuming it didn't do this prior to the lowering those possible causes are unlikely tho......better recheck the installation and alignment

 

My car had never gone straight within spec with one indy and two dealers; took her to a race shop and she's going straight as an arrow.

 

Take it to someone who knows Porsches. BMW doesn't.

 

Take it to a different shop. Alignment machines can go out of whack, or your buddy could have improperly compensated the machine. I have had this happen to me once or twice while doing alignments. Everything is good numbers wise but on the test drive there is a pull. You took the tires out of the equation, so that leaves the machine. If you were in my area I would offer to cross check it for you.

Its not about knowing Porsches or BMW’s, underneath any idiot with a wrench can make the adjustments and look at the screen, but if the machine is out of calibration or was improperly setup… Back in the day before computers you used strings and bubble gauges. Now you just put on alignment heads, or reflectors and roll the car then turn the wheel a few times.

 

Any mechanics can align a Porsche to spec, but it takes an expert to make it straight... at least my car is like that.

 

Stringing the car and using bubble gauge alignment is very old school (a lost art that takes much more time than a machine) but it does work as good as any alignment machine. It also takes all the "electronic machine" calibrations issues out of the equation. I've had my car set up both ways (with good results from both) but enjoyed participating, as in sitting in the driver's seat the entire time, for the several hour Porsche race shop"'old school" method.

 

Looks like your tracking diff. is a bit off & toed out a smidge.The thrust angle (track diff) is how square the rear wheels are to the front.With soo much rear weight bias the car will tend to go where the rears are pointed.I would try to get the angle down to 3/4 a degree or below & toe in alittle more front & rear.

 

I am not sure if you have resolved your issues yet. But I had a similar experience after I had my car raised 10mm on all four corners (yep our driveway is a murder).

I took the car to GMG and after three tries the car still pulled to right. Finally, the tech had the car corner-balanced and re-aligned to a GT2 spec. I have put a copy of my spec on the following link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?...55201020390994

and

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?...55196074798594

The second page also has info on the load-balance numbers.

Good luck, if still having problem, pm me.

-Arman