Alignment

[thinline]

I took my 05 xb to the local Scion dealer last weekend to have the alignment adjusted. The car had been unstable when going over bumps. The steering jerks to whatever side i'm turning. It also pulls when i'm braking. I thought the alignment would help but it still feels the same.

The car is stock except for 16 inch wheels with 205/50-16 tires. I recently bought the wheels/tires from Discount Tires so i'm assuming they're properly balanced. Could the wider tire cause this problem?

I'm hesitant to go back to the dealer because I'm afraid they'll say, "let's put it on the lift and take another look$$$".

Has anyone experienced any alignment issues because of wider tires or any general issues when it comes to getting an alignment? Or should I just bring it to another shop to rebalance the wheels and check alignment?

Thanks and enjoy your 4th of July!

[dexter_5000]

if it pulls when braking it could be a stuck caliper. a tire thats is out of balance will cause wheel vibration. it could be the car is being pulled into road grooves as well with the wider tires this is common. might i suggest getting the energy suspension endlinks they may tigiten up the front end just enough for you in steering. as the stock bushings are very soft.

[thinline]

thanks for the response.

i will check the caliper. there is no wheel vibes so i guess the balance is good.
when i go over bumps or highway joints (it's my commuter car so i drive mostly highways), the car doesn't "track" correctly. it feels like the back end doesn't travel with the front end...not sure if i'm describing it correctly.

any other thoughts is appreciated...

[dexter_5000]

sounds like you've got the road groove thing. as these cars are much smaller and tend to get pulled around some on highway by the general grooves. you can't see these as its traffic that wheres them into the road.

the bushings i mentioned do help to tighten up the steering and are about a $20 mod last i knew.

[SLIM187]

sound to me like u got a stciking caliper...also too check your tire psi...try running the psi setting that is on the tire sidewall....had the same problem when i had my trd rims and tires put on from the dealer..ran the tire at 50 psi like it said on the tires..the car rode alot better and tracked better

[dexter_5000]

don't put the max tire pressure in. this will cause faster wear on your tires. as the tire heats up the pressure goes up.

[thinline]

i'm not sure it's the rain grooves. i've been commuting the same highway over ten years. the problem developed a few months ago. i will look into the sticky caliper though. i want to get the alignment issue resolved before i have lowering springs installed.

thanks for all the suggestions.

[bB2NER]

thinline wrote: I took my 05 xb to the local Scion dealer last weekend to have the alignment adjusted. The car had been unstable when going over bumps. The steering jerks to whatever side i'm turning. It also pulls when i'm braking. I thought the alignment would help but it still feels the same.

The car is stock except for 16 inch wheels with 205/50-16 tires. I recently bought the wheels/tires from Discount Tires so i'm assuming they're properly balanced. Could the wider tire cause this problem?

I'm hesitant to go back to the dealer because I'm afraid they'll say, "let's put it on the lift and take another look$$$".

Has anyone experienced any alignment issues because of wider tires or any general issues when it comes to getting an alignment? Or should I just bring it to another shop to rebalance the wheels and check alignment?

Thanks and enjoy your 4th of July! Can you throw thr stock tires back on to see how it does. Tires should not be causing what you described. Did they align it with your new Tires/wheels mounted?
We need more info basically. Your description sounds like multiple issues but new tires should mask them not make them worse.
Also sounds like possible worn front end parts of which should have been fixed before the alignment. :tap:

[thinline]

my stock wheels have snow tires mounted to them. the alignment was adjusted over the winter. the new wheels and tires are from discount tires direct and i mounted them at home.

i'm going to bite the bullet and ask the dealer to recheck the front end for wear unless someone knows a good shop in north jersey...

[Sciond]

I would go to a specialist and there are plenty in NNJ

[Grant314]

I noticed the exact same effect after putting on my new wheels/tires. Same wheel and tire size as you. I also got them from discount tire direct, and even paid the few extra bucks for their "ride match" service. . Here are two threads where this effect (or similar) was discussed. I got a lot of good info out of these threads that I didn't know before. take a look before you go pay any $$ for anything. hope this helps you out:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=200001

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=216549

[thinline]

thanks for the info grant. i really have to focus on road conditions and how the car is reacting. i also will recheck the psi's tomorrow.

[DriverXa]

Rotate them from front to back and see how it does. Put a rim/tire package on my Dad's car from Discount Tire Direct and was haveing a slight vibration/tug when brakeing. Did the front to back rotation and went away. It really should be only in the rim/tire since your not lowered and if the problem was never there stock. These cars only have a front toe adjustment for alignment...that's it, so unless you hit something really hard to damage something which will cause the car to be out of alignment than the problem isn't an alignment issue.

[thinline]

looks like i'll be rotating tires and checking psi this weekend.
i haven't hit any major potholes while commuting but plenty of small unavoidable ones (it is new jersey!!!).

thanks for the advice driverxa.