nkseto

Some backstory here: I hit a fairly large pothole on my front right tire going 80 mph. I immediately felt my car pulling to the right and in order to correct that, I had to turn my steering wheel slightly to the left to drive in a straight line. I ended up getting 2 new front tires and an alignment due to a bubble that formed in my tire.

After my alignment, my mechanic couldn't figure out why my steering wheel still wasn't straight. He ran the alignment twice and the steering wheel still needs to be turned slightly to the left in order to drive in the a straight line. It's a subtle, yet very noticeable difference when you constantly have to hold the wheel slightly to the left.

I have the alignment specs so this doesn't look like an alignment issue. My mechanic suggested something may have bent when I hit the pothole? Or is this an electronic steeling issue? Any ideas here before I head to the dealership?

Thanks!

Sasnuke

Can you post a pic of the alignment specs? That will help to figure out what the issue is.
The reality is that if something was bent causing the pull, then it would be blatantly obvious in the alignment specs.

After an alignment the electrical steering needs to be calibrated...there are two seperate calibrations to be done.
Considering you hit a pothole of that magnitude, then it's even more important to have the calibrations done.
There is another thread where the calibrations fixed a wandering issue...which is basically just a minor pull.

nkseto

Here are my alignment specs. Strangely enough, my left tire was misaligned. It may be worth noting that I had my LCA housings changed after the pothole and before this alignment.

Sasnuke

I'll assume the readings on that printout are the correct readings...in which case the car should pretty much drive straight as a arrow.
Often alignment machines go out of calibration, in which case the numbers are not correct...so based on the printout, assuming the machine is measuring the alignment angles correctly, the alignment looks good.
If you are still getting a pulling to the right then I suggest doing the zero point calibration of the yaw rate and acceleration sensor...these are the two calibrations I mentioned previously.

Here's a thread with a little more info: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...gh-speeds.html

Don't be too concerned with the left front Toe being out...the Toes adjustment is done at the ends of the steering rack...and the rack connects the front wheels together.
It's possible the impact on the right could have had a cascade effect across the rack to the left side.
The other possibility is that the Toe was out even before the impact...even just a small amount.

E46CT

Looks like your rear right wheel is the wheel that got got twisted during the impact. Front right appears untouched (Unless it was really bad before and the pothole corrected it back to zero).

Other than that the alignment now doesn't appear to have any glaring issue.

Just on a personal level, next time i'd probably neutralize the rear toe and specify slight toe in on the front (no more than -0.10) This would give you a bit more high speed stability and less vulnerable to "tramlining." How stock/high end sports cars/sports sedans are usually set up. Camber is good though for street/performance.

As far as your pulling, is it on all surfaces or one particular road? As you may know, many roads/highways are crowned so if the weight of the car is biased towards one side, naturally you'd have to apply correction in the opposite direction to maintain a straight heading.

If not, the last thing is obviously the rack.

nkseto

Thanks for this. A little confused though - running this calibration into my ECU will fix this steering issue? It looks like the issue in thread was wandering, while mine is a constant pull to the right. I assume the numbers in the alignment specs are correct because this is from a reputable shop, but perhaps I should take it to another mechanic first?

wthrman2

I am FAR from an expert, and guys like Sasnuke is the king here, but what is the state of your tires? Are they showing uneven wear? An alignment won't help if the tire is unevenly worn (or damaged), or like E46CT suggested, bad roads?

nkseto

Thanks for the alignment specs - i'm thinking about taking it to another shop and have them check it out. It's weird though because I ended up with a bubble on my passenger front tire. I know for sure that the impact was there.

For the pulling, it's noticeable on different roads (street and freeway) 20mph and up. I definitely don't think this is due to the crowning because my steering wheel has been straight for the past 4 years up until this whole pothole issue happened. If I hold the steering wheel center while coasting or having my foot on the pedal, the car immediately and slowly drifts to the right. Just bugs the hell out of me having to constantly hold my wheel off center to the left.

nkseto

I have two new tires in the front and my rears are about half-life. They aren't worn in a way that would cause any directional issues. For the roads, I've tested this on multiple roads at different speeds and the pull is still there - always have to hold my steering wheel slightly to the left.

wthrman2

^^ I had the similar issue when I got my brand new RC and had an alignment check on it. Turns out that the values were still "in spec" but the steering wheel was a bit "off center" and like you, when I would put my steering straight, the car would pull (but to the left in my case. When they did the alignment, did they center the steering wheel properly?

Sasnuke

At this point the calibration information for the two sensors are based on the pre-impact condition of the vehicle.
Since the computer has no idea you had an impact and alignment done, your perception of straight ahead and it's calibration of straight ahead are now different.
Doing the calibration now will align your straight ahead with the computers.
I'm not saying this will 100% fix the issue, but the alignment sheet looks virtually flawless and you have new tires on the front...if something else is wrong, it's definitely not obvious.

With regards to getting a second alignment done at a reputable location...I would definitely be in favor of it.
Not trying to spend your money, but the second alignment should confirm the readings of the first alignment...or not.
It's an endless rabbit hole, because if the second alignment shows different readings, the question now is, which alignment is the correct readings? Do you then do a third alignment at a third location??? LOL...see, endless rabbit hole.

wthrman2

^^ you know, in this world of politically correctness, it is just a matter of time before we offend the animal lovers and feel we are "demeaning" to the rabbits by making fun of their holes...(lol) Sorry for the semi-joking rant

nkseto

I'm not sure if they centered the wheel... I assume he did?? He said that he's been able to correct Lexus' that have had this issue before but had no idea what was going on with mine.

I think i'm going to get a second shop opinion on the alignment before I take it to a dealer! Maybe try the calibration after? What do I need to hook it up to the car?

Sasnuke

The calibrations can be done easily with the Techstream...that's the computer the dealer has.
There is a manual way, but it's a little complicated...see attached instructions. The SST wire they refer to is just a jumper wire...you can literally use a 3 inch piece of wire with the ends stripped or a paperclip (all metal one).

You can do the calibration whenever there will be no further alignments or components replaced, but the reality is it needs to be done...especially due to the fact it had an impact.
From the other thread I posted there is a reference to the repair manual where it states that once you do an alignment or replace components, the calibrations needs to be done.
I acknowledge that some things in the manual can be skipped, but this is not one of them.

wthrman2

^^ You are the wipikedia of Club Lexus!! I swear that if my wife leaves me, I am coming after you - Do you prefer chocolate or roses? LMAO