Shaky Ride at 70 mph: Causes & Fixes

Hello!

I still have the wobble at 70 km/h, just like described here -> /viewtopic.php?t=9711.

Yesterday, I noticed that when I have the steering wheel perfectly straight, the car pulls to the right.
After my accident, it was supposedly determined that the lane was no longer aligned. In that case, wouldn't the tendency to drift to the right no longer exist?
Could this pulling sensation also be related to the jerking at 70 km/h?


Regards,

CHRiS

Aliendrummer wrote:

Yesterday, I noticed that when I have the steering wheel perfectly straight, the car pulls to the right. After my accident, it was supposedly said that the lane was closed. Then, wouldn't that mean this pull to the right shouldn't be happening anymore?

Not necessarily:
When aligning the wheels, the primary focus is on ensuring that both front wheels are positioned correctly relative to each other. This can be perfectly accurate, even if the steering wheel is not (visually) centered when driving straight.

It would only be sloppy if, for example, you could turn the steering wheel from a straight driving position a quarter of a turn further to the left than you could to the right...

"Also, check the tire pressure, or if possible, try using different tires (winter tires, summer tires, or swap the front and rear tires). I couldn't really explain it properly, but I once had a similar "pulling to the side" issue on a 1992 Polo. It disappeared when I used the winter tires, and when I switched back to summer tires in the spring, I moved the front tires to the rear - and then everything was fine."

"However, vibrations at a specific speed also indicate an imbalance in the wheel. Does the vibration reappear at double the rotational speed (~140 km/h)? This would be a strong indication of imbalance and resonance ."

No, nothing happens at 140 km/h... it's only between 65-70 km/h, or that's the maximum.

"pulls to the right": Does the car drift to the right, even with the steering wheel centered? Or does the car pull to the right when you release the steering wheel (on a straight road - try both directions)?

In the second case, you would need to check if the side to which the car is pulling changes as it transitions from acceleration to braking. This would indicate an asymmetry in your axle geometry (a difference in camber or caster between the left and right sides, resulting in a difference in steering radius and, consequently, torque).
Or is the state always permanent?
This could be related to the uneven running at 70 km/h, but it doesn't necessarily have to be (overlap of multiple causes). A possible, and often underestimated, cause is deformation of the wheel hub (cast steel).

cetano wrote:

"pulls to the right" ?: moves to the right, steering wheel not centered, or the car moves to the right when you release the steering wheel (on a straight road.. try both directions).

I cannot translate this as it is just a string of question marks.

So, if I let go of the steering wheel, the car drifts slightly to the right...
Highway exit... just let go of the steering wheel at the 300-meter sign, and I'll be in the exit after the 100-meter mark.

I don't know what kind of accident it was. In any case, simply adjusting the alignment after an accident is not enough to rule out the possibility that there are still deformed parts on the vehicle that are causing errors in the axle geometry. An alignment adjustment alone will not cause the vehicle to pull to one side (as mentioned above). The two symptoms you described may be related (overlapping), but to be able to rule anything out, you need to start with the most likely cause, which is a reliable axle alignment. It would be interesting to know what kind of accident it was and which parts were replaced afterwards.

The accident was just a minor fender-bender while my car was parked.
The other one slightly bumped into the driver's side.

"During the inspection today, I noticed two more things:"

1: The fall from the right rear wheel might not be correct...
2: When I'm standing still on a flat surface and turn the steering wheel, I hear clicking noises coming from the front. (Sorry for the layman's terms, I'm not an expert...)

Is there a chance something was rejected?