Car pulling to the right.

[guilty]

Hi guys,A few weeks ago, my Vibe was pulling to the left slightly. I called a well-respected alignment shop to make an appointment and he said he would be more than happy to take a look at it, but suggested rotating my tires first as he said they solve ~40% of their problems simply by rotating. I rotated them and it seemed to be fixed. Now, earlier this week, I put on my new wheels and tires (225/40-18) and the car pulls to the right. Air pressure is good and tires, both stock and 18's, seem to be wearing fine. Is this just because the Vibe is such a small car or should I really have the alignment checked out? Any help or suggestions would be great.P.S. Tire pressure is correct.

[joatmon]

If you have 18's and new tires all around, then it is probably the alignment. I've heard that sometimes a slight drift to the right is designed in, so if you fall asleep, you drift to the shoulder instead of into oncoming traffic, but if you are concerned, then it is probably more than intended. You bought used, so no telling how many potholes and other alignment whacking things the previous owner hit. A good alignment is also important for gas mileage.

[TraySeeLea]

I noticed my 06 pulling to the right a little the other day...that is a good point (Joatmon) about the car drifting to the shoulder if you were to fall asleep...so many of those accidents are happening these days.

[ajflan]

I would definitely go have it aligned. And then go to the Michigan meet.

[guilty]

Yep, I think mine pulls a little more than necessary unless you have narcolepsy...haha. I'm going to Sears tomorrow morning. I just finished washing/waxing it...going to post some pics shortly with the new wheels/tires.

[Sublimewind]

If not get it aligned, that could put it up on the rack and see if you're out on any of the parameters

[guilty]

Well, had it aligned this morning. LF was off but all the others are fine --- I'm still pulling to the right.

[Mr. Joe]

It's possible that one of the tires is causing a radial pull. Swap the RF with the LF and see if it pulls the other way. If so, then it's one of the new tires. I've seen that happen a lot, although mostly it's with large truck tires, it happened when I put 18's on by Saturn LS.

[guilty]

The tires are directional

[prathman]

Quote, originally posted by guilty »The tires are directional I'd be inclined to do the RF/LF swap anyway as a diagnostic check. i presume the pulling is obvious enough that you'd only need to drive a mile or two to tell if it has gone away or switched to the other direction. You could also do a front/rear swap since pulling due to a tire is likely to be felt much more strongly when that tire is in front. We once had a tire that caused the car to pull to one side but showed no visible defect. Much later it did develop some belt separation and we replaced it.

[guilty]

OK, thanks. I will do some swapping within the next few days and see what happens.

[jsimon63]

Guilty, did ya ever get this pulling to the right issue solved? The crown built into the road can cause it too. I have driven my Vibes, my Metro and my Dodge ram with new tires and they all pulled one way or the other depending on the road. Hit a fresh paved interstate center lane and see what happens. Hope ya got it worked out.