Do I need an alignment?

[USCTROJANSFIGHTON]

Steering wheel: Straight.
Car drives straight

As long as hold the steering wheel straight 12:00 position, it drives straight.

If I remove my hands, the pull starts to drift to the right.
Not sure if it is the road (i know roads are not perfectly level).
Cant seems to find a perfectly level (really cant tell) road to do this test.


Anyways, as long as move the steer wheel back to 12:00 position, it drives straight.

If you do the "no hands" test, how long do you have to go before the results are consider satisfactory? 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc..etc..


Can the drift be cause by road? OR suspension component?

Thanks

[Rawl]

Car pulling to one side can be a number of things. Unless you have hit something or just recently did suspension work you wouldn't need an alignment. A little more info is needed. It could be tire tramline, unequal tire pressures, or just an uneven road.

Unless the road is perfectly smooth and level (no road is) you are never going to be able drive hands free and go in a straight line.

[USCTROJANSFIGHTON]

Originally Posted by Rawl

Car pulling to one side can be a number of things. Unless you have hit something or just recently did suspension work you wouldn't need an alignment. A little more info is needed. It could be tire tramline, unequal tire pressures, or just an uneven road.

Unless the road is perfectly smooth and level (no road is) you are never going to be able drive hands free and go in a straight line.

Tire pressure 38.5 Front, 41.5 Rear
(36-F, 38 R on sticker on door). Add a little air for better MPG.

As long as I hold the wheel in the 12:00 position, it goes straight. No vibration of steering wheel at 75mph.

Havent hit anything. Did go over a speed bump that appears to be 7inchs in height...at 5-10mph.

[White 13]

Some divided freeway kind of lanes have a tilt to the left on the left lane to let the rain flow to the center, if you find one test it there. Also, if you can, switch the front tires to see if the pull follows the tire.

[USCTROJANSFIGHTON]

Originally Posted by White 13

Some divided freeway kind of lanes have a tilt to the left on the left lane to let the rain flow to the center, if you find one test it there. Also, if you can, switch the front tires to see if the pull follows the tire.

will do. thanks

[SenorFunkyPants]

You will most likely need to get an alignment, I would guess that the front is toeing out.

[wrecklessfool]

Had the same issue after putting on Ohlins coilovers and driving it to the alignment shop immediately after. Had the alignment done at the end of the day so by the time I left and called back about it (5 min later) I had to be scheduled for a re-check the next day. Go back the following day and everything was just as it was when I left the previous day. All readings were unchanged. They checked everything and sent me on my way. This is a very reputable race shop near me that specializes in BMWs so I have to trust them. They said it could be my brand new tires. Ok, fast forward to when I change out the whole wheel set (~500 miles later) for a set with average wear on them and the same exact issue was happening. Still no resolution but it's so minor I don't know that I even notice it anymore.

[USCTROJANSFIGHTON]

Finally able to test it on a level FWY. Doesnt pull to the right or left. Stays center until I encounter uneven road.
No alignment needed!!!

[wrecklessfool]

Originally Posted by Trojansfighton1996

Finally able to test it on a level FWY. Doesnt pull to the right or left. Stays center until I encounter uneven road.
No alignment needed!!!

Glad to hear this was not an issue for you

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by Trojansfighton1996

Finally able to test it on a level FWY. Doesnt pull to the right or left. Stays center until I encounter uneven road.
No alignment needed!!!

There may well still be an underlying issue with your car. UK roads are quite heavily cambered (you may have heard we get a lot of rain!) yet my car still tracks straight. The OEM alignment includes a certain amount of toe in which encourages the car to travel in a straight line even if the road is not completely flat. There are also other suspension alignment factors and corner weighting that affect straight line stability. If your car drifts off to one side on uneven road surfaces it is likely that something is off.