Hey guys, I tried doing some research on this subject. I thought it might be helpful in case others are having a similar problem.

Basically, I've been told that that there are 3 major (common) reasons why a car may pull a certain direction (right or left). Alignment, Radial Pull (or tire pull), or Brakes. Of course, it could be something less common...

A little background on my car. I have a 07 coupe and I noticed my car pulling to the right last year. I noticed this as soon as I got 2 new front tires: Falken FK452's, 245/35/19 (stock 19's). First thing I did was got an alignment. That was fine (in spec). It's not the alignment.

So I went back to the tire shop and asked them to switch the tires. The FK452's are unidirectional and symmetrical. They dismounted the front left and front right tires and remounted them on the opposite side. Drove the car, and it still pulls to the right. So it's not the tires, right? This is over 6 months ago, btw...

Fast forward to this week. I've got fed up with it still pulling. I've had multiple alignments since then (dropped the car, camber kits, etc) and always pulls to the right. At this point I'm thinking it's the brakes but Firestone (alignment shop) can't figure it out. The most recent alignment, they tried to compensate for the pull. Still didn't work, and now my alignment is wrong, too!

So I take it to the dealership. They still have it (got a loaner). After talking with the technician, I've concluded it's not the brakes (which is the 3rd option). It actually is Radial Pull.

Since the front tires were dismounted and switched (NOT rotated) then it would still pull the same direction. Basically what Radial Pull means is that there's a defect in one of the tires. One of the side walls is weaker than the other, causing the tire to lean to one side. A curious thing I noticed when I had my wheels off about a month ago is that I had some wearing on the inside of one of my front tires. It looked like bad camber wear. But like I said, my alignment has been in spec this whole time. In the back of my mind I just assumed it was bad on both sides. But I didn't actually look at both tires. I didn't think much of it. And certainly didn't think it had anything to do with the Radial Pull.

The dealership still has my car. I think they're looking into a possible bad tranny (5th gear grinds). But hopefully if anyone out there has a weird pull to the left or right this will help.

If you think it might be radial pull, have the front tires "rotated". Meaning, they stay on the rim, right goes on the left, and vice versa. If you have directional tires, then this may be a problem, but it's just temporary for this test. If it pulls to the opposite direction, then it's probably radial pull. Having the tires "switched" by dismounting and remounting on the opposite side didn't have any effect on the problem since the tire will still lean in the same direction.

 

its normally from tires having radial pull due to seperated belts....which causes an abnormality in the riding surface....obviously. idk if it applies to an 07 coupe....but there is a bulletin for an updated RH compression rod which has caused a right hand pull. ill check into it tomorrow.

 

Little update...

I have received my car back from the dealership. They basically just got my alignment back into spec, but of course it still pulls.

First thing I do is check my front tires, and it's confirmed. I have inside wear on my front left tire. Meaning the right side of my left front tire is sagging, causing uneven wear similar to neg camber wear. The right front tire is wearing evenly. As are my rears.

I've read that this manufacturer defect is not recallable (is that a word?) since it's not a safety issue. So I guess I'll just deal with it, lol