-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Anyone get an alignment?
- Thread starter AnOutsider
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Driving Dynamics Model S
Add me to the list of pull right
I've had my tires cross rotated but that didn't dpi the trick. Then the Costa Mesa SC did an alignment and it still pulls right... more noticeable on the freeways than slower side street driving. It's definitely not the crown on the highway as there is a difference between a car that pulls right and a car that slides right due to the grade of the road. I hope Tesla can fix this because it takes a bunch of enjoyment out of longer freeway runs.
I've had my tires cross rotated but that didn't dpi the trick. Then the Costa Mesa SC did an alignment and it still pulls right... more noticeable on the freeways than slower side street driving. It's definitely not the crown on the highway as there is a difference between a car that pulls right and a car that slides right due to the grade of the road. I hope Tesla can fix this because it takes a bunch of enjoyment out of longer freeway runs.
lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
My car drives straight. It hunts (little toe) tending to follow any pavement grooves. Rear negative camber is high so rear tire wear will be uneven. I am checking my tread depths and rotating the tires to extend life. After just over 500 miles my rear depths were 0.280", 0.270", 0.210" with the 0.210 number being the inside edge. That is roughly 25% wear in just over 500 miles on $500 a piece Pilots. I've had other cars with high negative camber in the rear and it was nothing for them to eat a set of rears in 4000 miles.
It took both a rotation and two attempts at the alignment for the service center to actually get me corrected. (This was just what they relayed, it was only returned to me after a correct fix.) At least they didn't have to farm out the fix to a third party.
How often to you initiate the Tesla grin (Showing the zero to sixty acceleration)?
How often does your traction control kick in?
You are now driving a high performance car. I get tickled pink if I get more than 5k miles out of the tires on my Ferrari....
lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
My 550 would to eat rears in 4K until I stood the rears up. I even had to compromise on ride height to get them to around -1. Now it is good for about 8K, especially if I swap them across the back to get the best use out of both sides of the tire.
The test drives are slowing down and so are the acceleration sprints. It is a 4700 lb daily driver and that is normally how I drive it. I've asked Tesla about rear camber adjustment options and will report back what I learn. Luckily the top rear link is a simple extrusion and easily replicated should it prove necessary.
The test drives are slowing down and so are the acceleration sprints. It is a 4700 lb daily driver and that is normally how I drive it. I've asked Tesla about rear camber adjustment options and will report back what I learn. Luckily the top rear link is a simple extrusion and easily replicated should it prove necessary.
I've had my Perf S 3 weeks and have put 800 miles on it. Car is a joy to drive (this comes from a guy who owns a Ford GT and a Carrera GT, and had a Challenge Stradale). I called the service manager in Dallas about the rear camber on the S. He said the car is set up like MB's and BMW's. He had 2 cars in for service recently. One was a 10,000 mile Sig or Founders car that had even wear across the rear tires. A 5000 mile car had corded the insides of both rears. ? If driving styles were different between the 2 cars.
The rear camber measured 2.2 degrees neg. He told me that the camber is not adjustable. That struck me as odd. Not sure why shims weren't used to adjust the upper or lower control arms. Will be monitoring my rear wear carefully.
The rear camber measured 2.2 degrees neg. He told me that the camber is not adjustable. That struck me as odd. Not sure why shims weren't used to adjust the upper or lower control arms. Will be monitoring my rear wear carefully.
lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
ByeEnzo,
I'm doing some upper arms for the rear as 2.2 will shred tires. Reducing camber will decrease throttle off over steer protection but, if you've got a GT, that will not be a problem for you
I'm doing some upper arms for the rear as 2.2 will shred tires. Reducing camber will decrease throttle off over steer protection but, if you've got a GT, that will not be a problem for you
My spec Miata racecar has 2.5 degrees of camber all around, but it's set up to turn and grip. Certainly not a highway straight line setup. I tried an aggressive setup on my GT and corded the fronts on the insides. Car turned in great on track with a little toe out, but ate tires on the street. The fix was simply to change shims where the control arms come off the chassis. Learned a lesson on compromises between track and street alignment.
Maybe 1.5 degrees neg is the sweet spot for the Tesla rear alignment. Are you going to fabricate longer upper control arms to stand up the tires some? You might want to make a few extras for interested parties like me. I'd purchase a set.
In the mean time, I may have to get on an aggressive tire rotation program. Didn't think I'd need to treat the Tesla like a track car!
Maybe 1.5 degrees neg is the sweet spot for the Tesla rear alignment. Are you going to fabricate longer upper control arms to stand up the tires some? You might want to make a few extras for interested parties like me. I'd purchase a set.
In the mean time, I may have to get on an aggressive tire rotation program. Didn't think I'd need to treat the Tesla like a track car!
lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
I've had a few other cars that needed the rears stood up to get reasonable life out of them. The MS uses an extrusion for the top link. I have one on order (should have been in by now) to determine how they are handling pivot point rotation. They are using dog bones with large ID ends for press in rubber isolation mounts. Once I get the exact length and attachment ID I'll probably do a pair of "transport" links to adjust camber on the rack. I normally shoot for 0.8 to 1.0 of negative on a street car. My fear is that there will not be enough toe adjustment in the stock arrangement as the outside toe pickup point is closer to the upper arm on the upright.
The ideal solution would be a replacement fixed dog bone style like Tesla uses. It could be CnC'd in very small quantities or extruded as Tesla does if there is interest. It has been ten years since I've done an extrusion and have no idea what the die or minimum press charges are. Doing a two up CnC then slicing down the middle for two pieces may be the best bet. If the toe does not have enough adjustment, I'll need to make them as well. I should know in the next few weeks.
One thing is certain, at $1K+ for a set of rear tires, I've got some budget to solve the problem.
On a different note, I did a ride along with a GT owner at an FNA event many years ago. As much as I guided the driver not to lift in certain areas I could not stop him from lifting in a spirited kink. I was surprised at just how neutral the GT is and, as a result, could not wait to get out of the second seat That was the last time I did a ride around.
I'm keeping a running spread sheet with tire wear. Please share your results.
The ideal solution would be a replacement fixed dog bone style like Tesla uses. It could be CnC'd in very small quantities or extruded as Tesla does if there is interest. It has been ten years since I've done an extrusion and have no idea what the die or minimum press charges are. Doing a two up CnC then slicing down the middle for two pieces may be the best bet. If the toe does not have enough adjustment, I'll need to make them as well. I should know in the next few weeks.
One thing is certain, at $1K+ for a set of rear tires, I've got some budget to solve the problem.
On a different note, I did a ride along with a GT owner at an FNA event many years ago. As much as I guided the driver not to lift in certain areas I could not stop him from lifting in a spirited kink. I was surprised at just how neutral the GT is and, as a result, could not wait to get out of the second seat
That was the last time I did a ride around.I'm keeping a running spread sheet with tire wear. Please share your results.
Zapped
Model S - PURE EV
Hit pothole today on the passenger side. :cursing: Front tire sustained a sidewall bulge and the rear rim has a "minor" 2" long bend/dent (not very noticeable) :crying:
Smooth pavement and one stink'in pothole. Winters here just wreck the roads every spring.
Now the steering wheel is slightly right to drive straight although it doesn't feel like it's pulling.
Will need a new tire and assuming I'll need an alignment.
Anyone know if there's special equipment required to do an alignment ? I found the specs thanks to this thread.
Smooth pavement and one stink'in pothole. Winters here just wreck the roads every spring.
Now the steering wheel is slightly right to drive straight although it doesn't feel like it's pulling.
Will need a new tire and assuming I'll need an alignment.
Anyone know if there's special equipment required to do an alignment ? I found the specs thanks to this thread.
lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
Zero special equipment. It really is just a car when it comes to these types of things.
I did ask my alignment tech to go for absolutely zero toe front and rear and made sure the "thrust vector" for the rear was pointing absolutely straight. The first part slightly reduced my rolling resistance while the second part made absolutely sure the wheel was not off to one side (steering wheel that is). Just the slightest error in absolutely straight on the rear thrust vector and your wheel will be off. Correcting the wheel using the front toe settings then sets the car up to drive down the road (slightly) sideways. I'm talking very small differences here but, if you are going to do it, why not take just a few minutes more to get it just the way you want it.
I did ask my alignment tech to go for absolutely zero toe front and rear and made sure the "thrust vector" for the rear was pointing absolutely straight. The first part slightly reduced my rolling resistance while the second part made absolutely sure the wheel was not off to one side (steering wheel that is). Just the slightest error in absolutely straight on the rear thrust vector and your wheel will be off. Correcting the wheel using the front toe settings then sets the car up to drive down the road (slightly) sideways. I'm talking very small differences here but, if you are going to do it, why not take just a few minutes more to get it just the way you want it.
If you are talking about DIY, then one way way is to get a FIAKY alignment gauge. It's on the very bottom of page 147 in the PDF (very small picture). These are made by Michelin.
Zapped
Model S - PURE EV
Just thought TELSA might have some special suspension and shop tools The specs provide the settings but I'll definitely leave it to the PROS
kevincwelch
Active Member
Yup. Steering wheel off plumb and the car pulls to the right. I have driven it about 1100 miles, and I've hit no potholes and taken every speed bump at slow speed. Don't know why, but it's off. I have an appointment tomorrow with Chicago service.
Oh no, that sucks! I've been driving like a jackrabbit, darting all over the road, trying to keep my tires out of the potcraters too. If you need a good alignment shop take it to Wheels Plus on 97th street & 50th ave in Edmonton - it unfortunately might be a bit far from home for you but they'll definitely take good care of your car.
rogbmw
Member
Tesla did an alignment last weekend for us on the S. We had the pull to the right, and on grooved concrete roads the car really wanted to wonder around. Now it is as straight as an arrow. The allignment looked to be pretty straight forward. One thing I did find surprising was when the Service Manager called me over to show me the Tie-rod ends and went on to explain how beefy they were for the car. They are pretty strong looking compared to other cars I have had - he went on to say after we discussed them that the steering rack was sourced from Land Rover!
kevincwelch
Active Member
Back from the service center. As expected, the service personnel were very friendly and helpful.
They addressed two concerns I had: alignment and rattle.
I thought the rattle was in the B pillar-- sure sounded like it. But, it was in the A pillar. Happy to say it's gone. First quiet drive in a long time. That rattle was driving me nuts.
The alignment is better, but it still pulls to the right.
I will have to go back to have it looked at again as well as some other minor issues.
Disappointed in the outcome...
Sent via Tapatalk.
They addressed two concerns I had: alignment and rattle.
I thought the rattle was in the B pillar-- sure sounded like it. But, it was in the A pillar. Happy to say it's gone. First quiet drive in a long time. That rattle was driving me nuts.
The alignment is better, but it still pulls to the right.
I will have to go back to have it looked at again as well as some other minor issues.
Disappointed in the outcome...
Sent via Tapatalk.
Zapped
Model S - PURE EV
Thanks for the info. Not too far for a good alignment shop.
Ordered 2 tires from Tire Rack in case the rear tire is damaged internally. If it turns out the tire is still good, I'll have a spare , should I (or someone else )need one.
Similar threads
