lazy steering?

[omagxr8]

Hi all

I have had my au 2 xr8 for a few months now. i love the car its great to drive but i have a question.

Is it normal for an au to not return the steering to straight without assistance.
No other car i have ever driven has done this, usually you make a tight 90 degree turn and let the steering wheel slip through your hands until it has straightened out. My au is slow to return and i find myself helping it get back to a neutral steering position.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[adrian k]

could be your wheel alingment, not enough toe in will do that.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by adrian k

could be your wheel alingment, not enough toe in will do that.

Not quite true. If the toe was out enough to cause this problem, you'd be ripping edges off tyres really quick.

The problem would be inside the rack. So I'd be getting it checked out.

[GK]

Would a worn clockspring do this?

GK

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by GK

Would a worn clockspring do this?

GK

Probably :

[mik]

i had this after rebuilding my steering rack it was quite tight , but a week or 2 later it was good as gold .....had a new/rebuilt rack recently? if not another vote for wheel alignment.

[THR347]

Mine does something similar but not quite as severe. After a $14 pedders 28 point suspension check, i found my steering rack was shot along with some other suspension components such as bushes etc. How many km's have you done btw?

[omagxr8]

Hi fellahs

The car has done 101.000ks, im not sure if the rack has been worked on as i only just bought the car.

So the prognosis is possible steering rack issue or wheel alignment problems. I think the alignment is ok as it does not pull left or right and the tires appear to be wearing evenly.

suppose ill have to get it to my mechanic and let him have a look.

Thanks everyone

[Mr Hardware]

Just remember omagxr8 that it's not going to be remotely like a FWD car, if that's what you're used to.

/edit; which, after looking at your sig, probably isn't.

[Windsor220]

I would of thought the caster was out. Get the wheel alignment checked.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

I would of thought the caster was out. Get the wheel alignment checked.

Again, not quite right. The car is driving straight, and tyre wear appears fine.

If it had a caster problem, the car would vear one direction or the other.

I also noticed on the response the tyres appear to be fine wear wise. Is this just the fronts or all 4? If not, how do the rears appear? It's possible the tyres had been rotated prior to getting the car.

But that's getting a little off the mark with your particular issue. If the toe settings was the cause of the problem, you'd be seeing signs of wear on the fronts after 1000K. If Caster was the problem, the car would be vearing one direction or the next, as I have posted. I'd be seriously looking at it being rack related. All the rest is just stabbing in the dark

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

Again, not quite right. The car is driving straight, and tyre wear appears fine.

If it had a caster problem, the car would vear one direction or the other.

Caster doesnt affect tyre wear. And if both caster values are even then it isnt going to pull to one side.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

Caster doesnt affect tyre wear. And if both caster values are even then it isnt going to pull to one side.

If Caster values were even, the car would drift left on the camber of the road. Left Caster has to be a minimum of 1/4 more than right. So I slight misquote there.

I also think you misread my quotation over tyre wear. I didn't say caster wears tyres. I was referring to the persons car doesn't have any tyre wear issues. So the alignment line that's going on isn't the cause of his problem. Lack of tyre wear proves this.

Hope all is clarified more clearly now

[Jack91]

I had the same problem in a 650,000km au taxi. It had just had a wheel alignment before I baught it and the wheel wouldnt return at all, even on fast sharp corners you could take your hands off the wheel and it would stay in that position. I was told by another taxi mob that that comes from mounting curbs/gutters all the time and generally giving it hell all the time and most of the steering components would need replacing. Needless to say I sold the car. Good luck with your problem.