[Sen]

Hi all,

Have a 2020 VW Vento.

Recently got the wheels changed after taking delivery, and noticed the car veering slightly to the left during normal driving,with no accelerator inputs in the equation.

Issues ruled out:

-Tire pressures are equal between both front tires, so no uneven pressures at play here
-Three different tires rotated to the same front left position, same behavior continues
-Alignment checked at a tire shop, as well as at the service center, both claim zero issues

Steering rack/Suspension issue? What do I look at next to determine how to fix it?

[NaXal]

Hello,

Please mention your car's make & model !!

Just shooting at blank, usually all RHD roads are designed to be tilted towards left side for water removal to avoid water logging.

Some expressway first lane may have right side tilting too

Try to eliminate that factor by driving on different roads & compare the results.

Lastly, you should try & test drive same make & model vehicle in that same road to check if this is your perticular car specific issue or whether all other same make & model vehicles behaving the same.

Thanks.

[Sen]

Originally Posted by NaXal

Just shooting at blank, usually all RHD roads are designed to be tilted towards left side for water removal to avoid water logging.

Some expressway first lane may have right side tilting too

Try to eliminate that factor by driving on different roads & compare the results.

I've tried it on my usual roads that I frequently commuted on, as well as various stretches I've been on in the past as well. This is quite an odd issue. There's no extra weight on that wheel, no balancing issues, nothing..

Lastly, you should try & test drive same make & model vehicle in that same road to check if this is your perticular car specific issue or whether all other same make & model vehicles behaving the same.

Thanks.

Thanks for the advice. That's going to be a next step, although the service center basically acknowledged it as an issue that exists.

[SS-Traveller]

Check the wheel offset, camber and toe values against your workshop-recommended values. If the offset of the wheels is different from the original, the toe-in/-out values will need to chsnge for the car to drive true.

[Sen]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Check the wheel offset, camber and toe values against your workshop-recommended values. If the offset of the wheels is different from the original, the toe-in/-out values will need to chsnge for the car to drive true.

Thanks for the advice! I'll report back with my findings on this thread. The tire dimensions are the same, swapped Goodyear assurance triplemax tires for the Continental UC6s in 195/55/R16 the other day..The camber, offset, and toe values were tuned at the factory before I took delivery (assumption), so if the tire dimensions are the same, would these values not be correct for a different set of tires anymore?

I'm due for my first 1000 km service once I drive down to Bangalore tomorrow, 600 km away. I'll be making sure I walk out satisfied from the service center on Monday.

Is the car, generally speaking (have some family worried about this), safe to drive that kind of distance with this "issue"?

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Sen

-Three different tires rotated to the same front left position, same behavior continues

Hi Sen,
Can you please elaborate more on this ? How and what all tires were rotated ?

Did you face this issue with the OEM Goodyears as well ?
or
Did you try putting the stock Goodyears back on the front axle and check if it resolves the issue ?

[Sen]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Hi Sen,
Can you please elaborate more on this ? How and what all tires were rotated ?

Did you face this issue with the OEM Goodyears as well ?
or
Did you try putting the stock Goodyears back on the front axle and check if it resolves the issue ?

I bought a brand new set of 4 tires, and noticed this slight drift a day later. Went back to the tire shop and got the alignment checked (it was perfect) , and the shop also swapped the Front Left and Rear Left tires with each other to eliminate the issue if it was just a tire imperfection.

Then, yesterday, the VW service center also swapped the front left and front right tires to triple check if that was causing it, while it wasn't.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice or remember if this existed when I drove the car out of the showroom to the tire shop's place, so my answer wont be with certainty.

No,i didn't try putting the stock Goodyear back on the car to check, and the dealer exchanged the set for the new tires.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Hi Sen,

Please check the rear wheel alignment too. The following diagram shows an example of the effect of rear wheel misalignment.

Have the alignment shops seriously checked the rear wheel alignment or did they mainly focus on the front wheel, taking the rear wheel for granted?

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Sen

I bought a brand new set of 4 tires, and noticed this slight drift a day later. Went back to the tire shop and got the alignment checked (it was perfect) , and the shop also swapped the Front Left and Rear Left tires with each other to eliminate the issue if it was just a tire imperfection.

Then, yesterday, the VW service center also swapped the front left and front right tires to triple check if that was causing it, while it wasn't.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice or remember if this existed when I drove the car out of the showroom to the tire shop's place, so my answer wont be with certainty.

No,i didn't try putting the stock Goodyear back on the car to check, and the dealer exchanged the set for the new tires.

Two ways to check/resolve
1. Get the Goodyears from the dealer and do a trial run to check.
2. Get the wheel alignment checked once again at a different place. If you are going to Bangalore, Madhu's could be an option. They should be able to diagnose & resolve the issue.

[Sen]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Two ways to check/resolve
1. Get the Goodyears from the dealer and do a trial run to check.
2. Get the wheel alignment checked once again at a different place. If you are going to Bangalore, Madhu's could be an option. They should be able to diagnose & resolve the issue.

Thanks, I'm actually going to go with option 2 as soon as I get to the city!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Sen

Is the car, generally speaking (have some family worried about this), safe to drive that kind of distance with this "issue"?

Yes, as safe as you can drive, and as safe as other vehicles keeping away from yours.

Can you post the dimensions of your replacement wheels vis-a-vis the OE wheels? Especially offset details?

Do check whether your tyres are unidirectional or not, and if they've been mounted on the rims the proper way round.

Duster AWDs with after-market tyres often have this slight pulling issue. I know a couple of them have had the issue sorted out by changing the camber by 1° or so.

[Sen]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Yes, as safe as you can drive, and as safe as other vehicles keeping away from yours.

Can you post the dimensions of your replacement wheels vis-a-vis the OE wheels? Especially offset details?

Do check whether your tyres are unidirectional or not, and if they've been mounted on the rims the proper way round.

Duster AWDs with after-market tyres often have this slight pulling issue. I know a couple of them have had the issue sorted out by changing the camber by 1° or so.

Sorry for being a noob, the rims/wheels are stock. Just the tires were changed.

The tires are not uni-directional thankfully, the S.drives i was considering were.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Sen

Recently got the wheels changed after taking delivery, and noticed the car veering slightly to the left during normal driving,with no accelerator inputs in the equation.

Some cars will pull to the left on a road banked to drain rain water. Have you tried testing your car on other roads including those that are relatively flat to check if the car exhibits the same behavior? Some unexpected tram-lining maybe a pecularity due to the tyre tread design not a defect.

Also,don't expect the car to be travel in a perfect straight line at all times. There will be anomalies in the road, tyre, steering geometry that cause it to behave otherwise. You should be worried only if it pulls to the left on all roads which causes you to compensate using the steering wheel. That can cause driver fatigue.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Sen

Is the car, generally speaking (have some family worried about this), safe to drive that kind of distance with this "issue"?

If you cannot drive at all even for a short distance with your hands off the wheel, then don't do a long trip on it. You are going to wear out the new tyres.(also check if all new tyres are mounted in the correct direction of rotation). Sometimes it's the cross winds on highway.

Go to an old and established alignment shop, have them test drive the vehicle and make necessary adjustments if needed, that should fix it.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Sen

Sorry for being a noob, the rims/wheels are stock. Just the tires were changed.

Ah... I guess I misunderstood when you said...

Originally Posted by Sen

... 2020 VW Vento.

Recently got the wheels changed after taking delivery