Impreza P1 - help with a strange front end problem

[Lrchorne]

The front end of my P1 has been feeling a bit loose for a while now. Micheldever tyres (who used to be great) are no longer any good as they fitted 2 new tyres, balanced all 4 wheels and did the tracking. End result, drove off with a skewed steering wheel (left hand down) and vibration when accelerating at around 60-70mph.

Tried a new tyre place who charged me £100 (!!) for 4 wheels balanced and tracking. Now I have the oppostie skew on the steering wheel (right hand down) and the vibration happens at 100mph. (only noticed on private property obviously)

Any ideas as to why i cannot get the steering to feel true around the straight ahead and why this vibration when accelerating at various speeds means i lose confidence with my otherwise perfect car?

Thanks

[ScoobieWRX]

I replied to a similar thread a while back. This isn't an uncommon problem as i've experienced this a couple of times myself.

You have to be allowed to drive the car onto the ramps yourself and you set the steering wheel to straight ahead. You know instinctively how much play you have in the steering and will know exactly where straight ahead is. Unfortunately that's still no guarantee the wheel will be straight after alignment. When they put the steering wheel locking device on that's wedged onto your seat it could possibly move the steering wheel enough to make a difference if it's not put on properly, plus usually there is a monkey that's paid in peanuts doing the wheel alignment and really doesn't have a clue what he's doing. £100 sounds a bit steep for 4 wheels to be balanced and tracking adjusted. Take the car to a garage that has something like a Hunter set up and have the whole 4 wheel alignment and geometry setup for £100 or thereabouts. They will know what they are doing and should get it spot on.

If two different garages have balanced your wheels and you're still getting the same it could be one or both wheels are very slightly buckled, your wheel nuts are slightly different weights to eachother, or them fecking monkeys are at it again!!

Good luck

[Lrchorne]

Scoobie WRX, thanks for that. It may well have been me you replied to last time. Still getting pissed off with this issue. I want the front end to feel like it should and throwing money at the problem does not seem to be aolving it.

I am going back on Sat am so will sit in the damn thing and make sure they get it right!

Cheers

[DocJock]

If you want a company who will be fastidious in setting up your alignment to the way you want it I can personally recommend either,

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/ who use Huntaer Hawkeye gear and
http://www.powerstation.org.uk/ who use Biesbarth kit

Powerstation also do a cracking bumpsteer removal mod which radically improves front end feel on Imprezas.

[ScoobieWRX]

+1 for Powerstation. I hear their bump steer mod and geometry setup is the dogs danglies!!

[Lrchorne]

That does sound like a good idea, I have always thought the front end could do with a touch more feel anyway.
However, 104 miles is a long haul. Any ideas closer to West London or Hampshire/Surrey?
Cheers

[Lrchorne]

Scoobie WRX
Seen your comments elsewhere on tyres. I don't rate the Toyo T-1Rs i have on the front. Understeer and squeeling is too easy to achieve!
Thinking about P Zeros as the mags from 2000 say that was the standard P1 issue tyre back then. Any thoughts? And it seems the Assymertrico is the only one available.
Thanks
L

[ScoobieWRX]

Lrchorne said:

Scoobie WRX
Seen your comments elsewhere on tyres. I don't rate the Toyo T-1Rs i have on the front. Understeer and squeeling is too easy to achieve!
Thinking about P Zeros as the mags from 2000 say that was the standard P1 issue tyre back then. Any thoughts? And it seems the Assymertrico is the only one available.
Thanks
L

I have Assymetricos on the Jag and it's a big heavy car that always amazes me how the hell it gets round some corners at the speed it does. Being diesel and automatic it's not very addept to launching out of corners from low speed quickly but if you get it right the amount of speed you can carry through even some of the tightest corners is just amazing.

I put a lot of that down to the tyres mechanical grip as i'm sure if the tyres we're crap it would slip and slide everywhere and be very undriveable. Also these Pzero's seem to wear amazingly well, the rears have done 17K miles and still look very fresh and wouldn't surprise me if they did another 17K miles so by my own argument i'm wondering if i might try some Pzero's very soon. The sidewalls are very stiff too so should be a good drive.

I know a chap that has a warehouse full of used tyres with many looking nearly new in a lot of cases, every size going from most well known manufacturers, and lots of PZero's. I can get a set of used PZero's with 6+mm tread for £100.

I'm going to try them out i think.

[UTH]

get an Evo 6. Simple.

[Lrchorne]

I returned to the tyre garage in west London to complain about my wheel alignment. I discovered that I was certainly not the first person to complain that their tracking equipment was well out but being repaired on Monday so I will have to give them my car again to be sorted out. But this explains why the steering wheel is off centre.
i cannot believe how frustrating this is trying to get it right. Munster Road tyres should not be used in future! Far too expensive and really bad too!

[ScoobieWRX]

I suggest next time you spend a bit more in the first place and go to either a motorsport company that are experts and really understand suspension/geometry/corner weighting setups, or visit an independant Subaru Specialist that plays exclusively with Subaru's and will know how to set up your geometry to the inth subaru degree.

Powerstation, Zen Performance, Roger Clark Motorsport and one or two others i would recommend. It's worth travelling the extra miles for 100% perfect results.

[DocJock]

ScoobieWRX said:

It's worth travelling the extra miles for 100% perfect results.

That is so true.