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The Car Thread


MadManMike

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Anyone on here use instagram? I started a page for my work/paintshop thing today. Not necessarily car related but showcases the sort of paintwork I do that pays the bills.

Also news on the Sciroccos front. Finding it very difficult to source good front wings. Wishbones, bushes and coilovers have been ordered. ARBs are to be blasted and painted soon along with everything else thats unboltable fron the underside..Pictures will appear soon.

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Got a strange "tracking" problem on my car... I say "tracking", because that's all I can think of, but I don't think it's that.

Since I've had the car I've had the tracking done three times. Firstly, because it pulled to the left. Secondly because it got worse after about six months and then finally when I got it lowered.

It has never solved the problem and it still pulls to the left pretty badly.

Any suggestions as to what else it could be?

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Suspension damage unlikely, they're new coilovers. On the old original setup then possibly.

Tyres are all at 33psi.

Brakes dragging, again unlikely as I had them done fairly recently and also have had them looked at when I got my new wheels put on a while back.

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It's constant Pete, if I pull away without holding on it pulls straight away. Seems to be less under braking, but then I'm probably just gripping tighter so don't notice it.

It's pretty severe, to go straight I would need to be at about a 25-30 degree turn of the wheel. It doesn't seem to wear the tyres unevenly, if that gives anyone any further clues...

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Three times though?

All three times were different places, two "manual" or whatever, the last time laser aligned.

Just seems weird that three different places and two different techniques couldn't solve the problem. Also, each time it's ended up being the same steering wheel position, so I guess the tracking looks OK to them but actually isn't.

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But even still Pete, that wouldn't cause a 'pull' as such, it would still drive straight, just with the wheel off centre - I'd take a bet at brakes, or damage to suspension/steering components. Track rods and everything straight?

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Track rods and everything straight?

I don't know to be honest, Rainbird is sending me some new wheels so I'll get my local mechanic dude to check it out when he sticks them on and winds the coilies up a little.

Sounds like the rear brake is a good place to start then.

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The rear axle is totally fixed on out cars; so to have an effect on the vehicles track you would need some serious damage.

The garage that did the tracking should have asked why you wanted the tracking done, if you had any known faults.

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The rear axle is totally fixed on out cars; so to have an effect on the vehicles track you would need some serious damage.

The garage that did the tracking should have asked why you wanted the tracking done, if you had any known faults.

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My money would be on knackered lower arm bushes, a bent lower arm or a bent/displaced subframe, there's more to suspension than struts ;). You need to get the geometry checked properly really, not just the tracking, it's likely that either your caster or kpi's out, which are the measurements that actually adjust the self centering. Tracking being out won't cause a car to pull to one side of it's own, all it will do is exaggerate the effects of caster or kpi being out, I've driven cars with the tracking wildly out, and they've centered perfectly all else being well. The trouble is, those settings aren't actually adjustable on your car, (not to a noticeable degree anyway) so for one to be out, something's likely to be bent/knackered under there.

If it is changing under braking, then it's most likely to be bushes, so I'd start there. Get it to somewhere that specializes in alignment, just ask on the phone if they'll check caster and camber as well as tracking. A decent place will check if for free/a small cost, then charge per adjustment they actually need to make. (They won't directly check kpi, but on your car it's linked to the camber angle, so an issue would be spotted as long as they check that.)

(PS, caster is the angle that a line drawn through the bottom ball-joint and the top mount leans rearwards at, and kpi is 'king pin inclination', which is the angle it leans inwards at, they're what cause the car to sell center, if you've got more of one on one side than the other then it wont self center to the middle.)

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Going to get the Cupra I built to stage 2 for my friend mapped today. Pretty excited to see the outcome! Also ordered forged rods and the relevant hardware last night. Now on the lookout for an engine so I can build it out of the car. Will be an expensive few months! Hopefully it's worth itthoughh, will be nice to have the piece of mind that I'm not one step of the throttle away from banana rods!

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Potential dumb question:

If a spoiler provides downforce, why don't you put one on the roof in the middle for equal downforce? Would it slow the car down?

I wondered this since the avantime episode of top gear, it might not have been ideal but it could've worked.

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Potential dumb question:

If a spoiler provides downforce, why don't you put one on the roof in the middle for equal downforce? Would it slow the car down?

I wondered this since the avantime episode of top gear, it might not have been ideal but it could've worked.

Aerodynamics?

Spoilers mostly used rear wheel drive cars to help push the rear wheels into the ground for traction :)

Edited by Sam T
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