roadhard1960
Veteran Member
So I was reading this thread where people say my car will not go straight. After numerous posts it was determined that their steering wheels were not installed properly for the alignment. They did not know that you check for pull by have neutral hands on the steering wheel, not hanging on for dear life with a perceived level steering wheel.
In days of old you remove the steering wheel and turn it one tick to get it level. Or a good alignment guy will turn the wheel all the way to the right. Then all the way to the left counting or measuring turns. Then he locks the wheel in the center and adjusts the tie rods so the toe in or out is correct based on the wheel which is in the center of the rack or gear box. Now it seems that newer cars have electric steering of some sort so they have to do some clicks with a computer to get the steering wheel to be adjusted after the toe is properly set.
Anyhow... I was driving to town before 7 one morning. I wondered how long I could go hands free driving with the cruise set at 65 on the interstate. I got all the way to 10 seconds but my wife kept fussing about me not holding my lane. Most times were closer to 5 seconds. The car does follow the camber of the road. It was about impossible to find a flat section of the road. Just a rain draining 1 or 2 degrees is enough to get the car wandering out of the lane when hands free. It seemed pretty good to me. Maybe some other day I can find a flat enough road to get more than 10 seconds. I guess if I ever get around to changing the suspension bushings I will get an alignment check. I did new struts and shocks a few months ago.
In days of old you remove the steering wheel and turn it one tick to get it level. Or a good alignment guy will turn the wheel all the way to the right. Then all the way to the left counting or measuring turns. Then he locks the wheel in the center and adjusts the tie rods so the toe in or out is correct based on the wheel which is in the center of the rack or gear box. Now it seems that newer cars have electric steering of some sort so they have to do some clicks with a computer to get the steering wheel to be adjusted after the toe is properly set.
Anyhow... I was driving to town before 7 one morning. I wondered how long I could go hands free driving with the cruise set at 65 on the interstate. I got all the way to 10 seconds but my wife kept fussing about me not holding my lane. Most times were closer to 5 seconds. The car does follow the camber of the road. It was about impossible to find a flat section of the road. Just a rain draining 1 or 2 degrees is enough to get the car wandering out of the lane when hands free. It seemed pretty good to me. Maybe some other day I can find a flat enough road to get more than 10 seconds. I guess if I ever get around to changing the suspension bushings I will get an alignment check. I did new struts and shocks a few months ago.
