Front toe issue?

[Kulebrero]

I’ve got the Tarmac 2 coilovers, camber plates, sway bars, and downlinks up front. Coilovers, sway bars, lower control arm, downlinks, and toe arm in the rear.

Got an alignment and all was well. Attended a track day without incidents, but as I was driving home, I noticed the steering wheel was at an angle even though I was driving straight. Pulled over and noticed the right side coilover had slid a degree or so on the camber plate despite all screws being tight. But I had my track tools handy so I moved it back, and kept driving home. The steering wheel straightened some but not fully. Then as I got closer to the house, I started feeling like I had a wobble…like a wheel was about to fall off or something. It’s not terribly noticeable but it’s there. Nothing appears loose or broken. Maybe the toe is off? Thinking the left front has a bit of toe in while the left front is straight which is causing the bit of wobble? Any ideas? Can you adjust the front toe with my setup?

Tl;Dr: steering wheel is at an angle when driving straight, and car wobbles slightly. Nothing appears loose or broken. Thinking front left has a bit of toe in while right front is straight.

[Spuds]

Yes front toe can be adjusted, but it would be strange for it to get out of line unless something was damaged or the alignment shop forgot to tighten the jam nut. Seems like something came loose or broke. Hard to tell where until you get more information. The rear being out of line is just as likely as the front to cause the steering wheel to be off center. Could also be a wheel/tire or brake problem. I assume it wasn't like this when you went to the track?

My recommendations beyond just bring it back to alignment shop.
Step 1: check tire pressures.

Step 2: roll the car around in neutral by hand on a flat surface and watch to see if the wheels move in unexpected ways, or if there are unexpected sounds. I just open the door or roll down the window and push on the inside of the a and b pillars on my first gen.

Edit: optional step 2b (or not 2b?) : Drive around a bit if you feel it's safe to drive. If there's no wobble at first, then there starts to be one that gets worse with speed, you may have a stuck caliper. You should be able to confirm by feeling for one wheel being quite hot near the hub immediately after driving.

Step 3: work the car's suspension a bit and look/listen for the unexpected. I open the door, stand on the door sill and rock the car a bit.

Step 4: inspect the wheels for cracks or damage. If none, check lug nut torque

Step 5: yank and twist the wheels by grabbing the spokes to see if there is any unexpected movement

Step 6: lift car and fully support on 4 jack stands. Check all suspension linkages for bending, loose bits, anything that doesn't look or feel right.

[Clipdat]

Great suggestions! Could also by a symptom of a bent wheel, even if there is no visible bend(s) on the lip.

But yeah, would depend on if the wobble is speed related.

[Kulebrero]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Yes front toe can be adjusted, but it would be strange for it to get out of line unless something was damaged or the alignment shop forgot to tighten the jam nut. Seems like something came loose or broke. Hard to tell where until you get more information. The rear being out of line is just as likely as the front to cause the steering wheel to be off center. Could also be a wheel/tire or brake problem. I assume it wasn't like this when you went to the track?

My recommendations beyond just bring it back to alignment shop.
Step 1: check tire pressures.

Step 2: roll the car around in neutral by hand on a flat surface and watch to see if the wheels move in unexpected ways, or if there are unexpected sounds. I just open the door or roll down the window and push on the inside of the a and b pillars on my first gen.

Edit: optional step 2b (or not 2b?) : Drive around a bit if you feel it's safe to drive. If there's no wobble at first, then there starts to be one that gets worse with speed, you may have a stuck caliper. You should be able to confirm by feeling for one wheel being quite hot near the hub immediately after driving.

Step 3: work the car's suspension a bit and look/listen for the unexpected. I open the door, stand on the door sill and rock the car a bit.

Step 4: inspect the wheels for cracks or damage. If none, check lug nut torque

Step 5: yank and twist the wheels by grabbing the spokes to see if there is any unexpected movement

Step 6: lift car and fully support on 4 jack stands. Check all suspension linkages for bending, loose bits, anything that doesn't look or feel right.

Thanks, man!

It didn’t occur to me that it could be an issue with the rear alignment.

I took the wheels off and put it on stands. Nothing seems loose or broken. The brakes are fine. It is safe to drive but I going straight to the alignment shop. The wobble isn’t super noticeable, but I can feel it even at low speeds.

[Kulebrero]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Great suggestions! Could also by a symptom of a bent wheel, even if there is no visible bend(s) on the lip.

But yeah, would depend on if the wobble is speed related.

I thought maybe it’d be a wheel/tire issue but visually at least they all look fine, and the pressure is even on all four tires. There’s definitely an alignment issue with the steering wheel being way off center, but I’ll see what the shop says. The wobble isn’t worse going faster and the steering wheel doesn’t vibrate or anything. I don’t recall hitting anything hard enough to bed a wheel…but stranger things have happened.

[Tokay444]

I would describe a wobble like a wheel was about to fall off as a pretty terrible wobble. So was it like a wheel was about to fall off, or was it not terrible?