Drifting S3 pulling to the left

[spiker]

Ok - right I have had enough of this

Every S3 I own seems to drift to the left - my current one more than others and despite having the tracking and alignment checked and the tyres are fine it still drifts left and I have to constantly adjust when i am driving - 3 seconds off the wheel and in in the verge

Before anyone suggests it - it has nothing to do with road camber / tread / tyre pressures / brakes all check out.I have driven enough s3's to know when it isnt right so I guess I need to stump up and have Audi do a proper camber toe in / toe out check but it aint going to be cheap and having had this done before 3 times in a row on my first s3 they dont inspire me with confidence

So I am in Bristol area or Bracknell area during the week - anyone recommend a good garage that will do a proper test and check without me having to fork out £90-100 a hour ?

apologies for the rant - its kind of frustrating !

Thanks guys / girls

 

[Dave_Bayern]

Bracknell has a 4 wheel alignment place and they do the laser 4 wheel job for £35 a time.

Seem to be very good, mine was less than one degree out so they didnt charge me. They are busy so you need to phone and and book in advance.

Its about 5-7 minutes out of Bracknell town centre, very close to Cable and Wireless/HP.


Total Tyre & Exhaust Co 01344 450586

 

[simch]

I think you will find most Audi a3 and vw golf platform cars suffer from this.

Someone suggested its a "safety feature" so if you nod off you dont hit oncoming cars......!!!eeek My s3 and my mk4 do it but its not like pulling all the time, just keep at least one hand on the wheel and you should not crash!

 

[spiker]

thanks for the suggestion about the place in Bracknell but its not laser alignment i need - I am looking for a company that can do the full analysis of the setup - camber - toe etc

The alignment has already been checked

 

[s3ollie]

Someone suggested its a "safety feature" so if you nod off you dont hit oncoming cars......!!!

Thats ok if you drive on the left, do the European ones pull to the right

 

[Dave_Bayern]

Yeah, its a myth that they are designed to do that, cars dont naturally pull at all, its the camber of the road, so in Europe, they do drift the opposite way!

 

[Perplexer]

My S3 pulls to the left a little when the camber falls to the left and the steering wheel is slightly high on the left. I thought it was a problem but on roads where the camber falls to the right it pulls to the right with the wheel slightly high on the right.

On a totally flat and straight road it is spot on. But in the back of my mind I can't help but think its wrong as I recently had a snapped front spring replaced - maybe I am looking for something that isn't there?

 

[spiker]

sounds as though yours is fine buddy

on a straight flat road mine drifts to the left within 3 seconds I am in the gutter at any speed about about 25mph

 

[Perplexer]

sounds as though yours is fine buddy

on a straight flat road mine drifts to the left within 3 seconds I am in the gutter at any speed about about 25mph

I don't know what to suggest really m8. I had mine 4 wheel aligned twice after the spring was done and both times they said is was spot on.

Is it worth getting it on some sort of car alignment system to see if the chassis is straight? (no offence)

 

[abdus]

same problem with my A3, just been at the tyre shop, all checked and still slightly pulling to the left. No uneven tyre wear either, same pressur all round etc...tracking done.

will have to adjust and live with it...

 

[spiker]

the car is clean and straight -I suspect my next step is to have the wheels properly aligned using toe in / toe out and camber which you cannot achieve with just an alignment check that most garages offer

I need to have all the geometry checked by a Audi then by the sounds of it and live with the cost as nobody else seems to have any other suggestions

I will report the results