frenchv

I'm coming from rear wheel drive, huh.. my TSX can go in a straight line if I let go of the steering wheel but sometimes it's veers all over the place. Especially on the freeway at high speed.

Is that normal or does the car need an alignment?

Rpappi

if its when you are getting on the throttle and when it shifts i could be torque steer. but if it does it when on Cruise control make sure you check your tire pressures.

frenchv

Thanks, I'll have to try that.

jlukja

The TSX is prone to follow the crown of the road and the tires like to tramline.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Check the tire pressures and then make sure the road you're driving on is not grooved in any way as the TSX is prone to tramlining, especially with wider wheels and tires.

Still Water

If you haven't done so already, google "tramlining" and you find the symptoms. The OEM Mich's really express this tendency on a variety of surfaces and road profiles. Monitoring your air pressure is a must do.

vidgamer

Mine doesn't do it so bad now. I think maybe they adjusted the alignment at the dealer, but I don't really know. But when I first got the car, it seemed a lot more "twitchy" on the highway, and one of the car magazines said the same thing.

Marg_TSexy

I too have noticed it's only very slightly "twitchy". But this only happens every once in a while at high speed on the freeway. But it's still not a GREAT feeling.

frenchv

I just did more road testing, it seems that the car goes straight for 5 to 10 seconds then either veers to the left or right.

Not sure if it's the way front wheel drive works, but I'll take it to the dealership in any case.

waTSX

You're probably just used to it now. FWIW, it's not just the Michelins that tramline, the higher performance Pirelli's I just put on do, too. The tradeoff? Much better handling.

It really doesn't bother me at all.

EuRTSX

Yeah, I learned my lesson the first month I had the TSX last year in February. I wasn't aware of this "tramlining" especially because it didnt do that in my old car, but when I was driving, I wasn't firm onto holding the steering wheel, saw a VERY uneven road, and thought I'd be fine coming to a stop onto it, and when I went over it, my car steering wheel went absolutely nuts and veered into the next lane. Thank HOT there was no one there

gr8fulted

Good question, as I had wondered what the hell was going on when I drove on the interstate at 70 to 80 mph. The ride is smooth when applying the gas but the car gets a mind of its own when I let off the gas to coast. My solution thus far, as I bought my 06 NHB in January 07 is to ride the pedal and take advantage of the left lane.

ChrismanTSX

If one played with the alignment, it may be possible to reduce the tramlining. I haven't tried that, but part of what makes the TSX handling great, makes the car more twitchy...

I'll take twitchy and responsive anytime... if I didn't want that, i'd drive a Buick

1slowTSX

It's not really a good idea to let go of your steering wheel while driving on the highway especially at high speeds.

vidgamer

And as far as going straight for a few seconds and curving, most roads are tilted, to allow for water runoff. That's enough to get a slight "pull" effect, or at least probably enough so that you can't let go and just have it go straight forever.

frenchv

I guess I was spoiled with rear wheel drive..

Reach

You can't read, can you? It has little to do with FWD/RWD, much more so with the tires, suspension, and alignment!

Overtaxed

It's not a weakness of FWD nor of the TSX. The TSX's steering is so sensitive and precise, this is why it will go towards the direction of the slant in the road.

Roads are slightly slanted on purpose, so water runs off. If you hit a patch of very even road, it will stay straight.

vidgamer

Yeah, I think RWD will still veer based on the road's tilt.... I wonder how much power steering differences also come into play.

junktionfet

It's silly to think that FWD won't somehow affect how the front end responds to the road, even while coasting. It is perfectly reasonable to say that if the TSX were RWD, the "tramlining" would be reduced by a very small margin while coasting and a much larger while accelerating.

Drive wheels aside, the rest of the thread is accurate--wheels and tires have a lot to do with it as well as the damping on the steering rack, etc.

Personally it doesn't bother me much except when braking hard on groovy roads.