edgalang

OK...I was doing some long distance freeway driving this weekend and noticed something VERY annoying. When I'm going straight, my steering wheel is pointing ever so slightly to the left so now the original 3-9 positions are roughly pointing to 2:30-8:30 and the Acura symbol in the center of the steering wheel is crooked.

When you get an alignment...would they fix the orientation of your steering wheel also? It is very frustrating because the freeway is already slanted right to let the water drain to the side and pulling the wheel to the left to compensate makes the crooked symbol even more noticable.

P.S.
Could some1 enlighten me on how much alignments go for?

baggsTLS

Most alignment places used to advertise Steering Wheel alignment/centering as part of the process. I think it's not really a marketing tool anymore, since most respectable places do it anyway.

You can get your front wheels aligned for less than $50 most places. I think my last 4 wheel alignment was only $50. Be sure to ask them to center your steering wheel though, just in case.

baggs

tdoh

Assuming that there aren't any bent steering arms, tie-rods, strut towers, etc., sounds like toe adjustment should take care of your steering wheel alignment problem. OTOH--if the shop says that they need to remove your steering wheel to center it, then you probably got other suspension/alignment problems that may need to be addressed.

As far as how much, depends on whether 2- or 4-wheel, and what shop you take your car to. If a shop offers to do 4-wheel for under $50 (not including coupons or discounts), odds are that they're probably not using the latest alignment equipment or probably adjusting just a single alignment component. There are three major components--camber, caster, and toe--that can be adjusted. Camber and toe are the ones most commonly adjusted, although camber may be more difficult to do on a dropped vehicle without mods. Many reliable shops will do a competant 4-wheel alignment with lifetime adjustment for $100 or so.

Tony

vperkins2

We interrupt this thread for this off-topic question...

WooHoo! The Edgalang-mobile is back in service!
How's it look and feel? Inquiring minds wanna know!

Later,

V.

edgalang

Unfortunately I'm not able to post pics here so I did it elsewhere. Check the "other" site. I have a crap load of pics there from new paintjobs (6 layers vs the factory 2) to lightbulbs (found cheap lights that match our HIDs) to aftermarket exhausts (ever see oval tips on a TLS?). I must of posted well over 20 pics...so just do a thread search on my name and you should be set. I guarantee you'll now it's my car if we ever meet on the freeway

Southbound

Edgalang,
I am a VERY critical person when it comes to the centering of my steering wheel as well. Do you have any other sypmtoms? Does the car go straight down the road (but with the wheel just slightly off center?) or does the car pull to the right so that you have to apply constant left pressure which results in the off centered steering wheel?

In any case a GOOD alignment should fix either problem. HOWEVER, the slight amount that you are mentioning may be "within spec" according to certain shops. This slight amount of off center that you are talking about can DEFINITELY be fixed WITHOUT pulling the steering wheel off and moving it to another spline on the column. All it would take (if everything else is correct) would be to SLIGHTLY adjust the toe-in on both sides by the same amount. This will keep them within the same parallel spec, but will change the position of the steering wheel for a given direction of the tires.

Whenever I used to get alignements on my Z-28, it would ALWAYS come back with some small amount of SLIGHTLY off center. I would put it up on ramps and mark everything very carefully and turn the tie rod adjustmenst by 1/8 turns on BOTH sides (making sure to move the wheels in the same direction) and I would end up doing half a dozen adjustments and test drives before I had it "SPOT ON"... POINT BEING, while the alignment shops will tell you that they will center the wheel... YOU NEED TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR that this is the ONLY reason that you are having the alignment done. Therefore, you are going to be VERY picky with respect to this issue! Because you could very easily get it back with it off by that same amount in the opposite direction. Make sure they are willing to do it over again a few times until YOU are happy! A lot of shops put this rubber steering wheel cradle against the seat and steering wheel that the steering wheel sets in. This cradle is SUPPOSED to keep the wheel from slipping as they make their adjustments. BUT it is only as good as where they position if from the beginning... and depending upon how hard the bolts are to crack, and how much pressure they apply, and how many adjustments they make to other suspension parts, the more it is going to slip a bit in this cradle. I have YET to see one come out of the alignment shop that meets my exact centering requirements... I admit that I am ANAL about this as well. It drives me nuts to drive a car straight down the road with the wheel crooked.

GOOD LUCK! JUST LET THEM KNOW UP FRONT WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ARE EXPECTING, AND HOW YOU WILL BE UPSET IF YOUR NEEDS AREN'T MET... That way they can't get too p!ssed when you ask them to do it over again... because odds are, you will... and that goes for the dealer as well as any other shop...

Unless they take the time to treat it like it's their own car and it's bugging them like it's bugging you, don't count on much improvement. If it was off by a significant amount, then YES, they would have no problem getting it closer... BUT "SPOT ON" takes someone who cares...

dimsumo

if your car is dropped, you can't get an alignment any where, you have to go some where that does dropped cars

gohawks63

I'm also very anal about my wheel being centered. When I had the burlwood steering wheel installed, I got it back and the wheel was slightly off kilter. I took it back and instead of removing the whole wheel, they did a very slight toe adjustment , and all is good with the world again.

tdoh

Unless your front-end alignment was slightly off, I can't imagine why they would even need to adjust the toe just to align your steering wheel. Now, I dunno which method would be easier to straighten the steering wheel--toe adjust or pull the steering wheel--but like I said, if the front-end alignment is okay to begin with, why would they bother fiddling with it at all?

gohawks63

I'm not sure if "toe" is the proper term, that's what the dealer called it. I worked in my uncle's garage when i was growing up and I know that there is the ability to center the steering wheel without pulling it off. I think you're just adjusting the steering shaft. This is easier than removing the steering wheel, especially with airbags.

As to why mess with it if the alignment is OK. I think it's annoying if your steering wheel is off center. It's not how it was intended to be.

go-types

if your car is under 15000miles, i think that tire balance will be fine to fix your problem. if over 30000miles, it's worth to get an alignment.

bdimc2001

my suspension is totally messed up...i need to replace alot of suspension parts. then get an alignment

tdoh

Yes, adjusting toe-in/out can affect whether or not your car can track in a straight line with very little steering input. Not to say that steering/tracking can only be affected by toe, but many tracking problems can be attributed to improper toe. Improper toe will cause your car to drift to one side, thus requiring corrective steering input to compensate--this is where one would normally get the perception that the steering wheel isn't centered. IOW--your steering wheel is centered but your car is veering to the side; you then have to turn the steering wheel in order to get your car to track straight, in which case your steering wheel is now no longer centered. I'm not saying that this is what happened in your particular case but such is possible.

And, I'm not saying that it's okay if the steering wheel is not visually centered--I agree wholeheartedly that it should be centered while the car is tracking straight ahead. I was just commenting on the fact that you mentioned that they had to adjust the toe just to re-center your steering wheel even though all they had did beforehand was just replace your steering wheel. It's like saying that after your headlight housings had been replaced, your headlights are now aimed too high and instead of using the headlight adjusting screws you put lowering springs on your car to aim the headlights back to normal.

Don't take this as a flame, it's just that I can't understand why someone would decide to adjust the toe to center the steering wheel just because he didn't center the steering wheel correctly to begin with after replacing it with the burlwood one. Think about it--does it make sense to adjust a component that wasn't messed with to begin with (toe, or "steering shaft", as you call it), all because the guy wasn't competant enough to install the replacement steering wheel spot-on to begin with? Oh well, as long as you're happy with the results...

Tony

edgalang

Well I dont know about you guys...but I'm bringing her back in this weekend to get it double checked. I dont care how it's done, but I want my steering wheel straight dammit.

RobMiller

I have had three alignments done in the first year, they still cant get the wheel straight. Car also seems to drift a bit and has a tough time tracking staight w/o applying pressure in one direction or the other. Acura told me that since the car has 50 series tires, the car "hugs" every crevice of the road, thus making it seem to drift around a bit.

SinnedTL

you need a 5 point alignment, front and rear wheels and the steering wheel centering...the place that did my alignment with the 5 point system used a Hunter alignment machine is that helps at all...

Southbound

The whole alignment procedure depends upon the starting reference point. The procedure is to drive the car upon the alignment "pads" and then position the steering wheel to EXACTLY center. Then they put a cradle device against the steering wheel and seat to keep it from moving as they adjust the other suspension parts.

They start out ASSUMING that the steering wheel is completly straight. Then they use the alignment machine readouts to tell them that the wheels are now pointed exactly straight ahead and exactly parallel and exactly tilted correctly per the car's particular specifications. This is all nice and dandy... BUT IF THE WHEEL ISN'T EXACTLY CENTERED when they begin their adjustments, you will end up with the wheels being pointed directly straight ahead at whatever position the steering wheel was referenced to in the beginning, or to whatever point it ended up slipping to in its positioning cradle. THIS ERROR HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. That is why you would want to go back in and make slight adjustments to the "toe" on BOTH tierods moving the wheels in the SAME direction... either both right or both left, whichever direction would follow the off centered steering wheel. NOW, the wheels will no longer be exactly straight ahead at this particular steering wheel position... but they will still be in proper parallel spec with respect to each other. NOW when you center the wheel while driving, the wheels will be facing straight ahead and everything will be COOL!

This of course all assumes that the car doesn't pull to the right or left while driving. That is a totally different problem... If you have to keep pulling on the wheel to keep it going straight down the road, and thus causing your steering wheel to be off center, then you do have other alignment or tire problems. BUT if the car tracks straight down the road with hands off the wheel, yet the steering wheel is slightly off centered. It usually means that the last guy who aligned it, didn't start with the wheel EXACTLY centered, or let it slip a bit with his adjustments. TOO LAZY to get up and look inside the window after each adjustment to make sure that the steering wheel hasn't slipped from the cradle and is still EXACTLY centered before proceeding to the next adjustment. Happens more often than not...

edgalang

That's exactly what happened to me. I took it back today and got it re-aligned and I visually checked that EVERYTHING was in spec (They didn't have to touch a thing). Then they called me up and had me adjust and cradle the stearing wheel wheel myself so they can make sure I was happy. So far so good.