help...My car has bad steering

[Oli22]

Hi,

Ive just recently bought a Clio 172 cup, after driving it 4 a while i found the car was pulling to the left and when accelerating the car found it hard to go in a straight line. took it to my garage for the tracking to be sorted out but it seems to track fine. To my upset the mechanic told me that the car has been in an accident but there is no major damage and seems to have been repaired to a good standard and suggested i get all 4 wheels tracked because he couldnt find anything else wrong with it. Im taking it to get all 4 wheels tracked on thursday but my main worry is that it won solve the problem.

Has any one had this issue with there clio cups? if so what was the outcome?

Be ashame to have to sell the car after only owning it for under 2weeks.

Hope someone can be of some help

thanks

Oli22

 

[crazycup]

I believe that is a normal issue with the cups, mine pulls ever so slightly to the left and has done since i bought it. I dont even notice it now. I think the story about it being in an accident is bollox cos i know there quite a few people on here who have the same problem. Try havin a search mate might bring up some more info

 

[Timmay]

to be honest mine pulls a little to the left as well - cos its french

 

[OLLZIE]

its called torque steer.

 

[blink172]

Were you aware of the accident before you bought it?

 

[Steve]

Check your tyre pressures, can make a huge difference to the way it drives.
Most roads are not flat, they camber to the left for drainage.

 

[Oli22]

wasnt aware of the accident, the HPI check was clear. Looking at the car in more detail seems to prove the case that it has been, small things missing in the engine bay, headlight being out of line etc. I appreciate it could be torque steering wen accelerating but the car is really all over the shop and when i take it over 100mph ive got to grip the wheel and force it to go straight. Tried racing a cooper S the other day (on paper i should of easily been able to keep up) but im sure the steering problem slows the car up. Great car, just hope if there is a problem it can be rectified.

 

[Alex_225]

Does sound like torque steer, if you don't hold onto the wheel with both hands when you boot it in a quick front wheel drive car, you'll find that the steering wheel will squirm a bit.

Also a lot of UK roads will camber too the left and what with the wide tyres and firm suspension of the Clios, especially the Cup it will follow the camber of the road!!

Might not be anything to worry about but maybe try and get a drive in another RS Clio and see if thats the same??

 

[Batman]

mine pulls more then my cousins but i'm running more power bigger wheels and harder suspension its fine when i'm not booting it but if i launch it and i'm not concentrating it'll take off where ever it likes thats why its best to have two hands on the steering wheel at all times

and maybe you just had it in to high of a gear compared to the cooper

 

[Oli22]

well it sounds like driving towards the pavement is standard in french cars. lol. Got standard cup wheels and no mods on the motor. Want upgrade the cars performance but only when im happy with the steering. Ill see what the garage says on thursday. So whats happening is pretty normal then?

 

[blink172]

If its had a front end crash and repaired off the record, it could have bent the chassis or sub frame.

Where was it bought from?

 

[Alex_225]

Worse case scenario is that the car was damaged from the accident, but that depends on how badly damaged it was, would have too be quite extensive if it was.

Best case is that its just how the Clio behaves normally, try and get a drive in another one and see if its the same???

If its from a dealership, go back and ask for a drive in another one.

 

[Oli22]

My mechanic said he couldnt see any major damage, the chassis is fine, only minor damage so lets hope he is right. I got it off of my mates old man whos been in the car trade for 30years, he told me he checked it out and was in great nick so i bought it off him b4 even seeing it. Your prob thinking that was silly but i dont know a great deal about motors just love driving them and thought if he is an expert its prob best getting it off him because he would of checked it over properly.............obviously i was wrong. Gets awkward when its your best mates old man......cant really kick off at him!

 

[LegoHead]

Mine pulled to the left before i fitted my coilovers now I can let go of steering and it goes straight,even over bumps. I think this was mainly due to the knackered left hand shock.

 

[JON FOZ]

take both your wheels off and have a good look at the struts,clio items are renowned for being weak the slightest kink in the strut will throw the cambers out dramatically,even slight camber or toe changes will affect the drive in the way you are saying,dont be too disheartened as most of the time these bend due to pot holes and the like,only my opinion,worth a look:rasp:

jon

 

[Oli22]

Ill have a look at that then, see if thats the problem. thanks for all your helps guys. Ill take of the wheels and have a butchers. Im going to sound like a little girl now but what do the coil overs do? they just the suspension springs?? Like i said before........ i dont know alot about how cars work but i love the specs and driving then!!!!!!!

 

[LegoHead]

coilovers are uprated shocks and springs. My main point was that i went from knackered shock to good, and all is fine, but coilovers are worth the money if your shocks need replacing.

 

[Oli22]

sweet, where did u go to do that? a dealer, normal garage or a performance garage?what sort of cost is it. i can give that a go if all else fails

 

[John D]

Its probably just the camber of the road or torque steer as others have already said.

I thought the steering wheel on my cup was off-centre when I bought it as I seemed to have to steer right slightly to go straight! but then I heard how road camber can give that impression.

Try going to a car park that is totally flat (no fall or camber) and see what happens. I found the steering to be fine when did that.

 

[edde]

The chassic could be bent you'd need to have to measured it doens't take much. When mine was crashed it had to go on the jigs it only went on as it was an insurance job a cheap bodge and noone would have known it was bent.

Check the tyres though for pressure.
Get the trackets checked by someon ele some places aren't very good at tracking (Renault in particular).