Ever since I got my car w/ 35K on it, its had a slight drift to the left.

Took it to a regular shop and had it aligned. Still drifts a little.

Had them realign it - drifts.

Put on new tires - drifts.

Rotated tires - drifts.

Took it to the stealership who swears only they can align a car - drifts still a little.

Asked them why it drifts - they advised me they don't know. The car is within spec and they don't see any damaged suspension components.

Spoke with a Nissan tech I know from racing and gave him a copy of my alignment sheet - he believes that the front right camber was too negative. Camber apparently cannot be adjusted on this car, but he suggested loosening the strut from the knuckle, letting it shift, then retightening it.

Called the stealership and they said they'd take a look. They actually made the right front camber MORE negative than it was before. Originally the left was -.21 degrees, and the right was -.28. I'm now at -.21/-.29. I'm told that it will drift to the left because it is less negative than the right.

Called the stealership back today and was told that the car appeared to drive fine to them. They believe that I am experiencing torque steer due to having a six speed. The service manager told me to try putting the car in neutral and I'll find that the issue goes away.

Do you fellow six speed owners have a slight drift in your car? I only think I get torque steer when I'm really getting on the throttle.

 

Did you buy the Max used?

 

I cant imagine that it would drift with a slight difference in negative camber. I have heard that you may be able to get camber bolts for front struts, but I dont know for sure. It is irrelevant which tranny is in the car. Torque steer is a factor when you accelerate. If you are in steady state throttle, or are coasting, there should be no torque steer.

 

Sounds like a bent frame to me. I wonder if someone driving behind you sees the car as acting 'dog-legged' where it looks like it's going down the road angle and not in a straight line.

 

Yes, it was a lease return.

 

Yeah...it might be a bent frame. You might have to take it to a shop that deals with frames to find out the truth.

Good luck, bro.

 

I would like to think (or hope!) that its not a bent frame as the drift is so slight.

1) Assuming that it is a bent frame - how does one investigate this? Take it to a body shop to have it measured?

2) Couldn't this easily be a bent suspension component?

3) I'm told that on this type of car even if the alignment is within spec, it can easily drift one way or another due to the tire/wheel size. With this in mind...does the camber/caster split lead any of you to believe its still within the alignment? The guys at Goodyear believe it is the camber/caster...problem being that they are not adjustable on the Maxima and come set from the factory. Where could I get a camber/caster kit?

4) Am I just being to sensitive? Do your cars give you any noticable drift, especially on crowned roads?

 

Mine didn't seem to drift, but I never thought about it.

 

Do me a favor - will you try to pay attention next time you drive it?

 

check for brakes dragging..

 

Can you elaborate on that a little bit? What do I do - try to spin the wheel while its in the air and check for resistance? If I do have any.....would it be a stuck caliper?

 

What do the thrust angle and all of the rear specs look like?

Better yet, can you post your alignment sheet?

 

Try switching the front tires.

 

I haven't had mine long, but no drift. The only thing I will occasionally see is some pushing if I'm driving in asphalt that has a lot of wheel tracks pounded into it. I had a mustang GT with similar profile tires that had that same issue. Torque steer should only show up under acceleration and not at constant speed.

 

What does the tranmission type have to do with drifting....?

 

Tried that - also got a Force Balance w/ "Straight Trak"......no dice.

 

Scanned it at work - will post tonight!

 

Exactly what I was asking. The guy at the stealership said that the car has a lot of torque steer......even more so in the manuals......and therefore......it will pull to the left. Like others on this board, I think he is wrong. I've always understood torque steer to be present under heavy acceleration, not while going down the highway.

 

I had a brake caliper slightly sticking and caused drift. Have them checked.

 

How do you check them? Just see if the wheel spins freely?

 

Before


After

 

pretty much rich, or take the wheel off and the brake caliper and make sure the slides are lubricated well. take off he caliper and use some "channel locks" to push the piston back into the caliper all the way then put the caliper back on and move it on the slides. it should move easily back and forth. if its is a little stiff put some brake grease into the rubber boot by pulling out the slide out and putting in a few "drops" of grease and sticking the slide back in and working it in and out until it moves smoothly

 

I would check the brakes first like forementioned..but I do bodywork for BMW and have had a little bit of frame training..so the only way to really tell if your frame is straight is to put it on a frame straightening bench and have it measured..which can become costly unless you know someone. You can get a special measuring device though and measure the points in the engine compartment and compare them to the actual factory dimensions. Look under the car and under the hood for any signs of frame repair (welds in weird places on the frame..etc) and look closely at panel gaps between panels and see if anything has a smaller or larger gap than usual...usually means its been in an accident.