I have a 96 Max with 225/40/R18.
I bought it used in 98 and I've always have the impression that the first owner had some small accident involving the front left corner of the car, since the corner light is kind of sticking out and is ghetto secured. Moreover, it doesn't have an OEM front bumper. More like a replica since it doesn't align perfectly with the rest of the car (didn't notice this when I bought it ). I run a Carfax check and the history was clean.

The problem: My car's alignment seems to go off really easily and the problem is always with the left side. The car will pull/drift tot the left. Every time I rotated tires my alignment would go off. A shop told me that I should changed the front left control arm to solve my alignment problems. I did that and the alignment seemed to be fine (car didn't drift). After a year I noticed that the front left tire was wearing much faster than the right one. I get another alignment and mounted my 18 inch wheels (I was riding on stock wheels before). Now, after 3 weeks my alignment is off again prolly because of that giant pothole

Anyways...is there anything specific that I should look into to solve this problem? I just don't understand why rotating tires would make my alignment go off.

 

I've got the same problem with my 98, except I haven't taken it to a mechanic yet. It pulls to the left, not too sharp but it can be dangerous and its annoying having to keep the steering wheel in tight control all the time. Runnin on some 15's, with cheap tires. Hope its nothing too serious, but it would be nice to know what the problem is. My baby needs a check-up(tune up).

 

not really related but, mine was pulling to the left my whole way to school and back. I got out and realized my front left tire was really low and almost flat! It had a slow leak...

 

Post your alignment specs.

Check your tire pressure, with such a low profile, just 2 pounds difference L/R might make a big difference.

You cars alignment doesn't just run out by itself and I doubt it's even off.

Maxima's follow the crown of the road a lot, so if your in the left lane a lot, thats why your pulling left constantly. It's even worst with a more agressive/wider tire. Your on 18's... Your gonna feel everything.

You should rotate every other oil change or 7,500 miles.

 

I don't think the problem is in my tires because my alignment goes off every time I rotate tires. I will check the pressure again (40psi at front) Here are my alignment specs

L/F R/F
Camber -0.3 -0.3
Caster 1.7 2.2

Cross Camber 0.0
Cross Caster -0.6
Total toe 0.20
Set Back -0.21

 

Those specs are perfect, especially the camber absolutely perfect. Any sort of pulling your getting is coming from your tires.

40 PSI is excessive, but your on 18's so.....

What brand are they?
How many miles are on them?
How agressive are they? The more agressive, the more the tire itself is going to track wrong if it's worn unevenly. You cannot correct that if that's the case. Buy new tires.

Your on 18's, everything is going to be very sensitive, there's really no room for error being you have almost no cusion between the road and your vehicle.

Some tires just suck when they begin to ware, the original Good Year RS-A's on my car were like that. It was confirmed on Tire Rack's feedback section as well.

Consider new rubber or dropping back to 17's. Your driving a 4 door performance sedan, not a Corvett.

 

Those are the specs when I did the alignment 3 weeks ago. I hit a really big pot hole the other day (front left tire again) and I think alignment is off again. The tires are bridgestone Euro T/A.

 

If indeed your knocking your front end out of wack, once again, consider going back up to 17's to get you some cusion from the road. You have to be very careful when your profile is that low.

 

giant pothole =
18s and giant pothole =

why you think i still keep my stocks. i would have lost a strut by now if went with low profile. for the record my car still has a tendency to pull to the left. it doesn't do it if i manually center it, but after a turn the wheel always goes leftish. i've gotten used to it.

ps. anyone on goodyears change them. nobody deserves to ride on these POS.

 

I think it's more like your driving habit as the main cause of your problems. If you keep driving over potholes, sooner or later something else would go out of wack. And as far as pulling to left or right problems, try to get your caster setting as close as possible between the L and R setting. (i see you have a 1.7 and a 2.2)

 

Just a stupid question: how do you go about checking your current alignment specs? Mine is off, and i want to make sure it is actually alignment and not tires.

 

The only way to check it is on an alignment rack. It's not a DIY job.

 

i figured. I'm just ****ed, because my alignment sucks, and it's because of the shop that i took it to.

I have a road hazard plan for my tires, so every 5000 miles i have to take it in to have the tires rotated to keep it under warranty. Well, since the rotation is free under the plan, a lot of mechanics get ****ed, because from what i've heard, they don't really make any money off of the job. So, when i got my car back, it pulled to the right. Took it back in, and it pulled to the left, took it in again and it pulled to the right. I've had the wheels balanced about 3 times now, the tires are inflated properly and everything....so i'm figuring it has to be my alignment. Now, i'm hearing from guys that used to work there that the mechanics there would do something like change the alignment, so the customer would have to come back and pay for a job. I figured that if i could check the alignment specs, i could go back and tell them what exactly is wrong, and have them fix it and be done with it.