Hey guys, I recently got a rx8, and i've noticed it drifts to the right gradually if I let go of the wheel.... Now i'm not saying I enjoy letting go of the wheel but when ever I do it drifts off to the right.... Is this normal?? If its not, then what can be the problem? New tires??


thanks,
shazan

 

Grading of the road perhaps?

 

The 8 is sensitive to road contusions. But besides that you should take it back to the dealer for an alignment, it should be under warranty during the break in period.

 

Have you had alignment checked? That will cause it to pull to the left or right depending on what is off. If you haven't, you might want to look into this. Bad alignment can cause unusual tire wear. Tires for the 8 are not cheap.
An all wheel alignment should cost around $70.

That is a good point ranger4277 about the grading of the road causing it to drift.

For those that aren't sure what this is: when a road is built they have to make it so the water drains off so one side is higher than the other. On a two lane road which has traffic going both directions in between the two lanes is higher than the shoulder of the road. Which if extreme would make the car drift off of the road to the right.

Does it only occur on a certain road?

 

I did actually notice it on a two lane road, You can call it slightly a rough road but I'm pretty sure it still occurs on normal roads as well just not as much on smoother roads.... I'll have to see how it is in the morning when I drive it...Btw, it is now brand new it has 17k miles....

 

Even still, if you purchased it from a dealer you should be able to get an alignment out of them.

 

Also keep careful watch of your tire pressure. You need a guage that reads to 1/2 lb increment or less. Just a half lb difference from left to right will cause a drift even on a flat surface with perfect alignment.

Also, just because Mazda aligns the cars at the factory doesn't mean that they are aligned accurately. There's a wide range of acceptable specs. If you are really fussy about your alignment, go to a shop that handles high performance cars that will let you sit in the drivers seat while the car is on the rack. Even the weight distribution in the car will affect the pull you experience.

 

I had my alignment done for Autocross. The dealership and most places will align "within spec" To give you an idea of what "spec" can mean: Before my alignment, my front camber was 0.0/0.0, my rear was -2.2 left and -1.1 right. Front toe and rear toe were both .1.

So find a shop that will do an exact alignment to your specs and pay the extra money. The money you save in tire wear will be worth it. Search the threads and you'll get an idea for what people specify for competition and normal driving alignments.

If you're having trouble finding a shop in your area, try the SCCA Forums, or your regional SCCA club probably has a message board site.

 

Search for the word "tramlining", this is when wide tires follow the ruts and contours of the road. One roads that are uneven the car will go all over the place if you don't hold onto the wheel.

 

its normal if you step in it from a stand still.its the power

 

IIRC, most cars are aligned from the factory to have a very slight drift to the right in order to keep you from falling asleep and drifting into oncoming traffic.

 

What?! ^^ That doesn't make sense. The car wouldn't handle as good and it would be noticable when test driving the car.

 

All paved roads are crowned to allow for water drainage. The other causes of tracking challenges have already been addressed. If the drift is gradual it caused by the crown in the road. If it jerks it wheel ruts. If you start out from a standing start and it pulls fairly firm to the right or left it could be alignment challenges.



What you described sounds more like road crown though. However since the car is still under warranty, having the alignment checked will cost you nothing and provide some peace of mind.



Note: Unlike luxury sedans which absorb much of the imperfections in roads, performance cars feel the imperfections and that is in part what makes them performance cars.

 

I had this problem, took it to the dealer a buttload of times, they aligned it and realigned it over and over....it's probably the roads and tire pressure. Get used to it.

 

No. If they can't align it properly take it to someone that can. I have had mine aligned and it drives perfect. (I bumped into a curb because I had disabled the traction and stability control).

 

I don't want to get used to anything that can harm me or raising the risk of an accident when I can avoid it.....I will get it checked.... I'm scheduling an appointment asap to have it checked out..... I was also wondering it can't be the tires at 17k miles can it??

 

It could definitely be the tires. That's enough mileage on soft rubber tires to cause abnormal wear. Your dealer should be able to examine the tires and let you know if they're contributing to the pulling problem.

 

if you take your hands off the wheel whos driving the car?

 

i noticed as somone mentioned ealier that the car is VERY sensative to road conditions. Not sure if this is tire that come on the car or the suspension. I did notice that every since I put my snow tires on the car does not pull as much on a certain road that I drive everyday. Most likely the tires. Any other input?

 

It's not that strong. It doesn't "pull" to the right - it will drift. When I say "slight" I mean it - you can drive with your hand off the wheel and after about 30 seconds or so your right tire will be on the right road line. I've tested this in every car I've ever bought, so either it's true or it's a function of the road slope.

 

^ Road slope. And it's normal, especially for cars with sensitive steering like the 8.

Chizzer, if you don't feel it pulling with your hands on the wheel, it's likely just the road slope.

 

It sure can. My tires @ 20k miles were shot, no tread to be found. After I got new tires, come to think of it, the major drifting stopped and it's been pretty normal since.

 

I understand, I will second that, after 30seconds a car could drift to the right.

It just sounded like you were commenting that chizzer won't find a fix.

Another possibility is a bent rim. I had one, the drivers side rear wheel didn't realize it till I rotated them to the front. Then it went thunk thunk thunk when I was slowing down coasting not pressing on the brakes.

 

I had my car back at the dealer the day after I bought it having them align it. It was off by a mile. I had thought maybe it was tire pressure, road crown, etc, but it wasn't.
that being said, now that is is aligned properly, I feel the car going where it wants some times.
Don't let go of the wheell, you are not driving a crown victoria :-)

 

The easiest way to test if your drift is caused by road crown is to go to a rural interstate with two lanes in each direction - on straight areas, they are crowned evenly - the right lane will will have about a 2-3 inch slope over the 10 foot width of the lane, and the left lane will have the same.

Drive down the right lane, go hands-off and test, and then repreat with the left lane. If the car is set up right, it will drift the same down both lanes - gradually right in the right lane and gradually left in the left lane.

30 seconds of hands off and it just barely begins to drift? The car is just fine.