DangerousDave

Hi guys,

First post here as Ive just purchased my 04 rx8 231 3 weeks ago. The car in question although travelled 82'000 miles is in immaculate condition.

Being the first time driving one, the car appears to tug occasionally to the left quite hard. At first i thought it might have been the camber on the road. However it will track straight with a slight deviation to the left...

it feels like it finds a track in the road and pulls in that direction...

Now i am wondering as i DID disconnect the battery a little while ago..and had the DSC light flash. Not knowing what it was at the time i continued to drive home by which the DSC stopped blinking.

Could it be the steering sensor not callibrated correctly causing this, or could it be a more serious issue..

any input would be greatly appreciated...


Dave
London

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

last time the car was aligned?

DangerousDave

well that's what i was saying.. it generally tracks straight... with a slight deviation left.. but it changes to a tug left occasionally...

as to WHEN it was done..as i said .. ive had it 3 weeks..

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

So probably not aligned any time recently. You can't assume someone did the alignment just before you got it. If you have more than factory recommended camber, the tires will follow the lines of the road quite a bit harder. Alot of the roads around me "yank" on the steering wheel as I drive down them.

99% of the time, this will come down to tire pressures and/or alignment. If both of them end up checking out, then there are a few rare issues it could be.

DangerousDave

cheers... no i realised at the time of purchase the car may have req'd a wheel alignment as the front tyres are slightly worn on the outter edge..

but as i said the pull to the left is slight.. its just the tugging like the car suddenly hits rails which has me concerned..and wondering if it comes down to the steering callibration of the dsc..

cheers for the posts guys...

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

It's possible. An easy fix if so though. Pop the negative cable on the battery, wait 30 seconds, reconnect, get in the 8, turn the steering wheel the whole way to the lock one way, then to the lock the other way.

If less than full lock was done last time, that could be the issue.

zoom44

tramlining. with our suspension and wide tires it happens.

get the alignment done , double check the condition of the tires

DangerousDave

cheers for the steering calibration info...will try in the morning...

as for tyres and suspension set up... my previous ride was a 180sx running 19x8.5 and 19x9.5 rears with tannabe street spec damper adjustables.. i know what your saying about tram lining.. but it seems strange to occasionally suffer from it in a stock vehicle..

zoom44

its quite normal for a stock rx-8 with the oem tires etc

Mazurfer

Yep..............it's tires(tramlining) and then probably compounded somewhat by alignment.

calenlas

To do the DSC calibration don't you need the key in the 'On' position?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes, the internal computer has to be on in order to capture the information you are trying to send it.

DangerousDave

cheers guys, just about to go test it...


and i'll check the tyre pressure while i'm out testing it...

DangerousDave

boys boys boys!!!

you rock ma socks!

just re-calibrated the dsc sensor using that above technique and instantly changed the way it drove.

Then thought it wise to check the pressures and discovered i was running 23psi in the left and 27 in the right.

it might have seemed like a stupid post... but the issue has been there before i changed the battery and so i assumed that it may have been a characteristic of the car.. albeit a rather odd one to build into a car..

cheers fellas.. if your ever over London way.. i'll sort you out a beer!

cheers!

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Glad to hear we were right and it was a free fix


I remember when I got my first Mazda, a Protege5, and I was having a sensation of near snap-loose oversteer when braking, the harder the brake, the more the sensation. I posted up about it on another forum looking for help, and most of the responses I got were "welcome to better handling, now learn to drive". It ended up being a tire pressure problem, fixed the tire (wouldn't hold more than ~19psi or so), and it went to "balanced".

DangerousDave

its always the simple fixes...which baffle the most knowledgeable...

like calling for road side assist after trying to start in Drive...

Mazurfer

Well............to be honest, I for one would've thought you checked the pressure already, but I am glad it's fixed!
Also, I guess you don't have the tire pressure sensors or you would've known that.

I don't think the DCS calibration did anything at all in this case, but it certainly couldn't have hurt.

Say......about the beer...........when an Aussie is in London, does he drink the warm beer, or find a cold one?