Miata Mailing List: June 1998, Message #398

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So I went to LS1.5.  'twas good fun--my first track experience.  The car
did well, I didn't break anything, etc. etc.  

However.  The car did understeer somewhat more than expected; I'd just
installed FM Sways two days prior to the event.  Front bar was on the
outer setting; rear bar was on the middle setting.  Tire pressures were
correct.  Tires were good (SP8000s, 195/55-14).  Despite my bulk, car
was not especially off-balance.  

So I was a bit confused.  Plaintively, I wrote to Bill and Aaron and
whimpered a bit.  "How," I pleaded, "might I vanquish the evil effects
of understeerage?  I already have leather..."  

Bill politely suggested that driver technique was at fault :)  

Aaron suggested playing with tire pressures.  

None of the three of us, however, asked what turned out to be an
important question.  How was my alignment?  

I'd been meaning to get Miq's specs installed on le car prior to LS1.5
but hadn't found the time.  So I wandered down to Midas last weekend and
had them put the car on the rack.  

"Tell me," says the technician.  "Does your car actually go in a
straight line?"  

Aha.  Problem solved.  It turns out that the left front was several
degrees out of kilter.  No idea why.  But he fixed it, and I waved a
Goodyear discount coupon at them and got $30 off their regular price.  

The front end was in fact so wrong that, when I'd mounted my Momo back
in January and had visually centered the wheel on the splined shaft, it
was now several degrees of rotation off-center when the front end was
corrected.  

So:  all of you who bought your cars second-hand, double-check to make
sure the previous owner didn't make a habit of driving into curbs or
that sort of thing.  

The car now behaves as expected.  I proved this when doing a u-turn
outside my racquet club, when I punched it as usual and found myself
doing most of a 180.  Whoops.  I don't punch it there anymore.  

twj
'96 LP+
that goes in a straight line
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