Why would an F430 pull to the left on a flat straight road ? Is this a characteristic of vehicle and accepted norm ? Car has 5,000 miles and brand new pirelli tyres all round with a geo completed. Ferrari dealer has checked all componenets, wheels suspension etc under warranty. Any advice appreciated
Common problem with Pirellis. We had so much trouble with the Pirellis at one time Ferrari was warrantying them. I have never before seen a car manufacturer warranty tires. We had zero trouble with Michelin, Goodyear or Bridgestone ever. On Pirelli equipped cars the tires were the first and usually the guilty suspect in handling related problems. I will never own Pirellis. Did it start with the new tires?
I had a pulling left problem that was due to the tyres (not on a Ferrari). I diagnosed it by switching the wheels from left to right - it then pulled the other way!
It's worrying that you would think this to be the norm. If the car is under warranty shouldn't the dealer be chasing down the problem? Surely they can swap the wheels from another stock 430 to eliminate the tyres or rims from the equation....
They probably havent thought about it. Perhaps the OP should pass on Brian's comments about those Pirelli's and have them try other wheels and tyres or switch them from left to right to see if that makes the car pull right like Voicey's car.
Things that will cause a pull: Caster one of the main culprits it determines how the vehicle tracks down the road if caster is not equal side to side it will pull to the side with the most positive caster. Road crown. Tire size/problem. Things that will not cause a pull: Toe because it equalizes side to side and the slack is taken up by the steering wheel allowing it to be off center. Tires scrub sideways going down the road and will cause excessive wear, but both sides are equal which will not cause a pull. Camber does not locate the wheel in conjunction with each other so it will not cause a pull it will just cause uneven wear on the outside or inside of the tire. Thats about the gist of it, you either have a tire, road, or caster problem. Thing is caster is built in to most vehicles and not adjustable meaning on most vehicles something has to be bent (struts, knuckles, or the strut towers in the body, frame where the control arms attach or control arms themselves).
Also how bad is it....if you take your hands off the wheel does it head straight off the road, or is there just a tendancy for the car to drift over to the left?
Respectfully, uneven camber can cause pulling. The car will go toward the side with more positive camber. Incorrect toe settings in the front can cause the car to be more sensitive to road crown. incorrect toe in the rear will cause pulling.
Brand new set of Pirelli Rosso's on the front and a geo seemed to have cured the problem. It was quite bad previously and you had to use your right hand to prevent it even on a very flat stretch of motorway. Alls well that ends well
Funny thing......in 44 years of driving, I've had cars that pulled right or left, and they were all cars that did not have adjustable caster. Each and every time the problem was caused by one wheel (sometimes at the front axle, sometimes at the rear) that was toed out. I can assure you that if you set one wheel correctly and set the other with significant toe out, it will nearly want to jump lanes. Please don't rule out incorrectly set toe. Cheers, Fred R.
