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Brakes & Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
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09-12-2018, 03:58 AM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 491335
Join Date: Sep 2018
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2018 STi RA Alignment Issues
Over a week ago I bought a WRX STi RA edition. From the moment I drove it off of the lot it had alignment issues. It was pulling to the right. I took it to Subaru service and they re-aligned the vehicle. After the realignment the right front caster was still off, and it was still pulling to the right.
Subaru of America was contacted and they said it could be a tire issue since you can’t adjust for caster in a STi. They changed the right front tire. That didn’t fix the issue. As of now an engineer from Subaru is being dispatched to the shop to see why the alignment is so far off. They are still saying it’s an issue with the tires, but it seems to me like it’s more than just tires. Has anyone driven or purchased a 2018 STi or STi RA with alignment issues like I’m having? What did Subaru do to try and fix it? Did it fix it? So far my vehicle qualifies for a refund under the lemon law and I’m thinking that might be my best course of action. This was car has been in the shop more days than I’ve driven it at this point because they can’t determine the root cause of the issue
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09-12-2018, 12:06 PM | #2 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 445600
Join Date: Apr 2016
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: SE PA
Vehicle:2002 Outback Sport Green |
Quote:
Welcome to the forum. Would you kindly put your location so we know about where you're live? I work for a dealer and I would like to help, but you could be thousands of miles from me for all I know. With that out of the way, I must say I have noticed a few recent threads discussing this very issue. Apparently there is a claim of a bad batch of Yokohama tires? At the dealer, I haven't heard anything about this yet. Do you have a printout of the alignment you could post? Caster does not make a vehicle pull. There's still no reason it should be out of spec, though. Camber that is mismatched side to side will cause a pull. Sloppy techs may notice that it's "green" and just leave it at that. If there is a tire pull, the dealer should have rotated the tires first to see if the problem changed. If it didn't, it's not a tire pull. I assume they set the tire pressures correctly? To me, claiming lemon law is harsh for just an alignment problem. If SOA is involved, it could take a week or two to get approvals for things that might need replacement. Be patient, let them figure out the problem. If you're anywhere near SE Pennsylvania, I'd be glad to help. |
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09-12-2018, 03:53 PM | #3 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 120
Join Date: Jul 1999
Chapter/Region:
AKIC
Location: Where the Navy sends me...
Vehicle:1997 Legacy 2.5GT 1996 Impreza coupe |
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09-12-2018, 06:21 PM | #4 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 445600
Join Date: Apr 2016
Chapter/Region:
Tri-State
Location: SE PA
Vehicle:2002 Outback Sport Green |
My apologies, I stand corrected. I mixed up "pulling" with "tire wear". Bad caster does not cause tire wear.
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09-12-2018, 08:22 PM | #5 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 29292
Join Date: Nov 2002
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: Orange County CA
Vehicle:2004 WRX wagon silver |
Quote:
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09-14-2018, 01:53 PM | #6 |
Merci Buckets
Moderator Member#: 88606
Join Date: Jun 2005
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Michigan
Vehicle:2018 Grand Cherokee Velvet Red Pearl |
I presume you've tried driving on a multitude of roads to make sure it's not just a crowned, grooved, or worn road causing your issues?
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09-14-2018, 01:58 PM | #7 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 329822
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: NorCal
Vehicle:2016 STi WRB |
Post alignment sheet please! From my experience with these cars that the rear camber is more negative on left rear tire. If that’s your case it will cause pulling problems. The camber on front and rear should be the same numbers not different numbers side to side. The fix is to buy rear lower control arms due to rear not being adjustable.
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09-18-2018, 12:09 AM | #8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 491335
Join Date: Sep 2018
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I picked the vehicle up today with 4 new tires and SOA had the shop align it to these specs. Thoughts?
Left Front Camber -0.4 Caster 6.4 Toe 0.14 Right Front Camber -0.8 Caster 6.1 Toe 0.14 Left Rear Camber -2.0 Toe 0.00 Right Rear Camber -2.0 Toe 0.00 Steer Ahead and Thrust Angle are both at 0.00. Total Toe up front is at 0.28 |
09-18-2018, 08:19 PM | #9 | |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 82745
Join Date: Mar 2005
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: So Cal
Vehicle:2005 Subaru STI 2003 EJ207 S204 Wagon |
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09-18-2018, 08:48 PM | #10 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 141952
Join Date: Feb 2007
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: milwaukee'ish
Vehicle:2023 M340i |
i think you are overestimating most dealer techs and their level of care. if its in spec they arent going to make any adjustments if they dont have to. time is money and they get paid the same for not touching it. 99% or customers would never notice. when you go in for stuff like this, tell them you are picky and what you want the #'s to look like. if they arent willing to get those #'s then tell them you will switch to a dealer that wants your business.
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09-19-2018, 07:16 AM | #11 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 491335
Join Date: Sep 2018
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I eneded up going to an professional alignment shop that works on race cars as well as passenger cars. They said for what I’m using the vehicle for those numbers are just fine where they’re at. Thanks for the replies all!
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02-26-2019, 08:38 PM | #12 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 498332
Join Date: Feb 2019
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2018 WRX STI RA acceleration/alignment problem
Quote:
Hey man! I bought the same car in May of 2018. The day I pulled it off I thought the same thing. I brought it back and mentioned the problem as well to all American Subaru in old brridge New Jersey where I bought the car from. They mentioned an issue with the tires as well. When brought it the service manager said it was an alignment issue. I got the car back thought it was less noticeable but still there. Been driving since. A week ago I popped my front right tire. They replaced under warranty new Yokohama tire. Soon as I pulled off it was like the first day I bought it. Soon as you go through first and second gear you have to hold the wheel to the left to keep it from steering to the right aggressively. I love the car so much I didn’t want to admit an issue. However I’m starting to get concerned it’s more serious than an alignment. Looking to hear what happened with you RA. -Michael |
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02-28-2019, 01:08 PM | #13 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 491335
Join Date: Sep 2018
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Quote:
For what it’s worth my RA has been good since they swapped all 4 tires out and realigned it. That being said I’ll probably switch over to Michelin Pilot Sports in the future. I’m not a big fan of the Yokos on it Best of luck. Hope to see you out there sometime! |
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02-28-2019, 03:47 PM | #14 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 2272
Join Date: Sep 2000
Chapter/Region:
BAIC
Location: Fire Caves
Vehicle:2019 Macan 4cyl 1993 Impreza FWD WRX swap |
No issues with my Type-RA pulling, but the alignment was off from the factory a bit, miss matching toe front and rear.
Having worked at both a dealer and a private shop, I would never trust a dealer to do the alignment I want. As mentioned, if its "green" on the machine they won't do anything. With my Subarus I usually zero out the toe all around and run as much negative front camber as possible with the stock bolts. Car drives great now and won't eat front tires as much during Autox/track days. |
03-04-2019, 12:25 PM | #15 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 498332
Join Date: Feb 2019
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The car's alignment isn't the issue I believe. when I drive and my foot is off the acceleration it stays perfect in lane. when I accelerate the car literally steers to the right only on the acceleration through any gear and at all speeds.
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04-28-2019, 08:31 PM | #16 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 489946
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Saratoga NY
Vehicle:2019 STI CWP |
Hi guys,
I have a stock 19 that i bought at the end of Aug. Two months ago I noticed my steering is just a few degrees to the right. If I center it, it pulls to the left. I am going to set an appointment with my dealership for an alignment.. Anyone have a solution? Thanks |
04-28-2019, 11:05 PM | #17 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 472037
Join Date: Jul 2017
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Vehicle:2018 WRX Limited CWP |
Quote:
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04-29-2019, 07:15 PM | #18 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 489946
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Saratoga NY
Vehicle:2019 STI CWP |
Quote:
Whoaa! Seriously. So im aligning the turn signal and wiper stalks? Tomorrow morning I'm going to check this out... |
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12-04-2022, 12:49 PM | #19 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 233191
Join Date: Dec 2009
Chapter/Region:
International
Location: Toronto, ON
Vehicle:2005 Legacy GT Red |
So I installed lowering springs on my 2018 Type RA.... I also installed an upper strut tower brace. The brace needed a couple love taps to get it to clear the passenger side top hat bolts. That was clue 1, that ignored.
Remove and reinstall of the struts were straight forward.... Until I got to the front passenger side... What a pain in the butt!!!! I should have known, when I needed to "pop" the strut out with a rubber mallet.. Trying to reinstall this thing, damn!! It was nothing like the driver side. End result, I needed to drill out (widen) one top hat bolt opening, to get this thing back in. Then add some elbow grease. Eventually got it in... Then had to get the two main bolts ack in... Air hammer made an appearance here. So is this related to the issue you are all having? Just throwing it out there. |
12-07-2022, 01:51 AM | #20 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 519868
Join Date: Nov 2020
Location: Chicago
Vehicle:2010 Impreza WRX Satin White Pearl |
Quote:
I had this issue on my 2010 WRX that I assume was on stock top hats at 117k. They had 'bowed out', which was realized when going to reinstall because there was no way they were going back in. Ended up with new STi top hats. 14k miles later did a suspension upgrade again and the top hats didn't seem to go in as smoothly as they did last time. No hammering or anything was necessary but I felt they had ever so slightly bowed out again. Probably best to just replace them, which is what I would've done if I were you. |
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