Recently I took my 2003 Corolla CE for an alignment. According to the machine, they left it almost perfect. It is now much better than it was. If the road is flat, the car goes straight if I let go of the wheel. But sometimes the roads are slanted, I guess to drive the rain water to the sides and if I let go it tends to go to the right. I wonder if that's a common condition for the Corollas.
As always, I appreciate your comments.
Thank you.
That's common for almost all cars. You're correct that roads are slanted, usually to the right (although on roads where there is a median, the right lane(s) may slope to the right and the left lane(s) to the left).
If the roads were sloped a bit, the rain would build up and it would be easy to hydroplane. Plus, in the winter, the ice and snow would melt, but the water would buildup and refreeze at night.
jeff
Yep. Like porch floors. Sort of.
Cathy
and if I let go it tends to go to the right. I
Roads are slightly slanted to drain rain water. Highway engineers are worth their keep sometimes. :)
It sounds like your car is performing normally. The tendency for the car to drift to the right when the road is canted to the right is a common condition in all cars, not just Corollas.
I've always heard that they made cars go slightly to the right on purpose because someone might fall asleep and hopefully that would get them off the road semi-safely.
I believe it's a common condition for all cars...
Think about this: the curves at most race tracks are banked. Can you guess why?
I thought it was because most roads are slightly higher in the centre, for drainage purposes. That might require a continual correction to the left, were it not for a slight off-centre setting of the vehicle's setting. (This would be reversed in England, for example, where one "keeps left".) Of course, I am just guessing!
"Hachiroku" ...
Centripetal force counteractant. Tomes
That is an urban legend. Cars will tend to drift to the right due to the crown in the road, not due to the suspension setting in a passenger car.
A car's tendency to move in a straight line can be enhanced with more positive caster, however, the car will not corner quite as quickly as it would with less caster, and more effort is needed to turn the steering wheel, although power steering has made the effort point moot.
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