Highway lane drifting... (poll)

How many of you have experienced your car suddenly drifting out of the lane your in? It seems to happen a bit. - Mike

wind?

[quote name='Deer Killer']wind?[/QUOTE] The Legacy is that easily moved by wind.... damn. Might be, I dunno, it seems to drift into other lanes from time to time. - Mike

I believe the low profile tires on the GT are more susceptible to imperfections in the road. Compared to, say a 60-series tire, the GT's 45-series will follow the crown a lot more. Coming from a Forester S, it was strange to feel so much feedback from the road. I did notice that after a couple thousand miles, the tendency to drift was less. I attribute that to the tires breaking in. Ken

Well for me, not anymore. The reason I found my car drifting was because the whole car was set up wrong from the factory. For example, the fronts pointed to the right and the rears pointed to the left. Effectively, my car was dragging down the road. I got it fixed ASAP and didnt take it to SoAU to be fixed because I wanted experts to make sure it was right. Once this happened and at a cost of AUD65, the car drove straight. I shouldnt have had to pay as this should have been fixed by Subaru FOC (Free Of Charge) but decided it wasnt worth the arguements. Adam.

Double check the wheel alignments and tyre pressure.... There could be a lot of reasons for any car to drift...

on a curving highway going 90....the RE92's float... sucks

I just took my LGT out on the highway for the first time yesterday and had a similar feeling. The front end wandered slightly from left to right while the steering wheel didn't move at all. Not sure if it was wind, road imperfections (trucks sometimes put indentations in the pavement) or tires still getting broken in. I'll have to see if it gets better.

The Legacy's steering doesn't (IMO) have a very strong self-centering tendancy - it tends to move around in it's lane if I'm not paying attention. I personally would prefer a slighty more weighted on-center feel. I am assuming this is a steering geometry issue, although a simple tire change on my last car switched it's character completly in this regard.

Mine is an Outback XT. It doesn't drift on the highway that I've noticed. It odes, however, like to wander quickly over the crown of the road and head toward a guardrail at low speeds. Any car would, but this one likes you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times.

[quote name='jedimaster'] Any car would, but this one likes you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times.[/QUOTE] Ever driven an STI? :P

I would not say that mine was "drifting", but I definitely felt some "dancing" of the tires at highway speed. I am hoping that this is just the tires, as I know that some tires require a few hundred miles to getthat external hard layer off of them.

[quote name='Legacy05GT']on a curving highway going 90....the RE92's float... sucks[/QUOTE] I have the superior Potenza RE050A but suffer a similar "jumping" around at high speeds. I have to concentrate when driving to keep the car straight. I'm beginning to suspect it's a lack of positive caster or even loose front wheels. Or is it just a sensitive steering ratio? It was really bad just before my first service. They swapped the tires front/back and it improved a lot. I wonder if they also tightened something. The problem is not that great at the moment so I will put up with it for now. I find lowering the pressures help (32-34) but that means more fuel and wear on the tires. One other thing I've noticed is when I drive down a driveway and steer to the left, and at the same time apply the brakes ever so lightly, I often hear a clunck. Not sure if this is related. I've been tempted to jack up the car to try and see if the wheel(s) are loose. Probably should take it to a wheel/suspension specialist - definitelly will if the steering gets as bad as before.

The roads are all crowned.completely normal on all cars to some degree.

No problems at 120mph or with cross winds. Keep your hands on that Momo.

[quote name='fan42025']I have the superior Potenza RE050A but suffer a similar "jumping" around at high speeds. I have to concentrate when driving to keep the car straight. I'm beginning to suspect it's a lack of positive caster or even loose front wheels. Or is it just a sensitive steering ratio? It was really bad just before my first service. They swapped the tires front/back and it improved a lot. I wonder if they also tightened something. The problem is not that great at the moment so I will put up with it for now. I find lowering the pressures help (32-34) but that means more fuel and wear on the tires. One other thing I've noticed is when I drive down a driveway and steer to the left, and at the same time apply the brakes ever so lightly, I often hear a clunck. Not sure if this is related. I've been tempted to jack up the car to try and see if the wheel(s) are loose. Probably should take it to a wheel/suspension specialist - definitelly will if the steering gets as bad as before.[/QUOTE] You think your wheels are loose and maybe you'll check it out if the steering gets as bad as before?? Gee, I'm not sure but I think I would probably, if I had time and could find the lug wrench in the trunk, just possibly check the lug nuts. Or, I could just wait until something falls off and kills me. I'm not a wheel specialist, so I'm not qualified to check the lug nuts. I'm just not sure, so I'll wait.:lol::lol::lol:

Check the warranty problems forum on here. I posted a thread about my troubles with car alignment. I finally got another dealer to fix the problem. My castor and toes were off. The rear tires were toed incorrectly and off by 5/32". They fixed the issues and now my car drives more or less straight! I'm so happy now... Get your problems checked out and fixed. Also, just as a side note, according to SAS policies, they will only fix your alignment once under warranty... So if the dealer is unable to fix it, make sure you stay until it is fixed.. All subsequent fixes is on your own dime.

I havent had any issues with the stearing, i would get it checked out

SOA is working on getting new alignment specs for the 2005 LGT. Currently almost every car seems to drift to the right. Some worse than others. There's been posts about this before. My car also drifts to the right, and when driving perfectly straight down the road, the steering wheel is about 1/4 of an inch off center to the right. It's there all the time, you are only noticing it at highway speeds though, obviously because the feeling is magnified by the speed. My dealer told me they hope to have the new specs by the end of this month. I will certainly take my car in to have it adjusted, even though it's not as bad as some.

[quote name='STG']You think your wheels are loose and maybe you'll check it out if the steering gets as bad as before?? Gee, I'm not sure but I think I would probably, if I had time and could find the lug wrench in the trunk, just possibly check the lug nuts. Or, I could just wait until something falls off and kills me. I'm not a wheel specialist, so I'm not qualified to check the lug nuts. I'm just not sure, so I'll wait.:lol::lol::lol:[/QUOTE] Nice one I actually meant the wheel bearings. Not sure about front/AWD cars. In the past I had old RWD cars and used to check the bearings myself (re-grease, tighten, etc.).

Hmmm. Well in Oz we drive on the left side of the road and my car vears to the left most of the time. To prove it was the road and not the car I taped a spirit level on the centre console. I tried all sorts of road and found some that were level and some that sloped the other way. Conclusion: the car was OK - it's the road (and the low profiles make it more sensitive). [quote name='Driver72']SOA is working on getting new alignment specs for the 2005 LGT. Currently almost every car seems to drift to the right. Some worse than others. [/QUOTE]

I'll have to try the bubble level thing. But on several different roads that looked and felt level, my car will always drift to the right. I can drive those same roads in my other cars, take my hands off the wheel and drive straight for hundreds of feet, if not more. With the LGT, I have to constantly apply a bit pressure (down on the left) to keep the car within the lane. Otherwise, within a second or so, I'm drifting towards the right.

[quote name='Driver72']SOA is working on getting new alignment specs for the 2005 LGT. Currently almost every car seems to drift to the right. Some worse than others. There's been posts about this before. My car also drifts to the right, and when driving perfectly straight down the road, the steering wheel is about 1/4 of an inch off center to the right. It's there all the time, you are only noticing it at highway speeds though, obviously because the feeling is magnified by the speed. My dealer told me they hope to have the new specs by the end of this month. I will certainly take my car in to have it adjusted, even though it's not as bad as some.[/QUOTE] My car is similar. Good to know that the dealers will know it and address it as well.

[quote name='Deer Killer']Ever driven an STI? :P[/QUOTE] Same steering ratio? This isn't what I thought this threat was going to be about at all.... :redface:

[quote name='Driver72']SOA is working on getting new alignment specs for the 2005 LGT. [/QUOTE] Where did you hear that? I've also noticed a very slight tendency to drift to the right even when on a relatively flat stretch of road. I was debating on having the dealer look at it next time or take it to a specialty alignment shop. Ken