Pulling to the left under heavy acceleration

[Barney]

Hi all,

Just bought a BRM yesterday. Noticed today that under heavy acceleration it pulls sharply to the left. It is particularly noticeable when changing gears. When driving normally however it is perfectly fine.

Just wandering if anyone has any suggestions on what the problem could be. It might just be my driving so will give it awhile longer to see if it "goes away" once I get used to the car.

Also he brake pads badly need to be replaced. Can anyone suggest a good make? I always used ebc green stuff pads on my mx5 which worked great but have heard bad things about them recently. Can I also just check its the same pads that the 200vi uses?

[garythesnail]

BRM brake discs and pads are same as for a Vi.

I can't help with the pulling one side issue (unless it is brake related in itself!) but simple things like tyre wear / pressure and even different manufacturer's tyres on the front may make a difference - then move on to alignment of front wheels, but what you're describing sounds as though it may be a bit more severe than that.

[Barney]

Thanks for the confirmation on the brakes, will try and get some sorted to fit at the weekend.

I was wondering if the pulling to the left could be an issue with the LSD as it is only under heavy acceleration (I don't know much about the LSD to be honest so just a wild guess). It

Still haven't ruled out that it is driver error yet either :)

I will check the tyre wear and pressure though anyway (but it seems a bit worse than poor alignment).

[BRMark]

Mine used to do that, it was very figity under heavy acceleration and when I changed up it would lurch to one side - I did have a bubble in one of the front tyres, both fronts were also worn down and mismatched in make - now I've got a new pair on the front and it's a different car.

[Barney]

Thanks a lot. Would prefer it to be an issue with the tyres over something wrong with the LSD :)

[Adam]

They do suffer a little torque steer, but it shouldn't be excessively bad. I'm assuming you have the original alloys on the car, as larger wheels can exacerbate the problem?

[Barney]

Yeah it still has the original alloys on it. It didn't seem quite as bad today so it could partly be just my driving (used to a rwd car with next to no weight at the back end). Want to get some new brake pads fitted at the weekend anyway so might take it in to get them done and get the wheel alignment and tyres checked at the same time.

[Adam]

Did you check the tyre pressures? The alloys are renowned for have a poor seal and letting air out slowly, I ended up having mine refurbished to eliminate this.

[BRMark]

Did you check the tyre pressures? The alloys are renowned for have a poor seal and letting air out slowly, I ended up having mine refurbished to eliminate this.

Amen to that! my rears leak 15psi a week! :eek:

[Adam]

Amen to that! my rears leak 15psi a week! :eek:

Sort it out then :chair:

[BRMark]

I've got the new wheels and they're ready to take paint......... just haven't got round to it yet, I'm blaming the weather! :shutup:

[Shaggy]

Mine did this a little, i put 2 new tyres on the front and it cured it.

Although it does torque steer a little as Adam mentioned.