Wheel Alignment Angles: Drift/Pull

Pull is a tugging sensation, felt by the hands on the steering wheel, that must be overcome to keep the vehicle going straight.

Drift describes what a vehicle with this condition does with hands off the steering wheel.

• A vehicle-related drift/pull, on a flat road, will cause a consistent deviation from the straight-ahead path and require constant steering input in the opposite direction to counteract the effect.
• Drift/pull may be induced by conditions external to the vehicle (wind, road crown).

Poor Groove Feel -   Poor groove feel is characterized by little or no buildup of turning effort felt in the steering wheel as the wheel is rocked slowly left and right within very small turns around center or straight-ahead (under 20 degrees of steering wheel turn). Efforts may be said to be "flat on center."

• Under 20 degrees of turn, most of the turning effort that builds up comes from the mesh of gear teeth in the steering gear. In this range, the steering wheel is not yet turned enough to feel the effort from the self-aligning forces at the road wheel or tire patch.
• In the diagnosis of a roadability problem, it is important to understand the difference between wander and poor groove feel.