Here is the deal.

A few weeks ago I got a 89 crx si w a b16 swap for a winter car. The car has been lowered on tokiko struts and eibahn springs all around and does not have a camber kit.

The car pulled incredibly hard to the right. Like if you let off the wheel you are in the ditch. The inside of the front tires are pretty chewed up...the drivers side inner is chewed up worse.

The alignment place replaced the pass side tie rod end and did an alignment. They were able to get the pass side into alignment but ran into problems on the drivers side. After a test drive it is still pulling hard to the right. They said that the drivers side upper control arm seemed bent and needed replaced.

If you look at the car from the front the front tires look like this...


l \

Not that extreme but you get the idea.

Now, is it possible that the drivers side upper control arm is bent and causing the car to pull to the right? Or is there something else I should check for?

 

Unequal camber could definately cause it to pull. When they did the alignment did they give you a print out of before and after? What were the camber angles at?

 

I did not get a print out.

 

Another thing that might or might not matter...

If I look at the control arms while the car is sitting on the ground, the drivers side control arm seems to be tucked into the fender higher than the passengers side one.

 

I know this is stupid, but you do know that toe is the most severe tire wearing angle correct?

 

the positioning you are describing sounds like you have some serious toe issues. that should be mostly taken care of by adjusting the tie rod ends. your passenger side tie rod needs to be tightened (wound on further) to pull the passenger side wheel more straight. The alignment people should have been able to take care of that.

a bent upper control arm would more likely be causing caster issues, which would cause your car to not want to steer back straight after you go around a corner. but it could cause camber issues too if the axis of damage (lol) is not forward and back, but left and right.

either way, getting printouts or more information in terms of actual alignment numbers to us can help you figure this out.

 

I will try to get a printout of the before and after.

 

I cannot get the printout but was told that my camber was approximately 1.8 degrees negative on the drivers side. They got the pass side within the specs. Looking at the drivers side you can see it is tilted like this \. Is there any reason that I would need a camber kit on one side but not the other?

 

If one side was lower than the other, but we're talking significantly lower. I'd say bent suspension components. If the upper control arm is bent, replace that for starters.

How did they adjust camber on the pass side? They can't adjust it unless you have a camber kit or adjustable ride height...

 

They already told you the upper control arm is bent.

REPLACE IT. and then go from there.