Vehicle Leads/Pulls

Vehicle Lead/Pull Diagnosis (Part 1 Of 2):

Vehicle Lead/Pull Diagnosis (Part 2 Of 2):

Lead/Pull is the deviation of the vehicle from a straight path, on a level road with no pressure on the steering wheel.
Lead/Pull is generally caused by:
^ A misconstructed tire.
^ An uneven brake adjustment.
^ A misaligned wheel.

- Inspect for mismatched or uneven tires.
- Inspect for broken or sagging springs.
- Inspect for radial tire lateral force.
- Inspect the wheel alignment
- Inspect for dragging of the front brake.
- Inspect for high friction in the ball joints or the strut mounts.
- Inspect for unbalanced pinion and valve.


The way in which a tire is built can produce lead in a vehicle. An example of this is placement of the belt. Off-center belts on radial tires can cause the tire to develop a side force while rolling straight down the road and the tire will tend to roll like a cone.

The Radial Tire Lead/Pull Correction chart should be used in order to ensure that the front wheel alignment is not mistaken for tire lead. Rear tires will not cause lead.