[Shop-talk] Car pulls left

[Jim Franklin]

With a bunch of car folks here maybe someone has some insight? I am pulling (what's left of) my hair out.

I bought a 2013 Mazda3 in January after an exhaustive search for a wagon with a stick. With only 55k miles, I justified the hugely inflated price tag. During the test drive I noticed a shake in the front end as well as a pull to the left. 

Fast forward: The dealer aligned it 3 times, rebalanced wheels twice, and then a local shop checked and said the alignment was in spec. The local shop swapped front tires L-R and the pull completely went away but the shake didn't (shop said rims were bent). 

Because the shake would come and go as I took long but gently sweeping curves, I figured the tires were both faulty and the faults were going in and out of phase as I traversed the curve. I bought bew tires (Michelin Pilot A/S 4) and the pull came back strongly. Local shop again swapped front tires L-R and the pull is greatly reduced but still there. Shake is gone until 85mph. 

I find steering pull to be very distracting unless there's a reason for it (road crown etc). On a flat road I need it to not pull. Tire pressures are fine, brakes aren't dragging. Could my car just be super sensitive to imperfect alignments? Could there be a bent suspension item that wouldn't show up in an alignment (the bent rims suggest a few good hits). Is my local shop just too lazy to make adjustments to what might be very generous manufacturer's tolerance numbers? I've attached the alignment printout.

I'm ready to ditch this car and buy almost anything else just so it won't pull. It's like an itch on my back I can't scratch. 

thanks,
jim

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