I have a 2004 JCW with an odd handling issue. When accelerating, it feels like the front of the car lifts up, the steering moves 5-10 degrees to the right, and the car turns left. When decelerating, the steering goes back to normal which makes the car feel like it is diving right.

I autocross the car so I have a pretty aggressive toe and camber settings. The car was aligned in the last month but I am not discounting an alignment problem. The last few events were hard on my tires so I am going to rotate them before bringing it to a shop.

The pull does not feel like torque steer. The wheel isn't moving or tugging in my hands. The car is just going left.

My current thought is control arm bushings. I am looking around for a potentially cheaper solution.

I did a search for this and was not able to find a definitive answer for a pull up and to the left under acceleration.

 

I'd guess the control arm bushings. Mine pulled all over the place before I replaced mine.

Nik

 

Had same problem. The right ball joint was loose, tightened bolts and was fine.

 

I'd do as said above and check all bushing/suspension components for wear. When is the last time you had an alignment? Any uneven tire wear?

 

Alignment was done in the last month. The car has two autocrosses on it since then. Tire wear is about what I am expecting.

The right front wheel fails the kick test described in this video
I will pull the wheels off tonight and take a look.

 

Did this start after the alignment? If so then maybe they forgot to tighten something.

 

I would suspect FCA bushings first.
A dead FCAB can be hard to diagnose visually. They don't disintegrate, mainly lose their resistance and sometimes tear.
Shop ought to have noticed and told you if they suspected worn ball joints or tie rod ends, they're more likely to miss those bushings though.
If you drive hard definitely look into replacing with poly bushings.