Had wheel alignment done

[Adrian E]

Thought I'd post this here as it's probably of general interest rather than D2 specific

I dropped the car in last Friday as I've not felt the handling was as it should be ever since having my upper front arms changed 5,000 miles ago (that was in October '12 though!). I knew it wasn't right as the steering wheel was slightly offset to one side but the steering seemed very nervous just off straight ahead. I knew my tyres back then were well over half worn so probably partly to blame but as we get near summer I wanted it sorted - especially as I wanted to rotate the Michelin Super Sports I've been 'running in' on the rear since last September moved onto the front ready for the other pair to be changed in the Spring.

Here's the before and after print out:



I was quite surprised how far out the rear wheels were in terms of toe - the geometrical driving axis is basically how badly the car is 'crabbing' - both of which will at least in part explain why my old rear tyres took such a hammering on the inner shoulders!

The camber on the front they weren't able to do anything about - it's most likely worn bushes if memory serves of the explanation when I picked the car up. The track curve and toe were also out on the front, which explains the wayward handling just off centre and under braking - so glad that's sorted!
The track curve is a tiny bit out still but it's in the measurement error difference so happy with that. The total toe value I reckon might result in improved fuel economy as it must've been scrubbing a fair bit at speed.

Numbers are all well and good but I could instantly feel the difference when I drove off in the car which is what I was hoping for. Just goes to show that not all alignment kit is created equal. Cost a fair bit (2 hrs labour) but will hopefully save me a load in premature tyre wear and allow me to enjoy the car properly again

ETA - don't worry about the quoted wheel size - according to ElsaWin it's only used to check track width which wasn't required as the car hasn't been smashed! It's just the default value for the model.

Adrian

[mannyo]

Looks good, its amazing what a decent 4WA can do.

[Goran]

Just out of curiosity how much did it cost?

[Dezzy]

I recently paid £42 for a full track, i have the print out in the car i'll go get it soon and scan it in, be interesting to compare the results. I asked them to set the toe to cancel out the affect of having too much camber on the front, same as last time to save the insides of the tyres.

[Somerandomguy]

I would be interested in the final price too- i have just spent almost a week replacing all of the arms on my D3 and had to completely remove the hub carrier to remove the pinch bolts, so am in need of an alignment.

I was expecting to go to the dealers, be your guys may be better value..
Thanks

[Adrian E]

Originally Posted by Goran

Just out of curiosity how much did it cost?

2 hours labour at £61+VAT - way cheaper than the main dealer who've previously quoted me £250 as a basic cost for 2 adjustments plus another £100-odd for any single further adjustment required!

Dezzy - is that using Dunlop gauges sat on the tyres or pukka kit sat on the wheel face? For the latter they clean the wheel faces, put masking tape on to protect your wheels and the alignment tools sit on the spokes themselves

[Dezzy]

The kit used was Beissbarth link uses the rim face to read measurements, but also uses the tyre to stop it falling off, but it doesn't use the tyre to take readings.

[Adrian E]

That's decent value for money then we have to pay the south east tax lol

[Dezzy]

I'm sure it's a relative with wages in the area too mate, and probably why my jaw drops open at the cost of some things Devon wages and London prices, i'm not tight honest

[Dave McB]

I got my car done the other month for a fast road set up - it now drives beautifully.

Id thoroughly recommend