wheel alignment

[Dy_]

got my alignment done today. and the guy said because its a honda its easy so he didnt use the computer but instead done it with a couple of wrenches.

something just doesnt sound right to me.

although it has stopped my car from gliding do the left.

what do yous think?

[Tu88y]

Did he even use the Laser

That sounds dodgy man You have to adjust it accordingly

But then he could be experience with it

[neil1112]

bring it back?..im getting my car back right now with new tyres so ill let u know how it feels.

:)

[joey99]

I went to goodyear service center once to get new tyres .... then this kid or apprentice my alignment ... when I went back to proconcept a week later, he said the alignment was way way off! So I had to do it again. Don't know how you could check though other than taking it to another person. But if it's solved your problem .. it's probably ok....but who knows really.

[Dy_]

didnt use a laser or anything. but it looks like he was tryna align it with his eyes? as he was standing back taking a good look after he adjusted it with the wrenches.

taking it to another place to check would entail extra money.

[vinnY]

its adjusted by wrenches but you definitely can't do it by eye
last two alignments i've done they've put it on a hoist and hooked up the laser units to the wheels and aligned it infront of me
if someone claimed they can do it by eye you just got ripped off imo

[Dy_]

its adjusted by wrenches but you definitely can't do it by eye
last two alignments i've done they've put it on a hoist and hooked up the laser units to the wheels and aligned it infront of me
if someone claimed they can do it by eye you just got ripped off imo

yeah basically he adjusted it with wrenches and then stood back looked at it and adjusted it again and said yep thats done.

[teh_mechanic]

even when you use the laser you still use wrenches to adjust the tie rods etc to change the suspension angles.

the part that is dodgy is if he did it by eye.that is shit.no way you can get it accurate with your eye unless you are very lucky,we are talking about fractions of mm's differences,eye cannot see this.

[Glitta]

lol noone can accurately align a car just by looking at it.. no matter what they say.

For future reference Excelsior Steering in Bankstown.. everybody I know uses this guy slightly more expensive then the rest but expirence is what counts and this guy KNOWS what he is doing.. only place I would ever use.

[Dy_]

i will go back and have a talk to them.

going to get them to do it properly and if they wont i'll just say 'ok i'll get my alignment professional assessed and if anything is wrong i will notify the ACCC' ?

that should work?

[aaronng]

Might be dodgy, but maybe the guy's eyes are laser accurate. LOL
Just for your information, before they invented the laser alignment, they used a piece of string, ruler and protractor. :)

[ek4-guy]

V8 supercars still use the string method

but yeah these days if you get an alignment done a print out

[neil1112]

just got my car back and the job was very good!!, grips very well on corners now that ive got adrenalins..they're nice and shiny :)...but yeh i didn't see how they (bridgestone centre) did the job.

[Dy_]

just got my car back and the job was very good!!, grips very well on corners now that ive got adrenalins..they're nice and shiny :)...but yeh i didn't see how they (bridgestone centre) did the job.

good to hear.

how much did you pay all up? you got the re001s?

[FAT VTI]

mate, that is extremely dodgy.
If it was a 4 wheel allignment, you should always get a specs sheet, or bare minimum get to see the specs on the computer.
The specs basically tell you the camber on each of the wheels, and the amount of toe your car has.
They basically correct the toe, so your car stays straight (bit more technical but anyways).
How somebody could physically correct the toe of a vechile is beyond my belief.
Considering they put it (in my case) from -1.4535 back to 0.
I duuno how he did it, but I would make the prick use a computer and print u a spec sheet.

[neil1112]

good to hear.

how much did you pay all up? you got the re001s?

Yeh those ones..paid 500 bucks in all.

[Dy_]

mate, that is extremely dodgy.
If it was a 4 wheel allignment, you should always get a specs sheet, or bare minimum get to see the specs on the computer.
The specs basically tell you the camber on each of the wheels, and the amount of toe your car has.
They basically correct the toe, so your car stays straight (bit more technical but anyways).
How somebody could physically correct the toe of a vechile is beyond my belief.
Considering they put it (in my case) from -1.4535 back to 0.
I duuno how he did it, but I would make the prick use a computer and print u a spec sheet.

it was only the fronts that were done. i wanted my rears done aswell cause i just got 4 new tyres he says that i dont needa do the rears.
gonna try and get this sorted out tomorrow.

[Bludger]

ask for a printout

[Dy_]

ask for a printout

will do.

top stuff guys!

[AutoNoob]

my recent jax cost was this:
195/55/15 kenda $420
balance $12
tubeless valves $4
wheel alignment $50
nitro inflation $32

[bennjamin]

did u hit marks n wallings ? Or just some other random place ? Decent prices hows teh car feel now after a full alignment ?

[AutoNoob]

nah just some random jaxfit place hehe,
car feels good :), xept those full lock roundabouts still some rub BUT alot lot lot less ^___^
and omg, i discovered i got a pay raise today from 16.20 to 20.20 :), makes saving for that asr brace/ctr sway a bit quicker. So yeah, i'll PM ya wen i'll decide to get the stoof.

[bennjamin]

woot thats decent for 14 year old :D Talk via pm laters

[JohnL]

my recent jax cost was this:
195/55/15 kenda $420
balance $12
tubeless valves $4
wheel alignment $50
nitro inflation $32

You spent $120 each on cheap tyres, then spent $8 each on nitrogen?

That's a complete and utter waste of $32. Nitrogen is almost pointless for road car tyres, though of of some use for racers (but not all that important except at the upper echelons of the sport).

Tyre outlets seem to have recently cottoned onto nitrogen as a source of additional income, and the gas they charged you $32 for probably cost them about 50c....

[JohnL]

No alignment can be done by eye. The only time you might attempt it is to get it as close as possible before you drive the car to a place where you can have it done properly.

Both front and rear needs to be aligned, only cars with a live rear axle can get away with not at least checking the rear alignment.

You need to find a different place to have your alignment done.

[FAT VTI]

yea,
I have never bothered with only getting the fronts done.
As far as im aware, your car (if its an average honda) will never truely be aligned if the toe is not corrected, therefore will never be alligned properly, unless a 4 wheel alignment is done to correct the toe.

Som1 can prob put this better than I can.

[Dy_]

spoke to the manager earlier. he said he'll fix it up for me and get it redone. but on monday when the boss is in.

this time i gotta make sure a watch them do it and get a specs sheet?

[FAT VTI]

Mate, get a 4 wheel alignment, pay the extra (probably $30-$35)
get a specs sheet.

[Dy_]

Mate, get a 4 wheel alignment, pay the extra (probably $30-$35)
get a specs sheet.

yeah i am. getting them to do front and rears for me for no extra cost.

thanks!

[aaronng]

yeah i am. getting them to do front and rears for me for no extra cost.

thanks!

Do you have a rear camber kit? They can't adjust the rear much without a rear kit.

[Dy_]

Do you have a rear camber kit? They can't adjust the rear much without a rear kit.

i dunno really? but the bloke taht pulled the dodgy on me said 'if you want i can adjust your cambers on the rears to give you better handling' thats what he said yesterday.

but other than that i dunno. suspension has been kept stock.

[FAT VTI]

A camber kit will basically help your tyres from unevenly wearing out quickly.
They cannot correct camber much if at all.
the alternative to camber kits is to flip your tyres e.g. front left to front right, front right to front left (same for rears).

by flipping ur tyres, the inner side of the tyre becomes the outer side, and therefore the outside the inner side. this means both sides are wearing, therefore not 1 side wearing out while the other side doesnt.
Are you lost?
LOL, its a really simple concept, If i could be fkd to draw a picture in paint you'd understand far easier.
Anyways,
My cd5 accord has a 3inch drop.
The camber for my tyres is between -2.5to -3 (on front left)

I do not have camber kit, Basically because I am using 35profile tyres, and i can get them flipped very cheap . I will probably invest in 1 on my next set of tyres, (i also do not drive too often).
Your camber will be displayed on your spec sheet, camber is determined by how much lower than stock you have made your car (amongst a few other things).

anyways, hope any of this helps you mate.

[philmak]

say that they wasted you time and money, try get your money back too hah