Wheel alignment

[matthewlancs]

Had the wheel alignment checked today whilst having a couple of new tyres on.....apparently the rear offside tyre is 0.01 degrees out and the rest are OK.

The guy reckoned it would be "well worth" having it done, but for £60, I was a little dubious as to whether this was really necessary?! He also noticed that my steering wheel is apparently slightly to the left but can't say I've ever noticed (or could even notice when he was pointing it out!)

Thoughts please!

[matthewlancs]

Needless to say I didn't have it done, but may consider if worthwhile!

[uklee]

For 0.01° i really wouldn't bother .
To be honest , given then state of most 4 wheel alignment equipment in garages - they are guaranteed to be looking at at least +/- 0.5° of measurement system error

I'm a wheel alignment engineer for Jaguar Landrover , and spend a lot of my time visiting dealerships giving training on the use of wheel alignment equipment.

Lee

[matthewlancs]

Thanks!

Apparently the reading was "just outside the tolerance" and was the only red button. All the rest were green

[uklee]

I'll happily bet you a tenner that if if they removed the wheel clamps , took if off the ramp - then put it back on again - that they'd get a different result...

Like i said - for marginal errors , you're most likely looking at a measurement system error (i.e the kit) rather than an error in the vehicles geometry. If it drives in a straight line with no drift or 'pull' - and your steering wheel looks straight when you're driving in a straight line (on a non cambered road) then your car will be fine.

Lee

[wigit]

great post uklee from the in side

i'd never trust a tyre fitter regarding wheel alignment, there are few people i do trust and those who will set the car up to how i want it

[matthewlancs]

Thanks guys, great replies

[Deacon]

A proper alignment was one of the best mods I had done. Costs a lot more than £60 though...

[matthewlancs]

Taken the plunge and had a full hunter alignment done.....

Results are here - thoughts please

alignment2.jpg

[roadrat]

£60 is good value and it looks like your alignment has produced some small improvements, most noticeably in the front & rear toe setting.
How does it feel on the road now that it has been done?

[matthewlancs]

I wasn't actually expecting any improvements but it is noticeably smoother on the road which is quite impressive.

There was a slight mis-align on the steering wheel which has also been sorted out so it's win win!

[flashash]

The steering wheel being straight is main thing for me. Does my head in when not not straight.

[uklee]

I'm not surprised you've noticed an improvement !

Your front & rear toes are certainly more than 0.01 out !

Look at the factory specs in this thread http://www.sciroccocentral.co.uk/forum/ ... 34&t=14873

Your front right toe was 7 minutes outside of bottom spec , and 12 minutes away from nominal , with a similar error on the rear . This gave you unequal toes front and rear and both total toes were out of spec.

It looks like they've done a good job on getting your geometry back to nominal , and not just 'within spec' .

Lee

[matthewlancs]

Cheers Lee! Good to know.

Wouldn't normally have chosen KwikFit but know the manager there and got mates rates ;-)

[uklee]

If you know the manager , then pop back in and get them to give the rear toes a further tweak toward nominal - they should ideally equal and at nominal (0.05' per side)
at the moment the left is nearly at the top of the spec , and the right is at the bottom.

Yes- it's being fussy - but then i am a fussy bugger !

Lee