New member to the forum. Got my 2.0 TSi 210 R Line a few weeks ago. When it was delivered the tracking wasn't right. Steering wheel to the left and had to make adjustments constantly on the motorway.
I took it back, they did their "4 wheel alignment". It's still not right. Whilst I know a bit about the technicalities, what exactly needs to be done to get this sorted? VW have sent through the print out, which they didn't give me on the day. I think I know why. Here it is.
Steering wheel still isn't quite right and slightly to the left (I initially thought it was just me but no, it's definitely off centre).
Surely there should be some uniformity in the alignment? The numbers are all over the place.
The 4 wheel alignment is only as good as the guy using it, who did? Also where are you so someone can recommend you to a reputable garage with 4 wheel alignment :-)
Right, decided not to take the car back to VW as I don't trust them and it turns out that whilst they told me it was "laser alignment", it's apparently not.
Anyone know of any decent Hunter alignment places in Surrey? I'm in Godalming, Surrey but would be prepared to travel if necessary. Thanks
Luna wrote:Right, decided not to take the car back to VW as I don't trust them and it turns out that whilst they told me it was "laser alignment", it's apparently not.
Anyone know of any decent Hunter alignment places in Surrey? I'm in Godalming, Surrey but would be prepared to travel if necessary. Thanks
I suspected it was the dealer, they don't have a clue.
I can't recommend you a place as I don't live any where near you, hopefully someone from the forum can :-)
If I didn't love the car, I would have driven it straight through their showroom window by now. You have no idea what a joke this entire thing has been!
Problem is VW dealer and more importantly the techs don't do alignment on a daily basis whereas what you want is someone who does it regularly and knows what they are doing.
Align my Car website should give you someone local. Expect to pay between £80-£100 for 4 wheel alignment.
The trouble with the alignment is a garage will set this up on a completely flat patch of tarmac or concrete where the alignment will be spot on. The problem arises when you go out on a public road where they are all cambered, so your steering wheel will always be off centre.
Align my car website is down until the 21st July. Would have gone there otherwise. Local place to my work does it for £60 plus VAT. I was thinking of making a trip to Chesham for Wheels In Motion but I'm in two minds.
Now I need to harass VW for my spare key. Wish me luck. I'm hoping that I'll start enjoying the car a bit more once I've dealt with all of the problems.
Another reason for off centre wheel is the laziness of the operator. They are supposed to clamp the wheel in the centre position and then adjust both track roads for the correct toe value but some only adjust one track rod to bring it into spec meaning an off centre wheel.
As said, normal roads are cambered for drainage so you do normally get some drift to the left even with "perfect" geometry.
Considering it took them 5 hours to do the alignment I'm not pleased at all. It wouldn't surprise me if it were down to laziness.
The alignment was so out when they delivered it that the steering wheel was an inch and a half to the left, it's still about half an inch to the left. Not good enough. Car drifts right into on coming traffic if I try to straighten the wheel.
Having looked at your print out, I can tell that mine is wayyy off. I don't think it's down to tyres on mine, I made VW put two new tyres on her before delivery (at their cost) and they just couldn't be bothered to do a decent job. She was tracking perfectly on the test drive.
Luna your geometry was miles off - Apart from the rear camber (more on that later) - its actually pretty good now ( if taking those 'final' numbers at face value)
You had a rear thrust angle of+ 0.5° (+30 minutes) which was mainly down to the rear left toe . They've adjusted the rear left to +9 minutes - which is in spec (just) , but would have been better if it has been set at +5 minutes to match the rear right . This would have given you a thrust angle of 0°. As it happens you have a thrust of +2 minutes.
Your front toes were miles out - no wonder you had such a large steering wheel angle. They've corrected the toes to +4' & +7' - which against the nominal of +5 minutes - is pretty damn close , and (IF those figures are accurate) would most probably be better than when it left the factory.
However , if the steering wheel was not held perfectly straight - when they set the front toes - then those numbers are meaningless . I suspect this may be the case , if you still detect a misaligned steering wheel with those final values.
You have a significant camber imbalance (also known as cross camber) at the rear . The difference between the two values is 38' - the VW spec is a max of 30' . Ideally they should be equal , certainly they should be well within the spec.
Your front camber values , whilst within spec , aren't pretty either with the left being 18 minutes and the right 27 minutes away from nominal ( the nominal is -41') . Combined with your rear camber imbalance = this could cause the car to drift/pull . You should double check your tyre pressures too.
The caster values are fine - although you can see a change of roughly 10 minutes between the before and after , i can absolutely guarantee you that they made no adjustment.
The reason for the difference is measurement system error - which doesn't bode well for the rest of the measures on the other attributes.
The cambers are a pain in the arse to adjust , they were 'out' before and they are 'out' now . The marginal changes you see in the final values are again - measurement system error.
Basically they didn't touch your cambers because they were too bloody lazy. Excessive cambers are certainly not healthy for tyre wear.
Tell them what i've told you , and that you'll be taking it elsewhere to be done properly - and then bringing them the bill . If they wont pay, you'll be complaining to VW customer services about their shoddy workmanship.
A quick note to explain Measurement System Error , basically - imagine having to measure the length of your car 10 times with a tape measure. Would you get the same result 10 times ? , now give the tape measure to your missus , would she get the same result 10 times ? The answer is most probably NO , would your answers be the same ? - unlikely !
The difference in results (the error) is called variation. The better the kit (the more precise the tape measure) , and the more repeatable the operator ( your or your missus ) - the lower the variation and the more accurate the result.
