mx5cartalk.com

Hi,
just had my wheel alignment done at 'Straight Talk' in Blacktown, NSW.
Lou has asked me to pass on the news that wheel alignments from next month will be $27.50 per axel up from $22 per axel. Get in quick. Still good value for a guy who knows what he's doing.
Chris

Didn't read your post until now but I've got an alignment with him at 8AM! Holy crap, that's in 5 hours...

Had mine done today.....and yes Louie is increasing his prices by a small amount.

He does a great job on the cars, my mx-5 has never been happier!

What alignment specs do you recommend for an NA8? I could search but it'd be nice to have a link to it in this thread!

Here's mine done by Fulcrum Moorooka. Absolutely no complaints, highly recommended. Tried it on the road and track.

JBT wrote:Here's mine done by Fulcrum Moorooka. Absolutely no complaints, highly recommended. Tried it on the road and track.

I hate to say it, but Fulcrum did a half ass job at best. The idea is to get things even on both sides and within your specs. Your alignment is for the street (stock) and far from a track setup.

Your rear camber was closer before the alignment! And with your current castor settings your car is going to corner a lot better in one direction. Fulcrum did fix your toe which is good.

On a positive note, you can get your car handling much better with a more aggresive alignment. If you like I can send you my setup which is great for corners, but a bit hard on tyres for daily use.

Dubly wrote: Your alignment is for the street (stock) and far from a track setup.

Correct because I drive it 99.999999% of the time on the street.

Dubly wrote:If you like I can send you my setup which is great for corners, but a bit hard on tyres for daily use.

Thanks, but I think I'd rather get some life out of the tyres.

Are you a professional wheel aligner?

JBT wrote:
Thanks, but I think I'd rather get some life out of the tyres.

Are you a professional wheel aligner?

No, I am not and nor is your man at Fulcrum. Had your man at Fulcrum taken his time the numbers would match on both sides.

I was trying to be helpful and I am sorry if it came off the wrong way.

Fulcrum Moorooka & Stafford have a pretty big rep up here Dubly.......big call that one

Dubly wrote:Had your man at Fulcrum taken his time the numbers would match on both sides.

The explanation to me IIRC was that it would help offset the effects of road camber. The car seems to go round corners very well, tracks absolutely dead straight with no tyre feathering or adverse wear patterns

sh*t guys just go to who ever you want if it drives well then do it, but if you think your guy is better then be happy in knowing that your car is better set up and all that jazz, jezzzzz chill out boys.
by the way in case your wondering i am not a professional wheel aligner!!
haha haha.

saboteur wrote:What alignment specs do you recommend for an NA8? I could search but it'd be nice to have a link to it in this thread!

I've given you what my car is set to. To continue to answer your question, here is another link.

I'm sure Fulcrums has a good rep. However, the proof is on the scan you provided.

Your front toe is 1.0mm and 1.2mm, a 20% difference. Yet your rear is spot on at 1.4mm on both sides. Hence your front could be better. Your rear camber is -.96 vs. -.83 and your front camber is off as well.

As for setting your alignment for the crown in the road it's possible and it accounts for the difference in castor. This would be good if you do lots of hwy Km's. Do you?

The point is Fulcrums report card is right in front of us and it's mediocre. If mediocrity is okay with you then you should be happy because that's what you've got.

My criticism is towards Fulcrums, not you. You seem to be taking it personally for which I’ll apologize again.

I got sent an alignment Fulcrum Moorooka did on a mates NB and it was similar, if not worse. Substantial difference between each side. I had mine done there and there was pretty much no difference in sides. They are at work so I'll post them up tomorrow.

I did ask for an very accurate alignment and sat in the car when they did it. Took the guy over an hour to do the job aswell but still only charged me $77 so it's worth it. I was very impressed with the service I got.

Yeah Brad, it took over an hour to do mine too but I sat in the aircon and read a mag or three .

Dubly wrote:As for setting your alignment for the crown in the road it's possible and it accounts for the difference in castor. This would be good if you do lots of hwy Km's. Do you?

Yes, and it's one of the many questions about driving habits that they asked before starting. Glad they did something right. BTW, what would be the effect of me sitting in the car to those unladen camber settings?

Dubly wrote:The point is Fulcrums report card is right in front of us and it's mediocre. If mediocrity is okay with you then you should be happy because that's what you've got.

Obviously it's less mediocre than the previous one which was done under warranty by a so called expert Mazda dealer to rectify an abysmal attempt by another so called alignment specialist subcontracted by the Mazda dealer during some body repairs. Fulcrum have their equipment regularly calibrated too. Please note that I have no pecuniary or other personal interest in Fulcrum.

Dubly wrote: My criticism is towards Fulcrums, not you. You seem to be taking it personally for which I’ll apologize again.

I'm not taking it personally, but you came out with all guns firing and it looks like you still have a few rounds left ("if mediocrity is OK with you....."). Apology accepted.

I was simply offering up an actual alignment result (I've yet to see anyone else do that in this thread) for someone else's benefit (i.e. to answer a question) and offered my opinion on that work when you weighed in.