Wheel Alignments

[AJ]

the unladen cambor WOULD change with you in the car JB, or so I was told by a wheel alignment specialist...........when he checked our NC just after we bought it, he actually got me to sit in the car while he checked, & yes the numbers changed after i got out

[JBT]

the unladen cambor WOULD change with you in the car JB, or so I was told by a wheel alignment specialist...........

Thought so. I guess the next question then is: would my weight result in more or less -ve camber

[AJ]

now the smoking guns have been reholstered


would it be fair to say dubly.........as a comparison...........JBT sat in the aircon, sucking on a latte & chewing a cream bun while his alignment was done...........brad sat in his car giving the aligner the evil eye (not having a shot brad, just trying to lighten it up a bit ).............you'd expect brads numbers to be spot on when the computer spat its figures out..........whereas Johns figures came out minus the driver............but when John jumps in his car (with the coffee & cream bun sloshing in his guts ) HIS numbers will even up if they ran another scan???.....with maybe some allowance for the camber of QLD roads???..........i'd reckon, just as a rough guess.......brads mate took the latte & cream bun in the aircon option too & that's why HIS numbers were similar to johns???

[JBT]

Aaaaah all's well then. I don't like that latte stuff, gimme chockie milk........but cream bun....mmmmmmmm......creeeeeeem bun

[StanTheMan]

Where is my Burbon AJ.....

[Ted]

To add more fuel, I have never seen the need for the numbers to match. Rarely have I seen a road with camber equal to the alignment rack, never have I seen a car that is perfectly true and square with all variables even (tyre pressures, wear, weight distribution with amount of fluids etc) and never have I been able to pick if one corner had .1degree more negative camber than the other. Some aligners will put in a guesstimate for road cambers into the alignment, some will get you to sit in the car while they do it, some will make sure you turn your back the whole time.

I have had my cars aligned in workshops all over the place (about 4 in Brisbane that I use, plus anyone down the East Coast and Tassie that has a sign out the front saying alignments done), I just tell them what I am after in broad terms, on the MX5 that is
Front: -1.5 camber, 0 toe, max castor
Rear: -1.5 camber, between 1 and 1.5mm toe in each side

Then again, I am a pretty slow mug who simply likes to think that he can punt it quite hard from time to time. I competed in a rally once when the car would get broadsided on every entry to a corner. I thought something didn't feel quite right but kept driving hard anyway, especially on left hand corners when it would grip right up. I guess 9mm of toe out on the left and 6mm of toe in and the right might just do that. Another time I had new tyres fitted and the car would always pull left, went back for another alignment just to be sure. It was the 3rd return trip before we worked out that one of their sensors was out.

[JBT]

I have never seen the need for the numbers to match.

True. I've also had many aligners over the years tell me that the figures they print are just a "snapshot" anyway and that if you took the car around the block over a few bumps and put it back on the machine, you wouldn't get the same numbers.......close, but not the same.

[Brad]

If you had, say, 5mm toe in on one side, and 5mm toe out on the other, wouldn't they cancel each other out and your steering wheel would simply be out of align (ie 0mm total toe)?

[JBT]

I think the results would be a bit more dire than just a cocked steering wheel.

[chris d]

I think I got ripped on mine on Saturday, each side doesn't anywhere near line-up. I'll start a new thread today to avoid a hijack...

How does it drive? He told me that if the numbers are equal the car will try to drive of the road due to road camber. It's not just highways that have camber aswell, as someone suggested, but all roads.
This guy has done a lot of MX5 wheel alignments for the club, including mine. I'd be interested in how he responds. If you are unhappy, I'd suggest take it back and explain what you don't like. This is where true customer service counts. If he is helpful, good, but if he is not, then I wouldn't feel confident going back myself. Keep us posted.
Thanks Bevan.
Chris

[Bevan]

Oh it wasn't Louie. I wanted to go there but I woke up at 8 for an 8appointment. Man did I have the sh*ts. Rang up and apologised to him. I went to Wholesale Suspension at Penrith. 2 HOURS LATER I left. Didn't even want to look at the sheet. Had a quick sqiz the next day and it looks to be all over the shop. I keep leaving the sheet at home. I'm really keen to post it up and get some opinions. They are nowhere near what I gave the little Paki.

[chris d]

I'm really keen to post it up and get some opinions.

You may get some opinions from people like myself who don't REALLY know. If you live near Louie, give him a look and see what he suggests.
Maybe a new alarm clock? (Sorry)
I hate having a car in by 8am. I always like to hand it in closer to 10am. Thay can always say no if that's too late for them.
Chris

[Abyss]

Maybe the Qld guys should get all of their questions together and ask them at our Tech Night at Fulcrum on the 5th April

At least it will give them (Fulcrum) a chance to defend their actions (if they really need to) and put people's concerns to rest. Or else it will give people the ability to make an educated decision as to if they want to go back there in the future.

They will be doing an alignment on the night and I am sure they would welcom questions, after all that is why we do these things.

I don't want this to turn into an argument on the night of who is right and who is wrong, they are going out of their way to put this on for us and I want that and their opinions respected.

Just thought I should add that in

[JBT]

Huh? I didn't think any of the responses from Brisbane people on this thread raised anything for Fulcrum to defend

[AJ]

not that i've used them (Fulcrum).......but from what i've researched & read on the net, i'd be MORE than happy for them to align my car when needed ............for the record, our NC is still set at factory specs & the tyre wear & tracking is as good as it i've come across, so it'll stay unchanged at least until the first tyre rotation................might see if i can make it to the tech nite, depending on work