Newcastle/Hunter suspension adjustment experts?

[Xaviien]

I've seen the thread regarding best camber/toe/caster settings, but I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion of where to get it done in my area?

A quick Google search seems to indicate that the most widely know/advertised shop is Pedders.

Does anyone have any recommendations for/against Pedders in general, or the Gateshead shop in particular?

Any recommendations for/against any other suspension shops in the area?

Low price is important, but getting it done properly is more important.

[Muzdaman]

Tyrepower in Wickham do good alignments, the alignment guy used to do a lot of drift setups, so was at least ahead of the curve from your typical bob jane type places that are clueless when it comes to alignments.

[Xaviien]

Thanks very much Muz, that's the type of answer I was looking for. Appreciate it mate.

[project.r.racing]

A quick Google search seems to indicate that the most widely know/advertised shop is Pedders.

Does anyone have any recommendations for/against Pedders in general, or the Gateshead shop in particular?

I hate to inform you. But if you google search was close to thorough, then you wouldn't be considering Pedders.

1000s of horry stories from motorsports and track days guys exist. They are the beige of the suspension world.

[Roadrunner]

I used Bob Jane at Kotara for my last wheel alignment. Gave them the alignment numbers from 949 website and they were happy to do it to those specs and also happily talked about what effect each change would have on the car.
Would use them again

[Xaviien]

A quick Google search seems to indicate that the most widely know/advertised shop is Pedders.

Does anyone have any recommendations for/against Pedders in general, or the Gateshead shop in particular?

I hate to inform you. But if you google search was close to thorough, then you wouldn't be considering Pedders.

1000s of horry stories from motorsports and track days guys exist. They are the beige of the suspension world.

As I said, it was a quick Google search, and as I also said, they are probably just the best advertised store.
Thank you for your scathing review. This is the reason I asked here, real time reviews from people that know are generally much better than anything I could find through Google in cases like this.

I used Bob Jane at Kotara for my last wheel alignment. Gave them the alignment numbers from 949 website and they were happy to do it to those specs and also happily talked about what effect each change would have on the car.
Would use them again

Thanks Roadrunner. I'll get a quote from them and Tyrepower, and check if said quote includes printouts of previous and new settings.

I'll be sure to post back here with the results. If anyone else has anything to add, please feel free!

[kazama]

Keep us updated on who you go with. Beaurepairs in Kotara used to hit my specs to the exact minute but the guy that did their allignments left a while back.

[Magpie]

I have used Pedders in Ipswich with no issues. Depends on the people who work there not the 'Brand'.

The place you pick ask if they will balast the car or allow you to sit in it why they do the alignment.

Don't be afraid to try something different alignment wise. I have -3.5 camber and 1 toe in, 7 deg caster on the front and -3.0 1.5mm toe out on the rear and have great stability at 196 kmh.

[Xaviien]

Thanks Magpie.

I am planning to go with whichever shop will:

1. Set it the way I want. Advice is fine, but in the end I don't want to need to argue;
2. Allow me to sit in it while they do the adjustments or, preferably, ballast it with a weight between that of myself and my wife;
3. Provide a printout of settings before and after adjustment.

If several shops will do all of the above, I'll go with a combination of distance and price.

I will probably spend a bit of time calling all the shops suggested above, plus a few of the shops nearby, since Magpie is clearly correct about the most important thing being the person doing it, not the shop they work for. Except Kmart Tyre and Auto. Only thing they're good for is price.
It will be a few days yet, at least, since I need to replace the rear bearings and the rack ends before I get it done.

I'm planning to get maximum caster possible, between 2 and 3 camber front, .5 less in the rear, 0 toe.
Should be good on the track and not too aggressive for probable daily driving?
This is based on what I've read in the one thread here, and what I've learned playing GT and Forza.

[kazama]

http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx

Good read

[Xaviien]

http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx

Good read

Thanks, but that mentions not using any of those settings unless I have an aftermarket front anti roll bar, high performance dampers, and great tyres.

I have aftermarket shocks and springs, though I have no idea how good they are, but I'm fairly sure I have the OEM anti roll bars.
I just bought the car, am getting ready for my first ever track day, and I really have no idea. Should I be looking at a more neutral setup since I have mostly street gear?

I'll go try to measure my roll bar and take a pic of the springs/shocks.

[chrons_rotary]

http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx

Good read

Thanks, but that mentions not using any of those settings unless I have an aftermarket front anti roll bar, high performance dampers, and great tyres.

I have aftermarket shocks and springs, though I have no idea how good they are, but I'm fairly sure I have the OEM anti roll bars.
I just bought the car, am getting ready for my first ever track day, and I really have no idea. Should I be looking at a more neutral setup since I have mostly street gear?

I'll go try to measure my roll bar and take a pic of the springs/shocks.

Let me know if you want to buy some aftermarket anti-roll bars, i have just removed my front+rear and put the stock ones back to to suit my MCA blues.
Bought them last year in a forum group buy, the Signature Adjustable front+rear.
I live at Wangi Wangi, about 30 mins south of Newcastle.

[Xaviien]

http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx

Good read

Thanks, but that mentions not using any of those settings unless I have an aftermarket front anti roll bar, high performance dampers, and great tyres.

I have aftermarket shocks and springs, though I have no idea how good they are, but I'm fairly sure I have the OEM anti roll bars.
I just bought the car, am getting ready for my first ever track day, and I really have no idea. Should I be looking at a more neutral setup since I have mostly street gear?

I'll go try to measure my roll bar and take a pic of the springs/shocks.

Let me know if you want to buy some aftermarket anti-roll bars, i have just removed my front+rear and put the stock ones back to to suit my MCA blues.
Bought them last year in a forum group buy, the Signature Adjustable front+rear.
I live at Wangi Wangi, about 30 mins south of Newcastle.

Haha I know where Wangi is, I grew up in Bolton Point and live at Glendale now.
How much do you want for them? PM me if you'd prefer.
I'll take a look tomorrow when I'm replacing the rack ends, see if I can figure out if I've got stocks or not, but I just looked up those bars on the Mania site and I'm pretty sure I'm interested, if they're the right price hahaha

EDIT: Did you have any issues while wearing those sway bars? I just had a read through this thread and it sounds like they can be overkill.
I'm clearly in over my head. Way too much to learn, not enough time to do it lol.

[Xaviien]

Ok, report time!

I ended up running out of time, and didn't get to shop around. Argy Tyres was recommended to me by my mechanic, and it's the closest shop to my house, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

The guy at the front desk scoffed when I said I want as much negative camber and caster as I could get, and asked if it was a race car. This pissed me off, but once I was talking directly to the alignment guy, Russell, things got a little better. He allowed me to sit in the seat no worries, but I had to hold my foot on the brake for 30+ minutes. No idea if that's normal, but it wasn't too difficult since I was still able to move my leg a bit.

Print outs of before and after are standard, and I'll post details later, but he wasn't able to get the camber on the front left as low as the highest he could set the front right.
Basically said something is probably bent and I should have gotten a better car.
Apparently I need to replace the control arm bushes anyway, so I think maybe if I get the eccentric bushes, I might be able to get a bit more camber out of the right, and a but less out of the left. Maybe, and a slightly expensive maybe at that.

In the end it came out pretty much how I wanted it, and even though I was told there may be issues with bump steer etc I'm heaps happier with how it drives now.
The wheel alignment is probably not the only reason for this, I also had to replace the rack ends, tie rod ends, and get the rear bearings replaced.

Apparently a few of the local MX5 Club guys get theirs done there, so I don't think he was just jeering me around.
I did get a bit of a lecture about tyres and driver being much more important to how fast the car will lap, and he told me there are some really good Yokohama road/track tyres.

In all, not a bad experience for around and hour and $44.

[Roadrunner]

[quote=Xaviien]Basically said something is probably bent and I should have gotten a better car.[/quote]

If he wasn't jeering you, that would have been enough for me to say, 'yep, take the car off the hoist i'll be going somewhere else'.
Actually, I wouldn't have gone past the guy at the front counter