4 Wheel alignment & Tracking

[mic_VR 3]

Having changed my standard suspension for some weitec ultras myself at the weekend I got all the tracking/camber and alignment checked yesterday to make sure it was all good.

 

But I took it for a test drive last night and it still appears to be pulling to the left but i'm not sure what they have actually done to it so I'm hoping someone on here will know if I breakdown my invoice, and hopefully be able to explain it to me because it was not cheap and I'm a little worried I've been had! :(

 

Basically my invoice lists the work as follows:

 

TRAAA - Front Toe Adjustment - £60.14

TRACHECK - Check only no adjustment - £40.43 :?

TRAREAR - Alignment Adjust rear toe - £40.43

 

Total invoice - £141.00! :shock:

 

So does anyone know what all this means? Have I been done/should I go back and kick up a fuss?

 

Cheers guys

 

Mic

[mrbeige 0]

It looks to me as if they haven't done the camber?? If it still pulls to the left dude, take it back. Mine did the first time, so I took it back and got them to re-adjust it...FOC of course.

[dannyp 0]

£141 does sound a tad pricey to me.

 

I fitted Weitec Ultra GT's recently which left the camber and alignment well out. I took mine to Micheldevor Tyres, they spent about an hour on it , making adjustments to caster, camber and toe. They then explained everything they'd done, what difference it would make etc etc. The suspension and handling are now perfect.

 

Total cost was about £50 quid so very satisfied!

[gavbs 0]

Yeah, another vote for Micheldever.

 

When I had my Racing Puma they fitted new tyres and did the setup for me. Treated the car with respect, good pricing and lots of knowledge passed on.

 

If you're within an hour of them I'd recommend them as their prices are very good.

 

Nice driving roads around there too!

[Toad 0]

They have taken the p!ss a bit there mate.

Go back and get them to check everything again, tracking, camber, castor.

 

My valver and vr have been done at micheldever (lol) and do pull to the left a bit, but the tyre wear is even, and they drive well. A lot of it is the camber of the roads I believe.

 

Think Micheldever charge about £30/test.

 

It's just outside winchester, so pretty easy for me to pop in there. VW should have the full 4wheel alignment setup and shouldn't charge you that much.

 

Suspension does take time to bed in and all the mounts settle. Think Herisites had his reset 3 times before they got it right. If I have tyres put on or alter the suspension, I'll try to do about 10 miles or so to get everything to settle before getting the tracking done.

[vwdeviant 0]

Yup, take it back and kick off.. should re-do it FOC...

 

Maybe worth asking if they will add a tad of -ve cabmber to teh fronts, had this done to the Skyrocket and made turn-in a lot more positive without the cost of wearing the inner part of the tyres.

 

But I'm sure some-one here will tell you if it's really necessary.

[yeti 0]

erm if its still pulling then they havent done the job properly, when i was having mine laser i asked the guy how much play is actually in the pads on the wheels, there's a hell of a lot so it seems to come down to the ability of the operator, go back kick up a fuss and demand they sort it out, tell them its brand new suspension and presuming the tires are of even wear and pressure it shoudl drive straight, o and i know this doesnt help you but where the hell did you get it done as it seems very pricey!

[dinkus 10]

That's a lot of money for a job badly-done, but I think VW charge something comical like £300 for a proper 4-wheel alignment. Might be worth asking tho.

 

If the place is worth their salt they should give you print outs of all the readings before they did anything and all the readings after they adjusted it all. Preferrably with diagrams showing the angles on the car too.

 

The place I used to use charged around £80 to get the whole car done on a laser rig, so £160 is rather steep.

 

But as everyone's said - if you're not happy, take it back and get them to do it properly, FOC.

[mic_VR 3]

cheers for the advice guys, It does sound like I've been had TBH so I guess I'll get back down that shop and demand they get it sorted, plus I want them to explain their pricing in relation to the work done. If needs be I'll get some quotes from other companies and see if they can explain why they're so much more expensive (doubt they'll give me any of it back though!)

 

Andy - don't really want to say who they are on an open forum until I've spoken to them again and given them a chance to sort it. I've seen it before on forums where it only needs to be pointed out to the owners of the garage and all hell breaks lose!

 

Anyone got any idea what the standard camber settings are on the VR6? Ever since I've owned the car the front wheels have had that negative (bottom of the wheels out /-\) camber look and it's still the same now. Is that normal as I'd just assumed it was?

[Toad 0]

Can't remember off the top of my head, but I'll look tonight and let you know.

[dinkus 10]

I think the default camber for a VR6 is either -1.0 or -1.5 degrees, (bottom of wheels out), but I can't remember.

 

cheesewire's posted a lot about the various different settings he's had so there's probably something if you have a search.

[Yandards 0]

Er I would take it back and ask how they adjusted the rear toe myself.

 

The rear beam on a corrado is fixed and as such the rear wheels are not adjustable in any direction so they have charged you for adjusting something that is not adjustable. (There is a way to do it with shims on the stub axle but I doubt very much they did that.)

 

The reason for a 4 wheel align is to ensure that the back wheels are directly behind the front wheels but it is only possible to adjust the front wheels.

 

I personally find that a tyre fitting type place that provides 4 wheel alignment are the best bet, they do it a lot more than the stealers and as such are usually a lot cheaper and get it right first time.

[Toad 0]

They can alter the rear axle by loosening the mounting bolts, but as Yan says, the toe in isn't adjustable.

[Yandards 0]

They can alter the rear axle by loosening the mounting bolts, but as Yan says, the toe in isn't adjustable.

 

I have never seen or heard or anyone doing that when setting up wheel alignment though..

[tonedef 9]

I cheated and put mine on the flat patch when I used to work for Ralliart, did the corner weights at the same time so I know the coilovers are all set right too. Bit over the top for a road car but if there's a motorsport place near you they'll do the best alignment you'll ever have.

[dr_mat 0]

Not quite sure why people are assuming you've been ripped off, just based on some cryptic charge codes on an invoice.

But - if you're not happy cos it's still pulling to the left, take it back. No need to go ballistic though, it's not uncommon for ANY car to pull one way a little bit, most often it depends on the camber of the road ..

Of course, if you've asked them to "do a four wheel alignment" and they don't have the gear for it and have just made up some charges ... then go ballistic .. ! ;)

[dinkus 10]

They can alter the rear axle by loosening the mounting bolts, but as Yan says, the toe in isn't adjustable.

 

I have never seen or heard or anyone doing that when setting up wheel alignment though..

 

The holes are slightly bigger than they need to be, so it is possible to rotate the whole rear axle by a smidge - it was done on my C as it had managed to twist itself around a bit.

 

Wheel fitting places are generally run by monkies, but you do get the occasional place and person that know what they're doing.

 

Most bodyshops will either have, or know where does have a good 4-wheel alignment rig as they need to do them fairly regularly when repairing cars.

 

And as the good Dr. says - they have taken the piss a bit on the charges, but no need to go mad at them - it'll never get you anywhere. However, as they have charged so much for the job, I'd politely tell them that the handling still doesn't seem to be as it should and could they please re-check their work.

 

If they then get arsey you could point out that they've charged a considerable amount of money for the work, so you expect the job to be done properly.

[mic_VR 3]

Ok I've spoken (Calmly!) to the guys who did the alignment about the fact it still appears to be pulling to the left (noticed last night that it is a lot more noticable under acceleration) and they are going to have another look at it for me on saturday. They are also going to try to dig out the camber and alignment readings for before and after as well.

 

Didn't even mention the whole charges thing, i'll enjoy that chat face to face! :lol:

 

Cheers for all the help guys and I'll let you know what they find.

[mrbeige 0]

They are also going to try to dig out the camber and alignment readings for before and after as well.

 

I didn't even think about that. When I had mine done at Demon Tweeks, they gave me the print out with the invoice, I would have expeced them to do the same...