Four Wheel Alignment Necessary?

dangermouse425

dangermouse425

dangermouse425

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Joined
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Reading, Berks
Hi all,

Just about to replace the RFTs on all four corners of the Z4 with some tasty non-RFT Goodyear Eagle F1s and the garage I'm getting it done at only does front-wheel alignment.

I assume it's necessary to get a full "Four-Wheel Alignment" done, as I'm replacing all four wheels and the drive is from the rear wheels, not the front. But I wanted to check that was true. Or do I only need to get them all aligned if they're wearing unevenly?

Apologies if this is a really stupid question!
 
I replace all four RFT's . . . . and that was it. If there is no alignment issue now there won't be with new non run flat tyres when you get them fitted.

You will notice the much better ride quality and better handling though.
 
Alignment has nothing to do with replacing tyres...

However, you could benefit from a proper geometry setup - as you live in reading, Wheels in Motion are quite close to you... highly recommended - they really know what they're doing :)
 
crinkleshoes said:
Alignment has nothing to do with replacing tyres...

However, you could benefit from a proper geometry setup - as you live in reading, Wheels in Motion are quite close to you... highly recommended - they really know what they're doing :)
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I work near to Chesham, so it's definitely feasible. What would a proper geometry setup do and how would it benefit me?

I (perhaps rather foolishly) assumed that the alignment might need to be reset if the wheels had come off, but it's good to know that I don't need it.
 
dangermouse425 said:
I work near to Chesham, so it's definitely feasible. What would a proper geometry setup do and how would it benefit me?

I (perhaps rather foolishly) assumed that the alignment might need to be reset if the wheels had come off, but it's good to know that I don't need it.
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It depends on what your car is, how old your car is and how far it's strayed from either factory or optimum settings.

Potholes / riding curbs etc all knock the alignment out. Even on perfectly smooth roads, I'd expect the alignment to fall out a bit over plenty of miles.

Depending on how far out your car is & what can be adjusted... it'll likely make your car feel more planted on the road, just generally feel better to drive & give you better grip/balance.

These guys are so knowledgable - if you tell them how you want the car to feel, there's a good chance they'll be able to get you closer to that.

So... for example... if the car is understeering a bit on corner entry - they can likely dial that out, improve upon it or just make it a bit more tail-happy.

Probably best to just give them a call & ask the questions :)

I've now had 12 cars in the last two years - every time I buy a new one, it's with them within a week... all times but one, they've come back feeling like different cars... people don't realise how much of a difference a decent geometry can make!

(the one had already been very well setup recently by the previous owner)
 
I used Halfords auto centre for my 4 wheel alignment. £40 and they said I can come back every 3 months for the next year to get them re-checked and aligned under warranty.
 
Rybo89 said:
I used Halfords auto centre for my 4 wheel alignment. £40 and they said I can come back every 3 months for the next year to get them re-checked and aligned under warranty.
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Don't... trust... halfrauds.

WiM are more expensive ~£85 IIRC... but worth it!
 
WiM quoted me £220 and said it would take up to 2 hours to do the alignment, but I ended up taking it to Elite Wheel and Tyres in Reading and paid less than half that. It still took them 2 hours to do the full adjustment - would recommend them they did a good job and the car certainly felt noticably different to drive afterwards.
 
crinkleshoes said:
Potholes / riding curbs etc all knock the alignment out. Even on perfectly smooth roads, I'd expect the alignment to fall out a bit over plenty of miles.
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Does this not make the entire thing worthless then?

I can guarantee I will hit pot holes on a daily basis, the road leading out of my estate is terrible. And the theme carries onto most roads on my travels too. It's not a case of I am not avoiding them. I do my utmost to try and steer away. But the amount of poorly laid roads in the North East especially would make you look like a drunk driver if I had to keep weaving all over the road.
I have a small curb to ride onto my driveway, and an even bigger one onto the other half's off road parking area, which again would knock out any geo work done?
 
No, it's well worthwhile getting the alignment done, it will get knocked out but this is something you should have checked (edit: at least) once a year, even if no work needs doing.

It will help with vehicle stability, acceleration stability, braking stability especially in the event of an emergency stop. It will affect how your car turns into a corner and will make the most difference in the wet.

If the car feels 'fine' there is no abnormal wear on the tyres then chances are you'll pay a tenner to find out all is well, or at least within tolerance. If the alignment is out then your new shiny runflats may get eaten quicker than you'd hoped, costing you more than the 30-40 the alignment will have cost you.
 
The front wheels are definitely wearing unevenly, but I think the rears are fine, hence the original OP. Thanks for all the advice, guys, appreciate the help.

I'm going to give the chaps at WiM a call and hopefully pop down on Wednesday to see whether they think the old rear RFTs are wearing unevenly, before I put my non-RFTs on on Friday. Not keen to wear through my shiny new shoes too quickly, given the amount I just paid!
 
My local farmers autocare will stick it up and check, only charge per axle/adjustment as required. So if they check the rear tracking and camber and it's fine they don't charge for it. Likewise if all the tracking is perfect - no charge.
 
Fairy muff... I'll have to look through the bills... I swear I remember them all being around this price... Could just be forgetful though - or I got luckyish with my car choices haha
 
Biohazard said:
My local farmers autocare will stick it up and check, only charge per axle/adjustment as required. So if they check the rear tracking and camber and it's fine they don't charge for it. Likewise if all the tracking is perfect - no charge.
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One of the tyre places local to me was going to charge per adjustment but after reading the workshop manual for my car said adjustments to caster, camber and toe settings may impact each other. After checking / adjusting each setting, minor adjustments to caster, camber and toe may have to be made to reach the correct set up for the vehicle. I was a bit unsure about taking it to somewhere that wanted to charge per adjustment!

crinkleshoes said:
Fairy muff... I'll have to look through the bills... I swear I remember them all being around this price... Could just be forgetful though - or I got luckyish with my car choices haha
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I'm not sure if they've put up their prices recently but my quote was from last month. £120/hour labour seemed a bit excessive to me for following the instructions on a Hunter machine. For a little bit more I could have taken it to Centre of mavity and had everything looked over properly.
 
Wow at WiM prices, I remember paying £less for alignment and 2 free reset sessions after.

I did get in 'early' though as one of the first s2k owners and spent a ****load of cash there though... I only ended up paying once for alignment for all the times I went, but they did loads of work for me over the years and basically ended up being my local garage.

Alignment is really important on sports cars if you actually enjoy driving.
 
Over £100 for alignment holy ****. Last time I paid £30 for a full setup, everything except the front camber. Most I ever paid was £50, did take ages though as the top mounts are a bit of a faff and you need to keep jacking the car up and down, moving the back and forth and using a bit of guesswork. Without this, it takes 20 minutes tops I don't know how it could take 2 hours that is madness.
 
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