Wheel alignment - Specialist Suspension place expensive. Worth it?

rIcK

rIcK

rIcK

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I am due to have my steering aligned at a place in Knutsford who are quite expensive (£250+ VAT!) however I've been having constant weird steering issues it feels quite light and floaty whilst on the motorway. I had a bunch of suspension components changed and a cheap alignment done a few days later at a generic garage at the time.

Simply put is it worth the expense? They also state they use a string alignment kit instead of the laser system.

 
Yes it's worth it if you're looking to change the setup of a sports car. E.g. I'm looking to go to Center Gravity to get my 981 setup properly. Wouldn't take a Mondeo there though.

If you just need wheel alignment, go to somewhere that has a decent setup, such as a Hunter machine, and do that :-)
 
rIcK said:
I am due to have my steering aligned at a place in Knutsford who are quite expensive (£250+ VAT!) however I've been having constant weird steering issues it feels quite light and floaty whilst on the motorway. I had a bunch of suspension components changed and a cheap alignment done a few days later at a generic garage at the time.

Simply put is it worth the expense? They also state they use a string alignment kit instead of the laser system.

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First question would be what car is it? Second question what tyres do you have on the car?
 
The amount of people that overlook geo and look for issues elsewhere is crazy, good geo setup will return better mpgs, reduce wear and transform how the car handles.

If its a stock car, I would just find the cheapest place with Hunter, that machine is idiot proof, if you've a tuned car and you're around London, I can provide you contact to the guy that does all my cars.
 
IC3 said:
The amount of people that overlook geo and look for issues elsewhere is crazy, good geo setup will return better mpgs, reduce wear and transform how the car handles.

If its a stock car, I would just find the cheapest place with Hunter, that machine is idiot proof, if you've a tuned car and you're around London, I can provide you contact to the guy that does all my cars.
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I am near Manchester sadly. The car is nothing amazing its a 4 series BMW, but it would be nice to have it done properly. I do know the corners need weighing and I am hoping this will eliminate a weird 'light steering' issue I am having.

This is more of a sanity check, since I would have assumed a string alignment is worse than a Laser alignment. Is this the case? Also this garage is particularly well reviewed and they are suspension specialists...
 
Haze said:
What's better replacing tyres, or getting your tracking done properly? I normally look for Hunter alignment
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Do any of the main tyre fitting suppliers have Hunter machines or is it more likely to be independents?
What is the reason Hunter machines are recommemded please, I was not aware of them?
 
GarethSouthgate said:
Corners need weighting on a run of the mill 4 series?
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Every BMW I've had aligned has had the weights used to ensure it's done properly. I don't think it's something you only need if your car is really special and amazing. It's just some plastic containers with water in they put into the car.
 
rIcK said:
I am due to have my steering aligned at a place in Knutsford who are quite expensive (£250+ VAT!) however I've been having constant weird steering issues it feels quite light and floaty whilst on the motorway. I had a bunch of suspension components changed and a cheap alignment done a few days later at a generic garage at the time.

Simply put is it worth the expense? They also state they use a string alignment kit instead of the laser system.

Click to expand...

I'll be using either these guys or RPM Technik to fit Manthey suspension parts to my GT4. Whether you'll get the same benefit from using specialists, I don't know. If it doesn't feel right, you should get it checked.

I knew there was something wrong with my Evo. It didn't feel right at the back. Turned out one of the poly bushes had failed (within 1000 miles too!) so it's worth keeping on top of geo setup.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Every BMW I've had aligned has had the weights used to ensure it's done properly. I don't think it's something you only need if your car is really special and amazing. It's just some plastic containers with water in they put into the car.
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I thought corner weighting was about ensuring correct weight distribution through the suspension L to R, F to R and across diagonally opposed corners using a set of scales under each wheel - that's not a run of the mill sort of process AFAIK?

What you're describing just sounds like making sure the car is correctly ballasted when doing an alignment.
 
A while ago now I had an M3, this never felt right on the steering, like you describe it was always vague, floaty, would pull into ruts on the road. I took it to a few places, at first they replaced bits but generally after said they couldnt find anything wrong, I had the alignment done at a little local garage just to see if it helped it didn't. When I went to get new tires fitted the guy said there was slight uneven wear but nothing much, I told him about my woes and he recommended a specialist performance place near me for alignment saying its the only place he would take his car. So I booked it in, spent around £270 and it was the best £270 I ever spent on a car, it instantly felt dialled and now they are the only place i take my cars for alignment too. In short, I think paying extra for a decent alignment is 100% worth it (although I have no clue what Hunter machine is or if my place uses one)

** Edit ** Huh, just looked up the website, they do use a Hunter machine for alignment, I always assumed they just really knew what they are doing, you live and learn.
 
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[TW]Fox said:
Every BMW I've had aligned has had the weights used to ensure it's done properly. I don't think it's something you only need if your car is really special and amazing. It's just some plastic containers with water in they put into the car.
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Wow, I didn't know this. I thought only race cars have corner weights!
 
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£250 + vat is expensive, but for that sort of money they should be questioning you to find out exactly how you intend to drive the car, and tweak the alignment accordingly.

My guy (FCM alignment in Bristol) does a 10 point alignment on my car for less than £100.

Feeling floaty at speed is usually lack of toe in.

Most tyre places with an alignment machine and places that do a basic alignment will simply put the alignment back within manufacturers spec. A specialist alignment place will stay within manufacturers spec, but fine tune the alignment further based on what you want, such as high speed, track focused etc.

I've got a fast road/light track set up on my car at the moment and the handling is excellent for what I want. Toe in is set at neutral. Turn in is fast, but on the motorway if I take my eyes off the road for just a second I've changed direction!
 
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Haze said:
Waste of time if you drive normally on roads, I guess he is boy racer and drives his like it's stolen everywhere
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Literally 2 posts above I clarified that I thought he was referring to the standard weights you put in the car. Not being familiar with racing cars I didn't realise there was another form of weighting used for those :rolleyes:
 
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