Hello tony. Great info on your site. Many thanks for putting it all up.
When i replaced my front wishbones i stupidly neglected to check the alignment afterwards and in a few hundred miles had destroyed the inner edge of two good front tyes
It went quick smart to STS Wheel Alignment Centre in Bedford. They use a Hunter system and if i recall their prices were something like 50 quid for a full geometry check including basic adjustment (i.e. toe) and about 20 quid more for more adjustments (i.e. camber).
I was able to watch the guy doing his thing. Was quite interesting. All the angles came up on the screen (including the 'extras' mentioned above) compared with VXs spec. My front toe was off the scale out after the wishbone change and the cause my tyre wear problem. I noticed with surprise that my track control adjusters both cracked loose easily enough (and the guy pointed out one of my TCAs was slightly bent!).
Camber was interesting too. Both front wheels were in VX spec but were literally either side of the scale and so there was over a degree between them. Now if I was a cynical git, I'd say that he didn't need to adjust camber as it was in spec, and only did it for the extra cash. But i'm more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he noticed the big variation in camber between each wheel (albeit within spec) and deemed it important to adjust them properly to be near enough equal.
At the end of the day he cured the horrible tyre wear and the pull to one side and my meggy now drives great!! So that's a recommendation for STS Wheel Alignment Centre in Bedford. Got a nice before/after/VXspec printout too. Now I even know my car's thrust angle - woo hooo:)
Liam
Author
Topic: Alignment the big con, an educational read indeed (Read 6171 times)