waynelittle1

Ok, looks like everyone here was absolutely correct:

Alignment, and tires even, not right from the plant....have noticed vibration through all speed for a while..nothing earth shattering, but enough to finally make me bring it in and also check the alignment...

Here's what they found (Coyle Chevy in Clarksville, IN) with only 2500 miles on it, and me having taken delivery not quite 2 months ago...

ALL FOUR tires were out of balance.....two of them so bad they they had to be taken off the rim and repositioned...all 4 were then road force balanced.

Alignment: Toe was out of Gm spec for drivers side front (0.18 degrees) and pass side rear (-0.12)...plus, total Toe of 0.30 degrees front, and total Toe of -0.03 total Toe rear

Here was my prev alignment specs:
LF RF
Camber -0.9 -0.5

Caster 7.1 7.2

Toe 0.18 0.11

TOTAL TOE 0.30


LR RR
Camber -0.9 -0.8

Toe 0.09 -0.12

TOTAL TOE -0.03


CURRENT alignment specs as of today:

LF RF
Camber -0.5 -0.6

Caster Same Same

Toe 0.04 0.02

TOTAL TOE 0.06


LR RR
Camber -0.7 -0.7

Toe -0.02 0.01

TOTAL TOE -0.01


Now I do not profess to be an alignment expert, nor a suspension or tire expert, but how is it all 4 tires were out of balance, and the alignment, especially one side to the other, was so out of whack???

AORoads

Maybe it's those railroad tracks you keep taking at 65 mph.... j/k. Answer, I don't know why. It just is. I did read on here that the plant is getting better machinery which may also mean a bit more allocation of time to complete the alignment. As to wheel balancing, I thought those arrived from a supplier already mounted--that would mean it's someone's fault, but not the plant itself. Still, the whole car comes from the plant....so their hands are the last to touch it before it gets to the dealer/customer.

waynelittle1

And that was my biggest concern...on my first Corvette, a 1999 C5, I even got a call from the plant's quality control team...none since on my next 5 Corvettes..

Makes me hope they'll refocus on the new C7, or this is not a good sign..

Bill Dearborn

From the looks of things the original alignment is within GM specs. The specs are so wide you could put an aircraft carrier through them. Assuming the shop used positive for toe in like GM does what is interesting is you originally had just a little toe out in the rear with the car slightly dog walking to the right and now you have a little less toe out with the car slightly dog walking to the left. What were your thrust angle measurements?

The car probably won't handle much differently than you felt before but either way it may have been a little twitchy when changing lanes or going over pavement seams that run lengthwise with the lane.

Bill

Don Nolan

They threw all of the weights off of the wheels testing it on the dyno at the factory. It happens quite often, you know....... Maybe?............. Hardly at all?........

waynelittle1

Bill,

Before alignment:

Front: Steer Ahead 0.03
Rear: Thrust Angle 0.10

AFTER Alignment:

Front: Steer Ahead 0.01
Rear: Thrust Angle -0.02

Forgive my ignorance on what exactly these mean,,,and you are right, GM specs have about a 20 degree swing in Toe form Toe in to Toe out, which seems insane

waynelittle1

Definitely did!

Gearhead Jim

Our 2009 also had tires that were out of balance when purchased new.
I've been told that whoever mounts the tires, just does a basic old fashioned balance job, no Hunter Road Force machine. After a RF balance, the car was much smoother at speed.

The Corvette suspension definitely settles over the first few hundred miles after leaving the factory, and that can effect alignment. But a year or two ago, they were bragging about the money they spent changing things at the factory so alignment would be better. Looks like that didn't help much.

We've owned three new Corvettes (2001, 2006, 2009). After a couple of thousand miles, every one of them had at least one parameter that was outside even the ridiculously wide GM specs.

blitzebill

It has been said here on the CF that when the cars are loaded onto the truck for delivery, they are tied down in such a way that it can throw out the alignment.

My GS seems fine so far after 7 1/2 months and 3800 miles. No unusual wear or alignment issues.

KWC6

When I got my C5 back in 03', new, off the lot, first time on highway I could not go over 55 mph because no balance on any tires. Chevy took care of it but I see your point. My 08' has been fine.

kp

My '12 GS was good on the alignment, close enough to the 'street' specs where I decoded not to mess with it since the car drove great and the tires seem to be wearing fairly even.

But the balance was pretty bad, driving it home it had a little vibration in the wheel and by 2000 miles at 70-73mph you could watch the steering wheel shaking pretty bad. Dealer tried to fix it twice and made it worse, took the front wheels to a local tire place that does a lot of sport/exotics to be road force balanced and its been vibration free since - best 30.00 I spent on the car.

Don-Vette

Maybe when they are shipped they are strapped down too tight with suspension bottomed out? My 10'GS was out too.

BlueOx

Not sure where you picked up your Vette but I would hope all dealers would check these parameters out before delivery. Especially those who have been taken on 'joy rides' and test drives.

gbgary

43k on my daily-driven '07...just bought my third set of tires...i've never had the front end aligned as the tires have worn great straight from the factory. i drive it pretty hard i think although i don't don't hit dips in the road hard and i avoid pot holes and the like. i push it through turns/curves too. still have stock z51 shocks. pretty lucky i think.

phileaglesfan

Here is the tolerances for a GS. OEM vs Pfadt street specs

Front Camber .6 / .2
Front Caster 1.2 / 1
Front Toe .2 / not mentioned
Total Toe .4 / .17
Steer Ahead .1 / not mentioned

Rear Camber 1.2 / .2
Rear Toe .2 / not mentioned
Total Toe .4 / .17
Thrust Angle .4 / not mentioned

That is big tolerances.

OP, they should have adjusted your caster somewhat since it is on the low end of the scale. More positive caster never hurts unless racing, less does.

Kreuzen

Doubtful -

RMcoolX

Dealer inventory 'joy rides' is always a concern of mine when buying a new car. I was happy to know that my new 2012 that purchased just 4 weeks ago only had two miles on it.

That's the good news...the bad news is that Houston has way too many streets that need fixin'! Hopefully my alignment holds up well.

BackInBlack05

Close enough for government work. It is Government Motors after all.

BOB'S C6

My 2012 Grand Sport balance was so bad they had to replace 2 tires in the first 500 miles. They couldn't begin to get them to balance out. I've had more issues with this car than the previous 2 C6's Ive owned combined. And I thought buying a first year model (2005) was a bad mistake but there Q.C. dept isn't doing their job very good lately. Theyv'e had 7 years to get it better and it has gotten worse.

MikeyTX

Dude, that is so last year ................. Get over it !