At 38,000 I needed new tires. So I spent the big bucks for Michelin Pilots.
From what I have read I now need a 4 wheel alignment. The original tires show some uneven wear but not too bad. Where in the north San Diego county should I go for the alignment, is the local GM dealer O K?

 

welcome to the forum :) 38k is pretty good milage for one set of tires. i wish mine lasted that long. anyway i can't help you with a good shop but an alignment shouldn't require any special 'corvette' skills ( i think) i would take mine to the local shop ( and pray they don't mess it up ).

 

Welcome. :cheers: An alignment is not that big a deal for most shops to do. The only thing I would check is if they have done Vette's. :seeya

 

I just had mine done last weekend by the local Goodyear Gemini Service Center. The mechanic owns a '93 40th Anniversary with a whole bunch of goodies. Anyway. He did a good job on the alignment. Mine was drifting ever so slightly off to right side of the road at speeds over 60mph. Just enough to bug the cr%$ out of me.

They charged me $79.95 - It runs straight as an arrow now.
:)

 

I do my own alignments because I teach it here at the school I work for. Anyway one thing to do is ask for a printout of the measurements before and after the alignment. You also want the specs for the job. I see a LOT of mechanics that when they do an alignment they just get the screen into the "green" area. This is where the mechanic looks at a computer screen and ajusts it so it's within tolerances and not right "on the money". With the prices we pay for tires we want the cars to be "on the money" not just in the green.
just my 2 cents :seeya

 

Hmm, interesting. That's where that "within specs" description comes from. Thanks for the info Vettmech! :cheers:

 

I don't know much about it myself, but a lack of "corvette skills" cost me an extra trip back to the garage, another 3 hours killed on a nice Saturday, and I still have a nasty shake at anything over 60. I got 2 new tires and a 4 wheel alignment at a national chain that rhymes with "Gep Toys". I bring the car home and notice right away (shoulda checked at the shop but after 3 hours watching the guy struggle I was done wasting time there) one rear wheel was cambered way out and another way in. I brought the car back the following Saturday and .....this is frustrating.....the guy looks at it and acts like he doesn't see the problem!!! After making him get on the ground to see what I could see from 100 yards away he brings the car into the garage and has the guy that screwed it up work on it. 3 hours later the guy admits that on vettes, which he has never done an alignment on, the adjustment on the rear wheels is done differently and when his machine told him it was off he corrected it in the wrong direction! Anyway, the moral of the story....if you find a mechanic that can work on your vette at less than outrageous dealer prices, keep him and never stary!! Another problem we have locally is that only 1 or 2 of the local chevy dealers have mechanics that know anything about vettes. :rolleyes:

 

Went to a bunch of franchise places (tires, mufflers), even a specialty alignment shop. Nobody could handle the Vette. Finally went to the dealer and got a good job for $75.00.

 

any shop that can't align a vette properly shouldn't be in bussiness. It's one of the easiest cars to do and WAY easier than a Ford pickup truck that the mechanics seem to LOVE to do........... the front is a straight forward long/short arm suspension and is corrected with shims the same as GM trucks were back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. the rack and pinion is one of the easier ones to adjust also ..........everything is right there and easy to get to.......... the rear suspension has tie rods for the toe and cams for the camber and they are easy to do also ..........
The only CAUTION I would give is that the air dam sometimes hits the rack when the car is put onto or removed from the alignment rack. The thing is sometimes damaged when backing off the rack because going backwards is what tears them up. also the air dam night get in the way of a light beam on some machines so the side peices may have to be unbolted. I have had mine off so many times I have changed the bolts to regular 1/4 inch bolts and saved the torx bolts for places that "show" he he :yesnod: