I'm thinking of getting a 4 wheel alignment. My steering wheel is "cocked" to the left about 1/4". Bought the car about 2 months ago. No apparent signs of previous damage. Car runs straight and shows even tire wear. Car is an 01 with 35,000 miles. I have 2 questions:

1. Can any alignment shop align the vette provided they have current equipment?

2. Will they also be able to set the steering wheel back to 12 o'clock? The only "real" reason I'm thinking of getting the alignment is to set the wheel straight.

Thanks.

Rick

 

get a 4 wheel alignment, it will consist of setting the toe which will center the steering wheel.

 

Apologize for my ignorance but will any alignment shop with modern equipment be able to align a Corvette or are there "special" needs? Thanks.

Rick

 

There might be two "special needs". First, the alignment machine needs to be able to set the toe-in. In order to do that on a car with low body work in the front, such as a 'Vette, you either need the latest machine that sends the laser beam to a reciever that's wall mounted above the rack (Hunter or John Bean), or the latest "conventional" heads that extend both forward and DOWN, so the beam will go across and under the front fenders. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) Even if the heads go out and down, you still might need to temporarily remove the side air dams, so you'll be able to shoot the light beam across the front of the car.

Second special need depends on how low your car sits. You might need a couple of 2x10s, about 3-4 feet long, placed in front of, and paralell to the alignment machine's ramps. These are to get the car up, so it won't scrape as you drive on to the machine.

 

Rick,

I think you need to get that alignment done for more than just setting your wheel straight (BTW, mine is crooked after aligning due to a frozen jam nut on one tie rod ). Something has moved; either a previous alignment or something in the suspension itself.

I always get an alignment done on a car when I buy it (and recommend it even for new cars, you'd be amazed at how far off they can be).

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

 

check the tires to make sure they are in good shape. could be a signal that you need new front tires

 

Mike,
That may or may not be true (though I agree getting an alignment is a good idea). A friend of mine bought a new 04 Coupe and his steering wheel was slightly off center from the factory as well.

Rick,
The Vette uses concentric bolts on the lower a-arm mounting points. As the concentric bolt is rotated, it moves that leg of the a-arm in or out which changes caster, camber and toe. The problem with these is that if you hit a curb, pothole, etc., they can move and the whole alignment is off. Mine move way too often on the track. I paint a mark on mine after I align it so I can make a quick visual check to see if they have moved and check them after each track session.

Your alignment may actually be fine with the exception of the annoyance of the off center steering wheel. Each front wheel has a tie rod that sets toe for that tire. Due to the caster, the wheels will self center as the car drives down the road (like the front fork on a bicycle keeps the wheel centered). However, it is very hard to match the steering wheel to this centered position during an alignment. When I align my car for a race, I put the steering wheel centered, align the tires as close to center as possible, but I'm concernced more with front aggregate toe than if they are properly centered. Once the car is aligned and toe is correct, I go out and drive it. If the wheel isn't centered, I loosen both front tie rod nuts and move them the same amount but in opposite directions to "repoint" the front tires without changing overall toe in so the wheel can be centered (e.g. one shorter one longer - which actually is rotating them in the same way as I look at them from the front since they are oriented 180 out from each other). I've gotten pretty good at determining how much of a rotation on the tie-rods is required to move the steering wheel the amount I want.

As an example, say my steering wheel is turned to the right when the car goes straight (and the toe is correct which is an unknown in your case). If I turn the wheel straight, the tires are now pointed to the left. To fix this, I need to shorten the LF tie rod and lengthen the RF tie rod by the same amount.

 

You stated that the car has even tire wear, and that the only reason you are considering the alignment is to get the steering wheel centered. With that in mind, if it was my car, I wouldn't touch it, in other words, "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it". The steering wheel is hardly ever maintained in the centered position when driving, and differently crowned roads will require a slight pressure to be maintained anyway, even when perfectly centered when static, it will probably need to be turned slightly one way or the other while driving.
So I would leave it alone, but again that's me, and I wouldn't spend the money.

 

I'm an ASE certified technician, and have been doing alignments for over 10 years, just so you know my background. Messing with your tie rods without the proper alignment machine will definitely get you in trouble with tire wear and even handling. Moving the tire even 1/4 " will cause wear. Alignment machines will measure the wheel movement to a thickness of a piece of paper. Also, the front toe may not be out, the rear thrust angle could be out, making the rear wheels point in the wrong direction, and causing the steering wheel to be off. If you want your steering wheel straight and proper, you will need a 5 wheel alignment(what we call it in the industry.....4 wheels and the steering wheel is adjusted).

 

I do all my own allignment for my street and track cars. You can do the steering wheel correction yourself with a cressent wrench so long as that is the only thing you want to do. As mentioned above, the steering wheel postion (and toe-in) is a function of the tie rod position. Here's what I do:

1. As an approximate starting reference; To reposition the steering wheel 5 degrees you need to adjust each tie rod 1/2 turn in the correct direction. I adjust my tie rods one wrench flat at a time (60*) making sure to count the flats and swing the wrench the same angle for each flat. It is not necessary to measure the angle of each wrench flat turn, just make sure that when you reposition the wrench it starts in the same location each time. In this process, 1/2 turn would be three wrench flats of rotation (180*). Don't forget to tighten the jam nuts after you make an adjustment.
2. Adjust each tie rod (wheel) in the direction of the SW error. Thus, if the SW is 5* in the right turn direction, adjust the right tie rod longer by 1/2 turn (3 flats) and the left wheel shorter by 1/2 turn (3 flats). This preserves the original toe-in while repositioning the SW.
3. This is an iteritive process. Make an adjustment and go drive the car on a flat road. If the SW position needs more adjustment, repeat the process with the necessary + or - tie rod changes until you are satisfied.
Good luck and let us know what you do to solve this issue.
Shirl Dickey
SD Racing Enterprises.

 

Another thing to be sure of is that the shop can mount their alignment heads to you wheels without damaging them! Some machines won't mount on an 18" wheel without special adapters. Just ran into this on a fairly new Hunter the other day.

 

Thanks for the caution. Point well taken.

That said, I wasn't trying to imply anyone should run out and mess with their tie rods. I was only trying to explain how easy it is for it to be off center. However, this really isn't that hard either (as explained by MrEracer above). But, I do have my own racing alignment gear and do set my rear thrust angles so if my steering is off center I know it is the fronts (which no matter how hard I try I find nearly impossible to get right the first time).

 

You guys are great and thanks for the responses and insight. Four wheel alignment today and a road force balance on all wheels and life is good.

The tech pointed out to me the rear tires were wearing on the outside edges. Stated it was due to the rear thrust being off. Front was also all out of spec. Caster, camber, toe and thrust all 4 wheels were out of spec.

Steering wheel straight, car goes straight and no shimy or wobble. Big difference. I think the tech was pretty good. He even ste the adjustments to compensate for my weight.

I was also pleased with the price. Had a coupon for the alignment off their website. Alignment cost $49.95, regular $57.95. Also the road force balance was only $10.00/wheel. From what I've read on here most shops charge $20.00 wheel. Out the door for $89.95.

The shop is Robertson Tire in Bixby (Tulsa), OK. They paid attention to detail and didn't mind me standing at the rack watching. The manager even supervised getting the car on and off the rack. Needed to use some 2"x6" boards to get it on the rack without scraping. The tech even checked the differential and tranny fluid levels at no charge while it was in the air. Easier than me doing it on my back in the garage

Really a pleasant experience. Thanks again for all the help!

Rick

 

Glad to see they treated you well and your car alignment is fixed.

 

WOW!! A story with a happy ending!

 

Thats great, I'm glad you had a good experience, that tech sounds like me . Seriously though, I'm happy to be of service, and you got a GREAT deal, we charge $95 + tax for a difficult service alignment!

p.s.-This goes to show you that even though the car is going straight and you dont seem to notice tire wear(which you had from a closer in the air inspection), it doesn't mean the car is not out of alignment