UPDATED****Alignment Issue...
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: South Western Ontario
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Joined: Mar 2010
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But in his case, a tire pull should not effect the alignment, because it is most likely not out of round, or worn funny, because the tires are new. And i hope that every shop adjusts the tire pressure before an alignment is performed.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,599
Likes: 22
From: Whittier CA
Interesting thread. I just bought all new rims and tires (Michelin R/F Pilots). I bought the new rims because I hit a pothole and damaged (flat spot) the driver's front rim. Rim were purchased and installed by a forum vendor. I bought the new tires because I was due. Car has under 18,000 miles.
Anyway, I too am getting a drift to the right. Took the car to an alignment shop recommended by a forum vendor. After the first try at aligning the car, it drifted immediately to the right. Took the car back and they realigned. The car drove much better but still drifted (a little) to the right. Decided to drive it for a couple weeks, and the owner of the alignment place called me. Told him the car was still drifting to right. He had me bring the car back. He realigned the car again. Car still drifted to right. He re-mounted and swapped the front tires. Car still has slight drift to right but handles better. I truly believe the alignment place knows what they are doing and their equipment was recently calibrated.
My question is...
What are the realistic possibilities that I might have some type of front end damage? How much abuse can the front end take before damage occurs? I had the car on a lift and I didn't see anything unusual, but I really do not know what to look for. The alignment place also looked and did not notice anything unusual; however, they deal with all makes and models and they are not corvette specific.
Thoughts????
(I apologize if I hijacked the thread... Not my intention...
)
Anyway, I too am getting a drift to the right. Took the car to an alignment shop recommended by a forum vendor. After the first try at aligning the car, it drifted immediately to the right. Took the car back and they realigned. The car drove much better but still drifted (a little) to the right. Decided to drive it for a couple weeks, and the owner of the alignment place called me. Told him the car was still drifting to right. He had me bring the car back. He realigned the car again. Car still drifted to right. He re-mounted and swapped the front tires. Car still has slight drift to right but handles better. I truly believe the alignment place knows what they are doing and their equipment was recently calibrated.
My question is...
What are the realistic possibilities that I might have some type of front end damage? How much abuse can the front end take before damage occurs? I had the car on a lift and I didn't see anything unusual, but I really do not know what to look for. The alignment place also looked and did not notice anything unusual; however, they deal with all makes and models and they are not corvette specific.
Thoughts????
(I apologize if I hijacked the thread... Not my intention...
)
Last edited by Rossi6998; Oct 20, 2012 at 12:44 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,716
Likes: 37
From: Colorado
Interesting thread. I just bought all new rims and tires (Michelin R/F Pilots). I bought the new rims because I hit a pothole and damaged (flat spot) the driver's front rim. Rim were purchased and installed by a forum vendor. I bought the new tires because I was due. Car has under 18,000 miles.
Anyway, I too am getting a drift to the right. Took the car to an alignment shop recommended by a forum vendor. After the first try at aligning the car, it drifted immediately to the right. Took the car back and they realigned. The car drove much better but still drifted (a little) to the right. Decided to drive it for a couple weeks, and the owner of the alignment place called me. Told him the car was still drifting to right. He had me bring the car back. He realigned the car again. Car still drifted to right. He re-mounted and swapped the front tires. Car still has slight drift to right but handles better. I truly believe the alignment place knows what they are doing and their equipment was recently calibrated.
My question is...
What are the realistic possibilities that I might have some type of front end damage? How much abuse can the front end take before damage occurs? I had the car on a lift and I didn't see anything unusual, but I really do not know what to look for. The alignment place also looked and did not notice anything unusual; however, they deal with all makes and models and they are not corvette specific.
Thoughts????
(I apologize if I hijacked the thread... Not my intention... )
Anyway, I too am getting a drift to the right. Took the car to an alignment shop recommended by a forum vendor. After the first try at aligning the car, it drifted immediately to the right. Took the car back and they realigned. The car drove much better but still drifted (a little) to the right. Decided to drive it for a couple weeks, and the owner of the alignment place called me. Told him the car was still drifting to right. He had me bring the car back. He realigned the car again. Car still drifted to right. He re-mounted and swapped the front tires. Car still has slight drift to right but handles better. I truly believe the alignment place knows what they are doing and their equipment was recently calibrated.
My question is...
What are the realistic possibilities that I might have some type of front end damage? How much abuse can the front end take before damage occurs? I had the car on a lift and I didn't see anything unusual, but I really do not know what to look for. The alignment place also looked and did not notice anything unusual; however, they deal with all makes and models and they are not corvette specific.
Thoughts????
(I apologize if I hijacked the thread... Not my intention...
)ill suspect alignment til you find something bent or put smartcamber and longacre gauges on it yourself.
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Interesting thread. I just bought all new rims and tires (Michelin R/F Pilots). I bought the new rims because I hit a pothole and damaged (flat spot) the driver's front rim. Rim were purchased and installed by a forum vendor. I bought the new tires because I was due. Car has under 18,000 miles.
Anyway, I too am getting a drift to the right. Took the car to an alignment shop recommended by a forum vendor. After the first try at aligning the car, it drifted immediately to the right. Took the car back and they realigned. The car drove much better but still drifted (a little) to the right. Decided to drive it for a couple weeks, and the owner of the alignment place called me. Told him the car was still drifting to right. He had me bring the car back. He realigned the car again. Car still drifted to right. He re-mounted and swapped the front tires. Car still has slight drift to right but handles better. I truly believe the alignment place knows what they are doing and their equipment was recently calibrated.
My question is...
What are the realistic possibilities that I might have some type of front end damage? How much abuse can the front end take before damage occurs? I had the car on a lift and I didn't see anything unusual, but I really do not know what to look for. The alignment place also looked and did not notice anything unusual; however, they deal with all makes and models and they are not corvette specific.
Thoughts????
(I apologize if I hijacked the thread... Not my intention... )
Anyway, I too am getting a drift to the right. Took the car to an alignment shop recommended by a forum vendor. After the first try at aligning the car, it drifted immediately to the right. Took the car back and they realigned. The car drove much better but still drifted (a little) to the right. Decided to drive it for a couple weeks, and the owner of the alignment place called me. Told him the car was still drifting to right. He had me bring the car back. He realigned the car again. Car still drifted to right. He re-mounted and swapped the front tires. Car still has slight drift to right but handles better. I truly believe the alignment place knows what they are doing and their equipment was recently calibrated.
My question is...
What are the realistic possibilities that I might have some type of front end damage? How much abuse can the front end take before damage occurs? I had the car on a lift and I didn't see anything unusual, but I really do not know what to look for. The alignment place also looked and did not notice anything unusual; however, they deal with all makes and models and they are not corvette specific.
Thoughts????
(I apologize if I hijacked the thread... Not my intention...
)well in the end he ended up making a caster adjustment and the car seems fine...we just did a 2500 mile road trip and the tires show no excessive wear and the car handled fine....I still think the car just does not like these tires...my 99 has had no issues with them
the guy at the shop said it doesn't happen a lot but has seen cases where for whatever reason some cars do not do well with some tires..said he had a minivan that came in put on new tires aligned it and it pulled to the right....tried everything they ended up putting a totally different brand of tire on the vehicle and changed nothing else and it tracked fine...all I know is its a frustrating and maddening process when nothing works and you spends hours and $$$ trying to figure out what should be a simple thing
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 275
Likes: 2
From: Tucson Arizona
Just my $0.02 and YMMV.
I will not have my cars aligned without me sitting in the driver seat while the work is being done. This pre-loads the suspension for my weight and allows me to watch the technician at the same time.
I can see the screen to be sure that the numbers shown there are actually the numbers recorded on the paper that they hand me after the work.
My 200+# sitting in the seat does make a difference in the alignment.
I will not have my cars aligned without me sitting in the driver seat while the work is being done. This pre-loads the suspension for my weight and allows me to watch the technician at the same time.
I can see the screen to be sure that the numbers shown there are actually the numbers recorded on the paper that they hand me after the work.
My 200+# sitting in the seat does make a difference in the alignment.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,716
Likes: 37
From: Colorado
Just my $0.02 and YMMV.
I will not have my cars aligned without me sitting in the driver seat while the work is being done. This pre-loads the suspension for my weight and allows me to watch the technician at the same time.
I can see the screen to be sure that the numbers shown there are actually the numbers recorded on the paper that they hand me after the work.
My 200+# sitting in the seat does make a difference in the alignment.
I will not have my cars aligned without me sitting in the driver seat while the work is being done. This pre-loads the suspension for my weight and allows me to watch the technician at the same time.
I can see the screen to be sure that the numbers shown there are actually the numbers recorded on the paper that they hand me after the work.
My 200+# sitting in the seat does make a difference in the alignment.
although, worth noting, while doing my alignment with the coilovers with me in the car vs me not in the car, not a single number changed by a hair. im only ~160 and perhaps the coilovers are so much more rigid than the stock that it didnt impact it. didnt try setting it to softer settings to see if anything changed.
