alignment... Whatcha think?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 696
Likes: 7
From: Sacramento Ca
alignment... Whatcha think?
So the car has been apart several times and I got new rear tires and the front are about 3 years old with 10k miles on them, with minimal camber wear on inside edges as the car has been lowered about 1/2"... anyways the car was aligned to pfadt's least aggressive specs and I left the car had a right pull and felt very "darty" wanting to go left right left right.. I had to chase the wheel at all times it seemed...
First alignment:
And this is their 2nd attempt to correct my complaints of right pull and "darty" feeling. He wrote on the invoice.. "fine tuned alignment, still pulling R, suggest swapping front tires to check for radial tire pull".
First alignment:
And this is their 2nd attempt to correct my complaints of right pull and "darty" feeling. He wrote on the invoice.. "fine tuned alignment, still pulling R, suggest swapping front tires to check for radial tire pull".
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,800
Likes: 356
From: Northville, MI
Check with the alignment shop and determine what they call toe in and toe out. Some machines use a positive number for toe in. If that is the case, then the alignment looks OK and you have adverse tire wear in the front tires.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 120
From: orlando florida
St. Jude Donor '15
Look into the front tires for abnormal wear. If anything the car should be pulling left now with that much caster spread of -0.70. Should only need about -0.30 cross caster.
Edit: read your comments about inside tire wear. Most likely left tire is worn more than the right one. Camber wear gives you a conical wear across the tire. Think like a paper cup. one side is a little taller than the other side. Can see with a tire depth gauge measuring across the tire.
Signed the alignment guy
Edit: read your comments about inside tire wear. Most likely left tire is worn more than the right one. Camber wear gives you a conical wear across the tire. Think like a paper cup. one side is a little taller than the other side. Can see with a tire depth gauge measuring across the tire.
Signed the alignment guy
Last edited by mrr23; Oct 22, 2014 at 03:56 PM.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 696
Likes: 7
From: Sacramento Ca
Look into the front tires for abnormal wear. If anything the car should be pulling left now with that much caster spread of -0.70. Should only need about -0.30 cross caster.
Edit: read your comments about inside tire wear. Most likely left tire is worn more than the right one. Camber wear gives you a conical wear across the tire. Think like a paper cup. one side is a little taller than the other side. Can see with a tire depth gauge measuring across the tire.
Signed the alignment guy
Edit: read your comments about inside tire wear. Most likely left tire is worn more than the right one. Camber wear gives you a conical wear across the tire. Think like a paper cup. one side is a little taller than the other side. Can see with a tire depth gauge measuring across the tire.
Signed the alignment guy
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 16,027
Likes: 170
From: oregon
more rear toe in will help with stability. you already have more caster and more toe than most, it could just be the tires
toe the rear in to .10 each side, that can calm a car down and make straight line stability much better
toe the rear in to .10 each side, that can calm a car down and make straight line stability much better
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
The fronts have too much toe in. The front toe values are not equal. The rears are both pointing left. The rear thrust angle should be 0. I'm assuming that a positive toe number is toe-in.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 120
From: orlando florida
St. Jude Donor '15
I'll agree the rear should have been the same .02 instead of the left being -.02. But minor still.
Yes positive number on toe is inward.
Signed- the alignment guy
Last edited by mrr23; Oct 23, 2014 at 11:24 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
He asked what people thought. I think it looks a little sketchy.
I also noticed that the first time on the rack the car initially had major toe-out on the front wheels which was changed to toe-in but then the second time on the rack it initially had toe out again. If they put 0.07* toe-in the first time how's it change to 0.15* of toe out the 2nd time the car was put back on the rack? This makes me question the competence of the shop. Either something is wrong with the car or something is wrong with their methods.
Last edited by lionelhutz; Oct 23, 2014 at 01:06 PM.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 120
From: orlando florida
St. Jude Donor '15
You can align a vehicle, pull it off the rack, go drive it, recheck it and it will not give the exact same readings. There will be some minor variances.
In your original post, you had concerns over very minor variances that has absolutely no bearing on the issue at hand. None of what you originally posted would ever contribute to the pull the car has.
As far as the competency of the shop goes, they nailed it when they said check the tires.
Now as far as the variances between the first and second time, even to me it is a bit much. Could be slightly worn control arm bushings or a bolt didn't get tight enough and slipped.
In your original post, you had concerns over very minor variances that has absolutely no bearing on the issue at hand. None of what you originally posted would ever contribute to the pull the car has.
As far as the competency of the shop goes, they nailed it when they said check the tires.
Now as far as the variances between the first and second time, even to me it is a bit much. Could be slightly worn control arm bushings or a bolt didn't get tight enough and slipped.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
How competent is the shop if they are aligning the car twice without noticing the initial toe out both times? Or without noticing the issue causes the front alignment to go toe out after it comes off the rack? Or, leaving a bolt loose that is causing it?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 120
From: orlando florida
St. Jude Donor '15
The op even said in his initial post he knew his tires had inner wear before the first alignment.
So again anything you've written has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand. And the shop is plenty competent.
Last edited by mrr23; Oct 23, 2014 at 03:43 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
Some people are too touchy. The front toe changed by 0.22* between alignments. No matter what the cause, there is no good excuse for no saying something about that. If no explanation can be found for that change then it should really be checked a 3rd time to ensure the alignment has stayed correct.
Of course, worn components and changing alignments have nothing to do with how the car drives....
Of course, worn components and changing alignments have nothing to do with how the car drives....
Last edited by lionelhutz; Oct 23, 2014 at 06:01 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 16,027
Likes: 170
From: oregon
You can align a vehicle, pull it off the rack, go drive it, recheck it and it will not give the exact same readings. There will be some minor variances.
In your original post, you had concerns over very minor variances that has absolutely no bearing on the issue at hand. None of what you originally posted would ever contribute to the pull the car has.
As far as the competency of the shop goes, they nailed it when they said check the tires.
Now as far as the variances between the first and second time, even to me it is a bit much. Could be slightly worn control arm bushings or a bolt didn't get tight enough and slipped.
In your original post, you had concerns over very minor variances that has absolutely no bearing on the issue at hand. None of what you originally posted would ever contribute to the pull the car has.
As far as the competency of the shop goes, they nailed it when they said check the tires.
Now as far as the variances between the first and second time, even to me it is a bit much. Could be slightly worn control arm bushings or a bolt didn't get tight enough and slipped.
this is my opinion too after thinking about it
a car with an off alignment will wear tires in that groove, when the alignment is corrected the tires will still have uneven wear and won't behave like they should. the situation may correct itself in a few thousand miles of driving
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 120
From: orlando florida
St. Jude Donor '15
this is my opinion too after thinking about it
a car with an off alignment will wear tires in that groove, when the alignment is corrected the tires will still have uneven wear and won't behave like they should. the situation may correct itself in a few thousand miles of driving
a car with an off alignment will wear tires in that groove, when the alignment is corrected the tires will still have uneven wear and won't behave like they should. the situation may correct itself in a few thousand miles of driving
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 120
From: orlando florida
St. Jude Donor '15
Some people are too touchy. The front toe changed by 0.22* between alignments. No matter what the cause, there is no good excuse for no saying something about that. If no explanation can be found for that change then it should really be checked a 3rd time to ensure the alignment has stayed correct.
Of course, worn components and changing alignments have nothing to do with how the car drives....
Of course, worn components and changing alignments have nothing to do with how the car drives....
And who knows, the op may have a worn control arm bushing you can't see without removing the arms to see.