Front end alignment check??
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Sun Coast of Florida
St. Jude Donor '03-'26
Front end alignment check??
When I did the museum delivery in October 2012 someone mentioned to have the dealer do a complementary front end alignment check before 5,000 miles because the alignments coming out of the factory can be off. Was I dreaming or this true?
I don't think the alignment is off (only have 1,500 miles on the Vette) BUT if it's free and they can get it better why not?
I don't think the alignment is off (only have 1,500 miles on the Vette) BUT if it's free and they can get it better why not?
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
no good reason not to do it, but most dealers align to within the wide specs. if it were me, I'd go indie shop, take specs with me, and have it checked to those specs (like Pfadt's). if it's out, pay for it and get it done right.
your tires could be worn down much faster if the alignment is out by a bit. the cost to replace tires prematurely isn't worth it, to me. jmo.
your tires could be worn down much faster if the alignment is out by a bit. the cost to replace tires prematurely isn't worth it, to me. jmo.
Racer
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 473
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From: La Quinta CA
I highly recommend that you have it checked. When I took delivery of my 427 in November, the first thing I noticed was that it was very "twitchy" - changing lanes on the freeway was an adventure. I asked my dealer to check it and the alignment tech reported that camber and toe-in were both way out. I asked him to put in as much positive caster as possible so the car tracks better. That made a huge difference in handling and tracking, although I will say that the 427 still does not track as well as my 2005 coupe!
Even though these cars are aligned in Bowling Green, as the suspension settles in shipping things will definitely change. Just make sure your dealer has a an experienced alignment technician who knows Corvettes!
Even though these cars are aligned in Bowling Green, as the suspension settles in shipping things will definitely change. Just make sure your dealer has a an experienced alignment technician who knows Corvettes!
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 12,641
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From: Houston TX
no good reason not to do it, but most dealers align to within the wide specs. if it were me, I'd go indie shop, take specs with me, and have it checked to those specs (like Pfadt's). if it's out, pay for it and get it done right.
your tires could be worn down much faster if the alignment is out by a bit. the cost to replace tires prematurely isn't worth it, to me. jmo.
your tires could be worn down much faster if the alignment is out by a bit. the cost to replace tires prematurely isn't worth it, to me. jmo.
Bring the Pfadt Performance Street specs to the dealer and ask them to align to the same, as all are within
the GM spec range. If they won't help you, then follow Bill's advice above...
Racer
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 311
Likes: 1
From: Waterloo Illinois
I took delivery of my 60th anniversary 427 in Sept. My car was also very twichy and as another on here said "changing lanes was an adventure". So I took mine in to the dealer with the Pfadt spec's and told the to align it to them.
The car in my opinion was out of alignment when I saw the before and after numbers, but the dealer said it was in spec and since I brought my spec's for the alignment that they would have to charge me for it. I thought that was B.S. but I had just got a free 11 qt oil change and figured $79.00 for a four wheel alignment wasn't worth getting all P.O.'d over.
Anyway, it helped my car a lot, it didn't take out all of the twichy feeling but I would say 85 to 90%. What I found with my car is that 1 or 2 PSI of tire pressure makes a big difference in how the car handles and tracks. Let the pressure drop to 28 PSI and the car is a handful to drive. I tried 32PSI all around and that seams to be where the car handles and tracks the best.
As another also stated "it does not track like my 06 does".
Long story short, get the alignment after about 1,000 miles to let the car settle in, waiting to 5,000 miles may be too late for the tires.
427
The car in my opinion was out of alignment when I saw the before and after numbers, but the dealer said it was in spec and since I brought my spec's for the alignment that they would have to charge me for it. I thought that was B.S. but I had just got a free 11 qt oil change and figured $79.00 for a four wheel alignment wasn't worth getting all P.O.'d over.
Anyway, it helped my car a lot, it didn't take out all of the twichy feeling but I would say 85 to 90%. What I found with my car is that 1 or 2 PSI of tire pressure makes a big difference in how the car handles and tracks. Let the pressure drop to 28 PSI and the car is a handful to drive. I tried 32PSI all around and that seams to be where the car handles and tracks the best.
As another also stated "it does not track like my 06 does".
Long story short, get the alignment after about 1,000 miles to let the car settle in, waiting to 5,000 miles may be too late for the tires.
427
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St. Jude Donor '13
There needs to be a "problem" for them to correct with an alignment, in order for GM to pay, so you need to tell them it wanders at speed on the highway or something like that wink nod.
If you tell them it pulls one way while driving, they can take it around the block and say "unable to duplicate."
Bringing in a sheet with the Pfadt specs starts to look like a setup, so I'd recommend just writing down the Pfadt street numbers on a piece of paper and ask the delaer to use those numbers. The numbers are within the GM specs, so should be no problem using them.
We've bought 3 new Corvettes (2001, 2006, 2009) and each of them had at least one parameter that was outside of even the very wide GM specs. Just do it.
If you tell them it pulls one way while driving, they can take it around the block and say "unable to duplicate."
Bringing in a sheet with the Pfadt specs starts to look like a setup, so I'd recommend just writing down the Pfadt street numbers on a piece of paper and ask the delaer to use those numbers. The numbers are within the GM specs, so should be no problem using them.
We've bought 3 new Corvettes (2001, 2006, 2009) and each of them had at least one parameter that was outside of even the very wide GM specs. Just do it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2004
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From: West Barnstable MA
I suggest getting the wheels road force balanced also. Firestone has the contract to mount and balance the tires for the factory. I had both the alignment and balancing done on my GS and it made a big difference
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
There needs to be a "problem" for them to correct with an alignment, in order for GM to pay, so you need to tell them it wanders at speed on the highway or something like that wink nod.
If you tell them it pulls one way while driving, they can take it around the block and say "unable to duplicate."
Bringing in a sheet with the Pfadt specs starts to look like a setup, so I'd recommend just writing down the Pfadt street numbers on a piece of paper and ask the delaer to use those numbers. The numbers are within the GM specs, so should be no problem using them.
We've bought 3 new Corvettes (2001, 2006, 2009) and each of them had at least one parameter that was outside of even the very wide GM specs. Just do it.
If you tell them it pulls one way while driving, they can take it around the block and say "unable to duplicate."
Bringing in a sheet with the Pfadt specs starts to look like a setup, so I'd recommend just writing down the Pfadt street numbers on a piece of paper and ask the delaer to use those numbers. The numbers are within the GM specs, so should be no problem using them.
We've bought 3 new Corvettes (2001, 2006, 2009) and each of them had at least one parameter that was outside of even the very wide GM specs. Just do it.
The dealer will set it to the Pfadt settings if you need an adjustment.Bill
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I like them.
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '14
I did within 2 weeks from driving home from R8C delivery.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: tacoma wa
Firestone for me as well. Lifetime of alignments. You have to tell them the spec you want or they will give you the wide range as well. Dont get the green light alignment. force them to get it perfect.
Safety Car
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From: Loveland CO to Central Coast CA
Team Owner
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From: Southern Utah
no good reason not to do it, but most dealers align to within the wide specs. if it were me, I'd go indie shop, take specs with me, and have it checked to those specs (like Pfadt's). if it's out, pay for it and get it done right.
your tires could be worn down much faster if the alignment is out by a bit. the cost to replace tires prematurely isn't worth it, to me. jmo.
your tires could be worn down much faster if the alignment is out by a bit. the cost to replace tires prematurely isn't worth it, to me. jmo.
I agree with Bill 100%. First, you will not necessarily be able to tell by feel that the alignment is off. Mine was one of the cars that had bad alignment, felt just great, and then at 20,000 I happened to look at the inside edge of the passenger front tire only to see cords showing through. The rest of the tire would have gone an extra 10,000 miles, as would the rear tires. On a GS, this kind of situation could happen at 1/3 of these miles. The inside edge of the front tires takes a bit of effort to inspect...so it gets missed often, but it is the most common place where these tires are destroyed by alignment. Second, a good alignment shop will be much better at doing a high quality job than a dealer. 99.999% of the service a dealer does is not C6 alignment. Spend $100 and call it good. If you don't bang the wheels around, it may last the whole time you own the car.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2010
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From: MA
There needs to be a "problem" for them to correct with an alignment, in order for GM to pay, so you need to tell them it wanders at speed on the highway or something like that wink nod.
If you tell them it pulls one way while driving, they can take it around the block and say "unable to duplicate."
If you tell them it pulls one way while driving, they can take it around the block and say "unable to duplicate."
Last edited by ButchN; Jan 27, 2013 at 01:33 PM.
Team Owner
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From: Southern Utah
Team Owner
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
The dealers have a conection to the GM service information and can easily get the specs from there, a good tech will show them to you if there is a question. Otherwise, the Service Manuals for your year will have them. You can also ask people here what the numbers are, someone always comes through.