Wheel Alignment/Balancing : Madhus Enterprises (Langford rd, Bangalore)

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Got my new Swift VXi wheels and alloys fitted this Saturday. I was the first one to arrive at Madhus, even before the store officials arrived Carried the already bought alloys with me, fitting them and the tires (Yoko A drives) took about an hour in total, including billing. Overall, a great experience as always.

Thanks Nikhil for bearing with the considerable number of SMSes sent and calls made. First instance of upsizing and alloys for me, so you can imagine the pre-planning that went in.

@Nikhil- On another note, please do check out the pics that I have put up of my car in the alloy wheel show off section today. I think you will like what you see!

The pics look AMAZING! And the "considerable" number of SMSes sent and calls made actually help. Prevents miscommunication. It was a pleasure talking to you and setting everything up!

[gsferrari]

Took my Gypsy there to evaluate alternate tire options. Very courteous and knowledgeable people in the stall and they work very quickly and cleanly. Unfortunately I couldn't find the tire of choice (I wanted a 215-75-R15 road tire by Michelin/Yokohama but the only option was the Dueler and that too in 235).

I didn't try placing an order for the tires...perhaps I will do that next time I go there.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

The pics look AMAZING! And the "considerable" number of SMSes sent and calls made actually help. Prevents miscommunication. It was a pleasure talking to you and setting everything up!

Thanks bro for all the help! And glad you liked the final product

[KiloAlpha]

Just got my wheels rotated, balanced, and aligned at Madhu's. They were very professional and got the job done thoroughly, quickly and efficiently. All done to my satisfaction .

The only fly in the ointment (and I am nitpicking here) was a n00b struggling with the wheel nuts of my alloys. But he did no harm - he was just a little slow.

[motorguy]

Today I got my wheels rotated and balanced at Madhu's - they are just great. Courteous and got the rotating and balancing done, all within about 20 minutes - just want to mention that i wanted the wheel hub surfaces greased and they did that with a smile. Then off for alignment and they did the job beautifully. I never get my wheels rotated or aligned at the Auth Service Centers because I have had bad experiences . Apparently the Auth Service Centers never have their equipment calibrated and they never allow you to see what they are doing. On my earlier car , a Swift I took a chance and aligned it at solar and when driving the steering wheel was not centered - their response : "sir it is like this only".

I mentioned I was a team-bhpian (courtesy of the team-bhp stickers on my car) and probably because of that I got a substantial discount. Thanks - Nikhil.

[sagarpadaki]

Hi Nikhil,these reports are for you.Kindly tell me if they are proper.

[sagarpadaki]

Nikhil,Attaching the alignment reports again in chronological order once again for your reference.

[rk_sans]

Nikhil, Does your outlet do bike wheels balancing ?

[Nikhilb2008]

No Santosh, we dont. We did import a few two-wheeler balancers and sold them to various Castrol Bike Zones across the country many years ago. But from the feedback we received, it didnt work out for CBZ.

Your best bet would be to go to a Castrol Bike Zone and check if they can help you out?

[HighOctane]

I am getting wheel alignment and tyre purchases for my cars since 2002. The service was outstanding until my last visit on 13th Feb three days ago. This time took my wife's Grey M800 for alignment. After alignment the car`s steering wheel has turned bit while driving straight and the car moves towards left on leaving steering on flat road. Again went to Madhu's on 14/2, but the service personnel instead of checking again, exchanged right wheel to left and left wheel to right and said it will be alright now. But again the steering wheel turned towards right while driving and still car turns left if I remove hands from streering. Never faced this situation in my 10 years of association with Madhus. I had even asked them to point out if there is any other thing like suspension could be the reason, but they did not helpout.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by HighOctane

I am getting wheel alignment and tyre purchases for my cars since 2002. The service was outstanding until my last visit on 13th Feb three days ago. This time took my wife's Grey M800 for alignment. After alignment the car`s steering wheel has turned bit while driving straight and the car moves towards left on leaving steering on flat road. Again went to Madhu's on 14/2, but the service personnel instead of checking again, exchanged right wheel to left and left wheel to right and said it will be alright now. But again the steering wheel turned towards right while driving and still car turns left if I remove hands from streering. Never faced this situation in my 10 years of association with Madhus. I had even asked them to point out if there is any other thing like suspension could be the reason, but they did not helpout.

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed, but the fact is, since the car starts moving to right after swapping the tyres, it means there is a problem with the tyres.

Also, there seems to be a bit of a contradiction in what you posted. If you leave the steering wheel and the wheel turns left, then the wheel should exert a left-turning force even when you are holding the steering. It is not possible that the steering will turn left when you leave it and turn right when you are holding it.

Normally, this kind of problem takes a bit of trial and error to pinpoint.

This is due to the force developed in a tyre called "Road Force". When a tyre is running on the car, it develops a certain force. When that tyre is shifted to another side of the car (normally happens during wheel rotation), the road force disrupts the driving experience and this is exactly what you have experienced.

You can google for road force to understand more about it in case I've not done a good enough job of explaining it. As of now, there is only one machine in the world which is capable of solving this problem and that is a high end wheel balancer called the Hunter GSP 9700.

If it's not too much of a hassle, can you bring your car back so we can try to rectify it?

Normally these kind of problems get rectified after 100 or 200 kms of driving.

[HighOctane]

Also, there seems to be a bit of a contradiction in what you posted. If you leave the steering wheel and the wheel turns left, then the wheel should exert a left-turning force even when you are holding the steering. It is not possible that the steering will turn left when you leave it and turn right when you are holding
[/quote]

Thanks for the reply and concern. When I came second time, I had told service guys to point out if there any other external factors other than alignment causing this left tilting. But they just swapped tyres and sent me that it will be alright. This dissapointed me and thanks for your valuable suggestions and I will get the car this weekend.
Meanwhile, regarding turning right in my previous post means the Steering wheel itself is tilted towards right about 10° while car moving straight after the alignment

[deetjohn]

I went to Madhus last Saturday for alignment & balancing for the first time for our Swift. Very courteous staff and the equipments look good. The Odo was at 5K KM. The car was not pulling but I had skipped the alignment/ balancing during the 2nd service at MASS for someone more professional.

They did the alignment first and then did balancing and rotation. I asked the technician and he said the order doesn't matter. The stock alloy wheels were to be balanced for the first time. The alloys has sticker weights on the inside of the wheel and clip-ons on the other side of the rim. The first time that I am seeing such an arrangement with both on the inside. These were removed and replaced with only sticker weights. I asked the technician about this and he explained something, but I couldn't understand. I hope its okay.

The thing I didn't like was that the technician didn't bother to take the stones from the tread during balancing. I had to remind him twice to do it for all tyres.

Good service overall and got a discount on the bill without asking.

[Dr.Gagan]

I went to Madhu's today evening. As usual quick and clean job done ( balancing , tyre rotation and alignment ).I also picked up a 12 V portable compressor pump. Nikhil was not available so couldn't speak to him in person, maybe next time. Team Madhu's keep up the good work. You guys are best in bangalore !!

[kap04]

Originally Posted by Dr.Gagan

I went to Madhu's today evening. As usual quick and clean job done ( balancing , tyre rotation and alignment ).I also picked up a 12 V portable compressor pump. Nikhil was not available so couldn't speak to him in person, maybe next time. Team Madhu's keep up the good work. You guys are best in bangalore !!

What was the make of the portable pump, and could you share the price as well. I've been searching for one.