[audioholic]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

Update-
The previous shop was unable to loosen the nuts and told me to replace the Toe Setting Rod itself.

Happened to me too when I visited a nearby shop for getting alignment done. The technician went down, did some tweaks and came up saying the tie rod is packed up and he cant loosen the nut - this for a two year old car with just 12k on the odo. Then he ended up making the alignment even worse. Took the car to our regular Tyre professionals and not an issue was raised by the chap there. And that was the last time my car ever went to the nearby shop.

BTW, what is the kind of machine that uses threads tied from each wheel sensor all around the car? The shop nearby used to have such a thing and the threads were connected very vaguely. Not sure what alignment they used to do

[bluevolt]

I recently got my WagonR's wheel alignment done and here is the report. Please tell if everything is fine as I don't know what these values actually means? The guy who did the job told that all is well.

[shauncolaco]

Any inputs on the quality of work at Tyre Park at 80 feet road, Indiranagar? (Close to the RTO).

Though i regularly make it to Madhus on Langford Road, the location is a bit inconvenient for me but then i had very limited choice.

Inputs would help.

[shipnil]

Hello Nikhil / gurus on this topic. I have a question related to Ford Figo. I went in for alignment today and the technician doing the job said, only the toe could be adjusted for this car. The camber or castor is not possible to adjust as the it does not have the provision for adjustment. For this car, if there is some error in camber/castor, the only solution is part replacement in suspension assembly that has caused the misalignment. Is this true?

[Rohini06]

I have a Wagon R which was bought on 1st Aug 13 and unfortunately after a few days while driving we hit a pothole. This caused the right front wheel to be cut i believe it must have been an edge that hit the tyre. Repairs were done soon after . The front right L shaped arm that holds the tyre in place was bent and was replaced the rim was bent too and the tyre had a finger sized hole so both these we replaced as well.
The right front wheel is about 1/2 an inch back then the left front wheel.
The Maruti service center told me that the procedure to correct the alignment will cost around 25-30K they might have to check the axle and other stuff.
The misalignment should not cause any problem.

I wanted to know how and if this misalignment will impact the car. Whether it is better to get it fixed now or is it ok to wait. Is there any check I can do to see whether the car needs repair.

Apart from this the car drives well. It does not pull in any direction there is no noticeable noise while driving.

Also just out of curiosity one more question I fail to understand how a pothole can cause so much damage, we must have been going at 30 - max 40 km per hour. It was a fully loaded car though 4 people and luggage. The next day I checked the tyre pressure in the left front tyre it was 45 should have been 36 or less. It was a rainy day and the tyres well cool so no air expansion also the car had been serviced just the day before the accident. Could this cause the tyre to burst as well ?

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by Rohini06

The right front wheel is about 1/2 an inch back then the left front wheel.
The Maruti service center told me that the procedure to correct the alignment will cost around 25-30K they might have to check the axle and other stuff.
The misalignment should not cause any problem.

I wanted to know how and if this misalignment will impact the car. Whether it is better to get it fixed now or is it ok to wait. Is there any check I can do to see whether the car needs repair.

Apart from this the car drives well. It does not pull in any direction there is no noticeable noise while driving.

From your description, it seems the caster is out of alignment. While searching for my own questions, I have come to know that most modern cars have fixed caster and camber. The alignment guys cannot adjust this. If it is out alignment, it is due to some bent component in you suspension/steering assembly. The only way to correct is to identify that component and replace it. But the kind of expertise our A.S.S. guys have, identifying the defective component is an uphill task.

When your caster is out of alignment, it does not impact tyre wear, but the car might pull to one side. Since you mentioned that it does not pull to that side, I think you can live with it.

[Rohini06]

Originally Posted by shipnil

When your caster is out of alignment, it does not impact tyre wear, but the car might pull to one side. Since you mentioned that it does not pull to that side, I think you can live with it.

Thanks for the response. Visually I cannot spot any camber misalignment or toe misalignment. Next time I take it for servicing I can check the wheel alignment details myself to be sure its just the caster that's misaligned . Thanks again.

[am1m]

Recently got all 4 tyres changed on our 10-year old Alto. As a part of the change, the tyre shop did the wheel balancing and wheel alignment too. The steering has freed up quite a bit and the car is much easier to drive. Went for the same stock-sized tyres. I know nothing about wheel alignment and balancing, so was wondering if the new 'lightness' and ease of steering is because of the new tyres, the alignment or balancing. Can anyone explain please? Thanks in advance!

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by am1m

Went for the same stock-sized tyres. I know nothing about wheel alignment and balancing, so was wondering if the new 'lightness' and ease of steering is because of the new tyres, the alignment or balancing.

This is because of the new tyres not because of alignment and balancing. How old were your old set of tyres?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

How old were your old set of tyres?

About 7 years old, nearly 37k run. But I would think that the older tyres with lesser tread would have lower friction/resistance with the road surface? So, shouldn't the new tryes with better grip make the steering harder? Or am I missing something here?

[Puneet.S]

Got first alignment and balancing job done for my Scorpio at 10k kms (was experiencing steering vibration at speeds over 90km/h before). Attaching a photo of the alignment printout provided to me - i feel the alignment could have been performed better? Expert opinions welcome.

[coolboy007]

Couldnt find a suitable thread so posting the query here and would request the members to give their opinion.

I got my Linea's tyres changed to Bridgestone MY02 an year back, they have done 10,000 kms and just today while cleaning the alloys i noticed that the front 2 tyres are mounted in a wrong direction. These are unidirectional tyres and the rotation arrow is in the wrong direction which means the shop did a mistake while mounting.

Should i get it corrected asap? Could it have caused any uneven wear or damage to the tyre?

[rana_kirti]

Hi Nikhil,

Hope all's well.

I'm seeking your expert option and guidance on this left pulling issue which has been bothering me since 4 months. my polo has been pulling left since i got it home. i tried alignment at 2 different alignment shops but it could not be solved. i also got alignment done at vw workshop but it could not be rectified. they have tried rotating tyre left to right, front to back but the issue persists.

I have test driven a couple of my friends polos and they drive relatively straight and also a few demo car polos which all track straight.

yesterday i went to madhus hunter hawkeye alignment workshop here in delhi. they did alignment and my car finally seemed to go straight. i felt the problem solved almost to an extent of 90 %.

however the alignment ustad ji told me to still take the car to vw for alignment as he felt that the RED value of the Left Caster meant some part of the front suspension could be bent like an arm or knuckle. Though he said the value of RED is a very small one and chances of something being bent are small. He told me that if the Caster/Camber values show RED on their alignment machine it means some part is bent/damaged.

I'm attaching report of the Hunter alignment for your reference.

On my way to the vw workshop i felt the car was straight about 90% of the times which was a big relief since i was troubled by this since 4 months....

When at vw workshop i informed them about the above. They told me they will do their own alignment to check this. They did physical inspection of the front suspension on a high lift and then did tyre rotation and alignment on their machine but no values showed in RED. All were in green.

After alignment we went for test drive but the left pulling came back. Then they re did alignment and test drive again the left pulling was still there. VW workshop technicians tried to help a lot and i must say were very dedicated in finding a solution but it could not be solved. It was late in the evening so i came back home.

I am attaching VW alignment report for your reference.

This has left me very confused and i request you to kindly read both reports to help me pinpoint the problem...

Thanks in anticipation,

Rana.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by rana_kirti

Hi Nikhil,



Rana.

That's a long post and I think you realise that the guys at the tyre shop were better than VW fellows :P

The caster being in RED means wear and tear on a suspension component/part. That has to be replaced/repaired. If VW continue their process, they will never solve your problem.

Caster/Camber can get changed due to wear and tear resulting in worn out parts. Normally to bring it back within specification, some components, bushes may need to be changed or some adjustment has to be done by the OEM guys. But in your case clearly they are incompetent.

All I can say is, go back to the tyre shop, solve the problem to 90% and live with it. One of the drawbacks of the OEM guy not giving you proper service I guess.

[wanderernomad]

Recently TASS conveyed that they are unable to align my front right tire and they need to change the front right shocker. Is It correct?