[motorguy]

Regarding off centre steering wheel after alignment - I had this issue both on my 2016 Hyundai Elite i20 and my new 2022 Ignis.

While I normally go to Madhus in Bangalore (BHPian Nikhil) for any alignment issues, I took a chance by going to Varun Motors, Rajanakunte for my first service of the Ignis (nothing more than checking bolts and fluid levels).

Big mistake - while the steering was already off centre, they made it even worse (the steering when centred was almost 45 degrees to the right). The kept trying and I got fed up. Called Madhus and went there right away (with the steering in this awkward positon).

Madhus has a diagnostic software that checks on various car brands by connecting to the OBD port. I asked the technician Harish (who was highly recommended) to connect it to the Ignis. Choosing "Maruti India" on the software and "automatic VIN recognition", the software automatically connected to the Ignis OBD port. Sure enough, under the function "Read Data Stream", there was a function called "Internal Steering Angle Sensor". When connecting we found out that the the steering sensor was reading steering position as 2.3 degrees to the right. Turning the steering wheel on the car and until the data stream read 0.0 After this the alignment process was done.

After that the problem seems to have been largely corrected. There is still a slight tilt now to the left though . I think this is because the suspension is still settling down (only run 450 km). Will again do the whole process when it hits around 5000 km.

Bottom line - please note most Maruti cars now have incorporated steering angle sensors (note that even Madhus technician Harish was not aware of it till we ran the software). He thought only Hyundai cars have the sensor.

Second - the sensor HAS to be calibrated. 99% of alignment centers do not have the equipment to calibrate this. Do not go to the dealer- Varun Motors gave me some nonsense saying it is not there which was totally false.

[zeng]

Originally Posted by Dieseldrifter

Zeng, i will try my best to clear your confusion. Lets assume steering wheel as a clock and 12 o clock is the center position. i will also like to share that i drive very calmly and patiently, before this my alignment was done at 13k that too in periodic maintenance. I clocked almost 37K kms without any alignment issue.

A) Before alignment at HASS i have to keep my steering wheel at 1 o' clock position to drive it straight.

B) After alignment at HASS i have to keep the my steering wheel in 10 o' clock position. After looking at data of alignment they told me this issue due to dead axle values, also it will be leading to tyre wear also. I told them to proceed ahead and change dead axle and let my car drive straight in 12 o' clock position and earlier there was never ever any abnormal tyre of car. After listing to this they told that in that case these values are okk if there is no abnormal wear of tyres. My steering calibration was done 4-5 times at HASS also.

C) After roadside adjustment again the i have to keep my steering at 1 o' clock position.

D) When i went for second alignment the car was going straight at 1 o' clock.

E) After second alignment the car was going straight at 1.30 clock position.

F) After third alignment again it was going straight at 12:30 position.

All these clock positions were there when only myself was driving the moment one addition is there to passenger seat, all these clock position for center get +1 more, like 1 o' clock position become 2, likewise same for others also. If i lift my hand from steering in any case after first alignment at HASS the steering goes back to 12 o' clock position and cars goes to left side.
One thing i noted that if only one passenger sits just behind the driver seat, no change in the steering position was coming. (Yes this was happening and confirmed by others also, don't consider me mad here)

One good news i want to share is now my car absolutely straight at 12 o' clock and now there is no effect on the steering position after sitting of other passengers, but only one issue is there that turning to left side take some mild more efforts as compared to right side, which i can say is almost negligible to me. I have never driven my car in such a beautiful way like it drives now, only very mild steering inputs are required now whereas earlier i have to battle every 5 second to keep it in line and straight.
Ustaad ji, did a wonderful job here.He told that alignment of Hyundai cars and newer tata cars are absolutely a mess. He claimed that service center people of especially tata are bringing their vehicle to him for alignment which they are unable to perform at TASS.

Thank you for the very well explained details which, imo has helped me in better understanding your predicament and what you're trying to convey.

Originally Posted by Dieseldrifter

Zeng and RubberGuru113, sincere thanks from my side for checking my alignment parameters through reports posted by me.
I have one more thing to ask, considering the parameter Steering Axis Inclination (in HASS alignment report) which part of suspension need to get replaced if alignment issue crop up again, because i very well know something is wrong with the suspension of my car that need to be fixed, but i exactly don't know what to change. I am planing to get front struts, arms and tie rods replaced in case this time if i face any issue with the alignment.
For dead axle readings they told me that many hyundai cars have same readings but we proceed for changing dead axle only when uneven tyre wear occurs. I my 50k run i have never seen any uneven tyre wear in my car.
Lastly one thing, as i pointed out in my earlier post that feels mild heavy while turning towards the left what could be the reason behind this, because today only i have driven car 200 kms and though i won't say it negligible this time.
My car still rides fine in straight line and no pulling on any side now.

The unusual SAI angle values from HASS first alignment report above has indicated errors in setting up of the alignment machine.

This was evident from the balanced SAI angle values from your second alignment report which directly indicates none of the car's front suspension components like struts/shocks, tie rods etc requires replacement as their conditions are perfectly normal and intact.

Despite out of specs Rear Left toe out of -0°02', both the rear tyres are not having abnormal/accelerated wear.

The Total Front Toes of +2.4 mm (3rd Align report) may be ok and within specs, an even lower amount of toes may help in slowing down front tyre wear rate.

Having said this, we don't know the current alignment numbers with the latest manual method and its effect on tyre wear rates. Thus far you seem to be happy with it.

On the statement: "as i pointed out in my earlier post that feels mild heavy while turning towards the left ....", it is more about After front alignment numbers of the latest manual method which remains unknown.

[zeng]

Originally Posted by teja030

Hi Friends!

Need some help regarding Wheel Alignment “Specified Ranges” for the VW Vento.

I had Wheel Alignment of my VW Vento on 11.11.2022. After the Alignment, noticed an off-center Steering Wheel. Hence, I went through the current Alignment report and compared it with the previous report. Noticed different “Specified Ranges” on the both the reports.

Kindly throw some light on what could have gone wrong and which report’s values are correct.

The Wheel Alignments (Current & Previous) were performed on Hunter Machines and the steering wheel was locked straight with respect to the driver’s position before the Toe was set.

11.11.2022 (Current Report)
Attachment 2378443

11.04.2022 (Previous Report)
Attachment 2378442

Interesting that your caster angles does not fit into either one of the above two alignment reports and I wouldn't consider any of the front suspension components require replacement.

On Steering Wheel off-centre (to the right?) Steering Wheel position , there were very likely (off-centre to the right?) Before and After the April alignment incident.

The same steering wheel off-centre phenomenon appears to prevail before the November alignment. However After this november alignment job I believe there is huge improvement in this issue but I'm a bit surprised you are still perceiving/observing this steering wheel off-centre (to right?) phenomenon despite improvement.

On drifts or pulls to one side of the Before and After November alignment report, you didn't mention whether the car drifts/pulls to the left side on a straight ahead driving, whilst temporarily hands off the steering wheel removing steering input. Or does it drives straight?

However the After measurement of earlier April alignment report points to the very slight propensity to drifts/pulls to right without steering input, which is in opposite contrast to that of Before of November alignment report. This inconsistency is interesting and a bit mind boggling to me.

[Joeboy]

Hi could anyone suggest a good WA shop in chennai?

[RubberGuru1113]

Originally Posted by Joeboy

Hi could anyone suggest a good WA shop in chennai?

2 places -
Hiremul Sirachand’s Tyrestore - https://g.co/kgs/VjQfNt

MRF Tyredrome (3 outlets in Adyar, Cathedral Road and Anna Nagar)

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by motorguy

Regarding off centre steering wheel after alignment - I had this issue both on my 2016 Hyundai Elite i20 and my new 2022 Ignis.

While I normally go to Madhus in Bangalore (BHPian Nikhil) for any alignment issues, I took a chance by going to Varun Motors, Rajanakunte for my first service of the Ignis (nothing more than checking bolts and fluid levels).

Big mistake - while the steering was already off centre, they made it even worse (the steering when centred was almost 45 degrees to the right). The kept trying and I got fed up. Called Madhus and went there right away (with the steering in this awkward positon).

Madhus has a diagnostic software that checks on various car brands by connecting to the OBD port. I asked the technician Harish (who was highly recommended) to connect it to the Ignis. Choosing "Maruti India" on the software and "automatic VIN recognition", the software automatically connected to the Ignis OBD port. Sure enough, under the function "Read Data Stream", there was a function called "Internal Steering Angle Sensor". When connecting we found out that the the steering sensor was reading steering position as 2.3 degrees to the right. Turning the steering wheel on the car and until the data stream read 0.0 After this the alignment process was done.

After that the problem seems to have been largely corrected. There is still a slight tilt now to the left though . I think this is because the suspension is still settling down (only run 450 km). Will again do the whole process when it hits around 5000 km.

Bottom line - please note most Maruti cars now have incorporated steering angle sensors (note that even Madhus technician Harish was not aware of it till we ran the software). He thought only Hyundai cars have the sensor.

Second - the sensor HAS to be calibrated. 99% of alignment centers do not have the equipment to calibrate this. Do not go to the dealer- Varun Motors gave me some nonsense saying it is not there which was totally false.

More and more cars now have the SAS (Steering Angle Sendor) incorporated in their steering wheels. Unfortunately the wheel alignment shops don't have the equipment or the knowledge to recalibrate or set it to zero after aligning the car.

Apart from the steering remaining tilted to one side there are other important systems like the ESC. ESP and ADAS which work correctly only if the SAS is set properly. Even the EPS feel changes if the SAS is not set correctly.

Recalibrating the SAS is a mandatory step after every alignment and still nobody does it, including the so called ASC.

I recently purchased my own diagnostic tool that can check and recalibrate the SAS and I intend to use it after every alignment shop visit.

If you need any help in checking whether your SAS is calibrated properly just give a shout out to me.

[RubberGuru1113]

Originally Posted by Traveler

I recently purchased my own diagnostic tool that can check and recalibrate the SAS and I intend to use it after every alignment shop visit.

If you need any help in checking whether your SAS is calibrated properly just give a shout out to me.

Hello. Can you please share the details of your diagnostic tool?

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by RubberGuru1113

Hello. Can you please share the details of your diagnostic tool?

AUTEL Maxicom 808Z. You can find it on Amazon US site or you can Google for it.

[JoaTMoN]

Originally Posted by Traveler

AUTEL Maxicom 808Z. You can find it on Amazon US site or you can Google for it.

Did you buy it from Amazon US site? How much did it cost you? Were you charged customs duty? I see there's an India site for the same product. Was there any reason you didn't opt to buy from there?

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by JoaTMoN

Did you buy it from Amazon US site? How much did it cost you? Were you charged customs duty? I see there's an India site for the same product. Was there any reason you didn't opt to buy from there?

I got it from US. A friend bought it here. India does not have this updated 2023 model. Here they have the older 808 model and not the 808S/Z model.

There is significant difference in the specs.

[JoaTMoN]

Originally Posted by Traveler

I got it from US. A friend bought it here. India does not have this updated 2023 model. Here they have the older 808 model and not the 808S/Z model.

There is significant difference in the specs.

Can you share the price if you don't mind?

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by JoaTMoN

Can you share the price if you don't mind?

Bought it around 10 days back for $474 plus tax. Total was around $488, there was some $25 discount coupon available as well. Final paid was $488.

[anoopelias]

Recently when I walked into Tyre Empire, HSR, Bangalore, they recommended doing a "Wheel Force Synchronization" as a part of wheel balancing. They measure two points, one on the tyre, other on the rim, then remove the tyre from rim and put it back aligning these two. Costs about Rs. 500/- per wheel.

A rough sketch of what they explained here:



Apparently this is different from "Road Force" mentioned in this thread. Has anyone heard of this? Is this useful?

[ssathiyanarayan]

Dear TeamBHPians,
Can you share any trustworthy wheel alignment and balancing centers in Pune. Planning to install TPMS and get the WA and WB for as well
Warm Regards,
Sathiya Narayanan. S

[rayjaycleoful]

Originally Posted by motorguy

Second - the sensor HAS to be calibrated. 99% of alignment centers do not have the equipment to calibrate this. Do not go to the dealer- Varun Motors gave me some nonsense saying it is not there which was totally false.

For anyone whose car doesn't go straight even after the alignment process -
My 2016 Cretas alignment was "fine" (values) but there was something "off". The car went straight for 100m after leaving the steering but then used to move towards the right. The alignment shop I go to (Star Wheels, Gurgaon) asked me to go to Hyundai. Hyundai guys understood the problem and connected the scanner to reset the sensor, solving the issue. From what I understood from Hyundai folks and YouTube vids, this sensor recalibration is almost always needed.
After years of going to after market shops for alignment I will now stick to only A.S.S. I don't see alignment shops in Gurgaon keeping the scanner for the foreseeable future atleast.