Hey guys looking for a good alignment shop. Suggestions please.

I have had my car aligned by a few shops, but I seem to always get premature uneven camber wear on my tires!

So something has to be wrong!?! and they are not dealing with the real problem, need someone that understands why , and will resolve the issue correctly.

I really just want to go to a shop that will do a good job, and tell it too me strait whether something needs to be adjusted replaced ect. And get this issue taken care of once and for all.

Any suggestions who to go to?
TIA

 

Is your car lowered? Is the camber wear on the front or back? How much camber do you have after they align it?

 

Thanks i really need some advise on this matter.

No, not lowered. (as an aside, what effect will lowering have* ) Stock wheels and stock sized tires.
Camber wear is predominantly on the front insides of the tires. (also visually noticeably uneven)
But there is a noticeable amount on the insides of the rears also. (even wear)
I have asked specifically for the stock alignment numbers to be adhered to.

My issue is I am not a very aggressive driver, and the amount of wear I am getting is not only occurring on low millage tires, but on mostly highway miles in a strait line!?!

To me this is a huge indicator that yet again I have received shoddy service regardless of my specific requests to make sure that the alignment be done right (I showed them the set of tires on the car with the same issue as I am facing now that were ruined, and said I dont want to ruin my new tires) even if it means replacing suspension parts. (I have a full set of pillow ***** and bushings sitting on a shelf ready to go in) but I have been told that those parts are supposedly just fine. (I think I believe this as I have tried to take pressure and weight off the suspension parts, and cannot see or feel any play, I know this is not a perfect indicator, but these are my capabilities to help myself)

I can look for my last alignment sheet, but I remember looking up the stock numbers and recommended numbers from people here, and the sheet I received from the shop were (despite being uneven on the front) were in agreement with what was requested.

Despite this, there is obviously something else wrong, and I dont know if the issue is something wrong with the car that needs a real professional to overcorrect to get the desired results, of if I am simply being fleeced?



*May I ask what are the repercussions of lowering a car and what issues pop up with tire wear when this is done?

If a car is lowered, can the alignment be done in such a way as to account for lowering, and still operate correctly?

Because this is just the first step for me to reevaluate my wheels and suspension, and hopefully make some advantageous changes.

 

Two recommendations: I have used both.

A & R Auto: http://www.arautoservices.com/

H-M Auto Sports: http://www.hm-motorsports.com/

Both will align your car to your specs.

 

And just for a little bit of extra info, I just received a new set of wheels, and am considering lowering the car (just a bit, not even sure how far) as the wheels visually make the car look too high to me for some reason over the stockers.

And regardless of the obvious cons of lowering a car in Oregon, I am really considering it.
Are there any good local shops that can lower a vehicle correctly?
And what is a common acceptable distance to lower a car without effecting it adversely?

 

Thank you I will look into them, are they the type of shop that would be competent enough to look at a problem, and fix the root of the issue regardless of if their machine indicates the numbers are correct?

 

'The Line Up Shop' on NE Sandy Blvd. pretty close in to town, near where Burnside crosses Sandy. They work on all sorts of cars, lots of oldies, foreigns, etc. Been there forever.

 

rotarypower101, what rx7 is this? You can't adjust camber unless you have camber plates (front), or bar/individual camber adjusters (rear) on an FC. If your car's suspension is aged or blown and causing even an inch of drop you will get negative camber. (more in the rear) Most likely all the alignment shops are doing is adjusting your toe front and rear while you pay full price, sadly enough. Stock you simply don't have the ability to adjust camber correctly.

 

thats not camber wear, its either bad toe or loose tierods. shake the **** out of your tierods and feel for ANY slight clicking. even a hint of play will kill your tires

 

Tweak: IIRC the fc does have a small amount of camber/caster adjustment utilizing the OEM top hats. I believe you rotate the top hat in order to set the camber. Its a very small adjustment, but you can gain positive/negative camber.

Josh18:Also it could be a toe issue (depends on what the tires look like), if the tie rods arent aligned into stock/acceptable range (depending on the car really) then this could cause toe out in which case the car would have create better turn in at the expense of tire wear or toe in for stability in which case the wheels would almost fight eachother and results in terrible (worst) tire wear.

either one is a possibility but depending on where you took the car for its last alignment is most likely the top strut was not put back correctly.

 

This is for a FD

Suspension is aged (~100k all stock), but i have asked and never had anyone sound concerned about it, or give me any indication that it was a issue, even upon asking specifically about it?

Why would they not be able to adjust out the camber?
The FD has two eccentric adjustment bolt/ cam plates on the lower front swing arm. As per pic.
as well as a single cam plate on the back

This is were I get confused because I just know its wrong, I hate to second guess a “professional” but just from visual examination they tried to make all the adjustments from the back plate I would guess as it is rotated as far as it can go to the “in” position, while the front plate is centered and from my identification marks was not moved?

 

Have you used them? Can you give a small testimonial, I really just want to take it to someone that will not just fiddle with it....

I want it correct and right, hopefully someone that will give it to me strait, and tell me if there is something honestly wrong somewhere.

I think something must be wrong, unless I am just getting shafted!

 

Can you elaborate on the correct procedure to do this please?
Do I need to release pressure on the suspension, any specific correct ways to do this?

I have tried doing this, but as far as I can tell everything is very/acceptably tight and shows no real play, but again what would I know? It feels good but that doesn't necessarily mean it is right?

 

And just to give some kind of indication of how bad it is....
For a new alignment that does not seem very good?
Wasn't even close to time rotate them.

So ya i need someone that will do this right.

 

Well now that I know is not an fc lol disregard my last post.

But God damn. That's all sorts of wrong.

 

Yep, nice set of toyo T1S down the toilet!
I noticed before it got to that point, but just didnt have any time to deal with it, and they were near shot anyway....

But on to bigger better things right?
Have a new set of wheels, and will be looking into a new set of tires to complement them soon!
I could use a little advice here also..... \/

https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes-20/reconditioning-wheels-correctly-any-advice-experience-wheel-color-vs-car-color-942787/

But before doing this I really need to get the alignment and specifically the camber figured out!

The worst part is I really think they Fubarbed the entire thing cause my car no longer tracks correctly now, and feels really twitchy as if there were to much toe-in also.

I really believe both shops I took it too, just didnt do anything other than make it worse.

 

100k miles eh? im gonna go with tierod ends, possibly bushings. basically you just yank on your tierod and feel for clicking. there should be zero play. even if there is play, you usually cant see it but you can feel it.
also check your wheel bearings by jacking up the car, grab wheel on top+bottom, and shake it. should be zero play here as well.

camber doesnt kill tires unless you have something rediculous like 4*. and thats not happening unless your car is slammed or you have bent control arms.

 

Oh ... FD, nevermind. Whole different can of gummy worms. Here is an example of my wear pattern with -2.1 rear camber to give you an idea. I only started having this problem when I installed the ls1 though.



You definitely have something messed up there. If you want to check your own camber, go to harbor freight, buy a digital angle finder, and put it your wheel. If it says 86.5* or anything not around 90* you have a negative camber problem.


http://www.harborfreight.com/digital...uge-95998.html

 

ah, looks like the same kind of quality workmanship as the shop that did mine except I wager you had a lot more fun destroying yours

 

I would take it down to Eddie at A+R. H+M used to be decent until Eli left.

 

Yep take it to Eddie at AR. He can corner balance your car as well.

 

Well it seems like a consensus, Thank you very much gentleman!
I gave them a call today but I was told Eddie was out (so I couldn't get a price estimate), so I will try again tomorrow.

Roughly how much was a standard alignment?

Any recommendations on what exactly to ask for or recommendations to have them check and verify everything is right and correct, to make sure my car is fine, and not in need of any replacements or repairs?

Obviously they are familiar with RX7s, so their should be little issue with familiarity of the equipment to be adjusted I should hope?



You have to have adjustable coil overs to do the corner balancing correct?

 

I highly suggest you start reading here (that is if you have not).

https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-wheels-tires-brakes-20/howard-colemans-fd-chassis-setup-723617/

Eddie will do it to factory specs. Price, I have no idea sorry.

 

Yes you need ride height adjustable coilovers to corner balance. I paid $300 for an alignment and corner balance a couple of years ago.

 

Where? That's an amazing price.