The importance of a 4 wheel allignment!

[Bob O]

tire pressure. I check tire pressures regularly, like every third day or so. Last week it started pulling to the right, but I attributed it to the cuts in the highway, or the slope of the road. It kept up and I was fearing needing another alignment (just had one 6 weeks ago before taking it to DE)., Anyway, I checked tire pressures and sure enough, right front was 2 (as in TWO) pounds low. Filled it up to 32 psi and presto... no more pull. Its amazing, to me anyway, that such a small difference in tire pressure made such a difference in the way the car handled. On the other hand... 2 psi is about 6% for a 32 psi tire.

Moral... get an alignment, but check your tire pressures too...often!

Bob

[Iatros]

If you don't mind me asking... how much was the alignment?


There's a franchise place near my old house that used to do a "lifetime" alignment... you could come in once a year and get it done if it was out of alignment. I remember it costing 3x what their normal one-time alignment was.


Now *that* would be nice to have again

[blinkwatt]

Here are my recent quotes~
Niello Porsche in Rocklin $365
Franks Automotive(Independent) $180
Linville Brothers (Independent) $150 max,I was promised.

[kyle986driver]

well i believe it was around $300 at the porsche dealer near my house. They did a great job and test drove it a few times to make sure it was right.

However, the first place i tried was a small tire/automotive shop. the said they could do the allignment, no problem, he quoted me $69-$89. I was very happy to hear that. but of course they later realized there machine wouldnt do my 18 inch wheels, and thats how i ended up at the dealer.

I WISH i could do a "lifetime allignment" plan, the car is like new!


- I also played with the tire pressure alot before the allignment, and all it came down to was that my camber and toe-in was WAYY off in the rear.

[8sum8]

Like most things in life. You'd more likely get what you paid for.

Couple of years ago, I changed the wheels on my SLK. There was this tire and alingnment place next to my work. They had the setup with computers and what not. Great, I thought. I can save some money here. They did my alignment for $80. The dealer would have been $180. Got my car back an hour later - drives well but the steering was like one hour off center. Took it back - they got the steering to center but the drive was sluggish and pulled to one side. I ended up taking the car to the dealer. Paid the $180 but was satisfied. Morale of the story: cheap doesn't mean your gain; and better be assured of the shop's capability before using them.

BTW, the last time I was at the dealer, I was told, at the minimum, you should have an alignment everytime you replace your tires.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by 8sum8

Like most things in life. You'd more likely get what you paid for.

Couple of years ago, I changed the wheels on my SLK. There was this tire and alingnment place next to my work. They had the setup with computers and what not. Great, I thought. I can save some money here. They did my alignment for $80. The dealer would have been $180. Got my car back an hour later - drives well but the steering was like one hour off center. Took it back - they got the steering to center but the drive was sluggish and pulled to one side. I ended up taking the car to the dealer. Paid the $180 but was satisfied. Morale of the story: cheap doesn't mean your gain; and better be assured of the shop's capability before using them.

BTW, the last time I was at the dealer, I was told, at the minimum, you should have an alignment everytime you replace your tires.

True, so true!

[Perfectlap]

yeah you get what you over pay for.

$300+ dollars for a wheel alignment to standard specs????

PFFFTTT.....
I didn't spend that much on a custom alignment by a large margin.

that's truly outrageous. Aligning a Porsche is no more complicated tha
aligning an S2000. They are fleecing you.

Geez to think I scoffed at $180 the last time I had it done at the stealership