Wheel alignment - you may need it done

[WShudds]

Just a piece of advice if you're like me and think that if the car ain't pulling to one side, you don't need a wheel alignment.

I had the car for 5 months/4,000 amazing miles and never noticed anything wrong with the ride unless I'd go over some imperfections at mid/high speed and then the car felt a bit loose and unsettled for a fraction of a second. At high speed, again on road cracks and poor repairs it got quite twitchy but I learned how to compensate and expect it so I thought that was just part of the car's character.

I had my rear tyres replaced last Saturday. Tread was getting close 3mm and they were 5 years old. I ordered front and rear wheels alignment as I noticed that the inner row of my near side rear tyre had worn out about 0.6mm above the rest. Long story short, all wheels were off with the rear ones being quite off.

And now the ride is even better and the twitches are totally gone. So, if you haven't had yours done in a while, it might be worth getting it done.

 

[CSGMART]

Good advice. I'm planning on getting mine done by these guys who come highly recommended :- https://centergravity.co.uk/

My local 4 wheel alignment place did a basic job but they didn't want to start adjusting anything on the rear for fear of bolts snapping etc. I think it was a cop-out and on balance I'd rather get it done by a professional garage who specialise in this sort of thing.

 

[jagseven]

Agreed. New tyres and full wheel alignment can make a car feel like new (and it’s cheaper than buying a new car!)

 

[Tom Sawyer]

On a related subject I’ve owned mine for 30 months and have only just checked my tyre pressures, they were between 26 and 28 all round!

 

[WShudds]

On a related subject I’ve owned mine for 30 months and have only just checked my tyre pressures, they were between 26 and 28 all round!

Wow surprised TPM would not alarm you at such a low pressure. Low profile tyres, low pressure on less than perfect roads... You're braver than me

 

[WShudds]

Good advice. I'm planning on getting mine done by these guys who come highly recommended :- https://centergravity.co.uk/

My local 4 wheel alignment place did a basic job but they didn't want to start adjusting anything on the rear for fear of bolts snapping etc. I think it was a cop-out and on balance I'd rather get it done by a professional garage who specialise in this sort of thing.

ATS Euromaster did a surprisingly good job. Balancing was bang on. Maybe I got lucky as they could never get the balancing on my TT right.

 

[Anonymous]

I always get mine checked when I get tyres at Pirelli.
https://m.facebook.com/BurtonPPC

 

[cj10jeeper]

I've used Hunter Wheel Alignment on all my cars for years and always interesting how much stuff goes wrong over time. It's usually free in any centre and they then only charge for any adjustments they make (if you want them done).
You get a really helpful grphical print out of exactly how each of the many angles are performing compared to spec.

With low profile tyres, bumps and potholes there's a lot going on things can get out of alignment, so I could not contemplate spending £1k or more on tyres and not having it done.

This site is helpful to find local locations and a lot of guidance info on the basics:

https://alignmycar.co.uk/

 

[WShudds]

I always get mine checked when I get tyres at Pirelli.
https://m.facebook.com/BurtonPPC

I did look into it and got tempted but I'm over 2 hours aways from the centre. ATS had a great deal on my 19 235/275 Pirelli OE at £207 each, and 4 wheel alignment for just £35. And they're down the road

 

[WShudds]

I've used Hunter Wheel Alignment on all my cars for years and always interesting how much stuff goes wrong over time. It's usually free in any centre and they then only charge for any adjustments they make (if you want them done).
You get a really helpful grphical print out of exactly how each of the many angles are performing compared to spec.

With low profile tyres, bumps and potholes there's a lot going on things can get out of alignment, so I could not contemplate spending £1k or more on tyres and not having it done.

This site is helpful to find local locations and a lot of guidance info on the basics:

https://alignmycar.co.uk/

Great to know about this search option. I found out that there's a garage nearby using the Hunter machine.

 

[Delpel]

Had mine done today with a Hunter machine. Felt the difference straight away.

 

[cj10jeeper]

Had mine done today with a Hunter machine. Felt the difference straight away.

Just out of curiosity what did they find outside of spec., which they corrected?

 

[Delpel]

Had mine done today with a Hunter machine. Felt the difference straight away.

Just out of curiosity what did they find outside of spec., which they corrected?

White mans magic (if I'm allowed to say that)

 

[WShudds]

Had mine done today with a Hunter machine. Felt the difference straight away.

Just out of curiosity what did they find outside of spec., which they corrected?

White mans magic (if I'm allowed to say that)

Nice one. I didn't get such a detailed report but the camber on my left rear wheel was off by 3 degrees. Everything else was about 1 to 2 degrees out of specification.

Good see that people found value in this thread. I'm very pleasantly surprised by how much the ride has improved.

 

[munchie]

Just a piece of advice if you're like me and think that if the car ain't pulling to one side, you don't need a wheel alignment.

I had the car for 5 months/4,000 amazing miles and never noticed anything wrong with the ride unless I'd go over some imperfections at mid/high speed and then the car felt a bit loose and unsettled for a fraction of a second. At high speed, again on road cracks and poor repairs it got quite twitchy but I learned how to compensate and expect it so I thought that was just part of the car's character.

I had my rear tyres replaced last Saturday. Tread was getting close 3mm and they were 5 years old. I ordered front and rear wheels alignment as I noticed that the inner row of my near side rear tyre had worn out about 0.6mm above the rest. Long story short, all wheels were off with the rear ones being quite off.

And now the ride is even better and the twitches are totally gone. So, if you haven't had yours done in a while, it might be worth getting it done.

Did the ride feel jiggy before the tracking setuo on imperfections in the road? Curious as based on this thread I'll have my tracking checked after just having had 4 new tyres fitted three weeks ago.

 

[WShudds]

Just a piece of advice if you're like me and think that if the car ain't pulling to one side, you don't need a wheel alignment.

I had the car for 5 months/4,000 amazing miles and never noticed anything wrong with the ride unless I'd go over some imperfections at mid/high speed and then the car felt a bit loose and unsettled for a fraction of a second. At high speed, again on road cracks and poor repairs it got quite twitchy but I learned how to compensate and expect it so I thought that was just part of the car's character.

I had my rear tyres replaced last Saturday. Tread was getting close 3mm and they were 5 years old. I ordered front and rear wheels alignment as I noticed that the inner row of my near side rear tyre had worn out about 0.6mm above the rest. Long story short, all wheels were off with the rear ones being quite off.

And now the ride is even better and the twitches are totally gone. So, if you haven't had yours done in a while, it might be worth getting it done.

Did the ride feel jiggy before the tracking setuo on imperfections in the road? Curious as based on this thread I'll have my tracking checked after just having had 4 new tyres fitted three weeks ago.

Yes, that's right. Have it checked. The camber will probably be off on one or multiple wheels.