Wheel Alignment Results

Finally managed to get this done this morning at Micheldever down in Hampshire.

Booked the car into Octagan (Toyota dealer in Bracknell) for this a few weeks back but apparently my car was too low to go on their ramps:eek: (It's not THAT low so I was a bit fecked off about this)

Anyway it all seems to have worked out well cos the guy at Micheldever was perfectly happy to apply the reccomended settings from mkiv.com whereas Toyota refused to do this.

On the drive back I could feel a noticeable difference with the car feeling much ''tighter'' in a straight line. The steering does seem a tad heavier but certainly more responsive. Didn't really get the chance to do any spirited driving through the twisty bits but overall I'm well pleased with the result.

£135 approx and took the guy 4 hours in total which I spent in the waiting room where the damn coffee machine was busted:mad:

Have hopefully managed to attach the before and after print out.

Been meaning to get this done myself since I had new tyres fitted - might have to pop down there. Been off this week as well - dammit - should have thought sooner!!!

BTW - did you find your locking wheelnut key mate?

Nice one SMW, glad you got it sorted in the end.

makes you want to drive even faster eh!

Enjoy the new F1's :flame Dev

Yep, got mine done in July, took about 2 hours [spent in pub ] and cost me £69 which I thought was a bargain.

Car felt so much better once it had been done. The bloke said that I'd lose a bit off the turning circle but I said that wouldn't matter anyway. Feels alot more responsive and it's even better now I've got 4 new F1's onboard

Got mine done by a company called Supertracker in Woolston, Southampton, website is http://www.supertracker.com if anyone is interested.

BTW - did you find your locking wheelnut key mate?

No never did find it, had to send away to Germany for a replacement. Bit of a pain but nevertheless reassuring to know they're not on sale at the local Halfrauds:)

makes you want to drive even faster eh!

One thing I forgot to mention was that I actually booked this mornings appointment about 3 weeks ago, that place is certainly busy!

Had to be there for 8am as well:eek:

Interesting camber settings; what size tyres are you running?

what size tyres are you running?

John 275's at the rear, 245's on the front.

I'd previously been for a 4 wheel alignment at a Merityre branch but they clearly didn't have the proper equipment to carry this out.

They made some adjustments to the front but said they couldn't anything with the rear.

I was pleased at first as I'd been experiencing wear to the outer edges of the front and thought they'd cured it. In fact the wear just shifted to the inner edges:(

Increasing the castor will weight the steering more. Does it have decent feel now?

I'm interested in your camber settings because I was thinking about decreasing the rear to run only 1 degree while running 1.5 at the front. My car has very positive turn in but is wild at the rear on damp/wet roads.

Increasing the castor will weight the steering more.

This is exactly what Leon told me when he recommended having the alignment done.

Definitely a better feel to the steering overall.

Will be keeping a close eye on tyre wear although I've not noticed this on the rears before which the article on mkiv.com mentions.

I had mine checked when I bought some new tyres a while back at Micheldever. It was near enough the stock settings so I left it at the time. I'll be very tempted to get it changed next time I need some tyres. Mind you, they made a bit of an arse of the balancing, I had to get them re-balanced in the middle of France, they were pissing me off so much!

Hello mate,

Just wondered how you were getting on with the alignment settings, got mine booked in and wondered if you were still happy?

Cheers!

Just wondered how you were getting on with the alignment settings, got mine booked in and wondered if you were still happy?

Hi Neil

Very happy with the new settings and would definitely recommend having the alignment done.

Had a close look at the tyres yesterday and it's looking quite promising with regard to uneven wear on the front which I was experiencing before.

Are you going down to Micheldever?

Was told about a place in Southampton by Decker , they make the machines for allignment , they charge £85 and you can go and watch em do it unlike Micheldiver , they will explain everything as they do it , im going to this lot as i allmost had a punch up at Micheldiver when they locked the car away and wouldnt even let me near it .

Dude :flame Dev

Originally posted by SMW

Hi Neil

 

Very happy with the new settings and would definitely recommend having the alignment done.

Had a close look at the tyres yesterday and it's looking quite promising with regard to uneven wear on the front which I was experiencing before.

 

Are you going down to Micheldever?

Yeah mate - booked in for the 17th Feb (12th was their earliest date but can't do!)

Did you take the settings down with you or do they have them on file?

I took a print out of the settings from mkiv.com with me. That's probably the best thing you can do as I doubt they will have kept them on file.

I could be wrong though.

It does take a while so be prepared for a long wait!

Cool - I'll take Lance's settings with me then!

Yeah, it certainly sounds like it! Hope its much better, as I still think the rear breaks traction a little too easily, so fingers crossed its down to alignment!

Originally posted by dude

at Micheldiver when they locked the car away and wouldnt even let me near it .

 

Dude :flame Dev

Why's that? Their normal policy?

I have just had my soop lowered so I definitely want to get the wheel alignment checked out. Does anyone know of a place that does this in the Northampton area. For you lot that dont know where this, it is junc 15 on m1, near Milton Keynes (JPS) and not to far from Warwick (Thor Racing)

Cheers

my sup is up with chris wilson at the moment having his custom suspension fitted new re valved shocks progresive springs and full alignment i cant wate to get it back and try it next week

Just had mine done at Micheldever this morning - took about an hour and a half and 90 quid - guess it depends on how much they need to change, as my initial figures weren't as bad.

Pretty much ended up with the same settings other than Front left and right caster which are 4.03 and 3.59 respectively!

Originally posted by Vaughany

I have just had my soop lowered so I definitely want to get the wheel alignment checked out. Does anyone know of a place that does this in the Northampton area. For you lot that dont know where this, it is junc 15 on m1, near Milton Keynes (JPS) and not to far from Warwick (Thor Racing)

 

Cheers

There is a place next to JPS/Leons which he has recommended to me. Cant vouch for it myself as I've never had anything done there, still if Leon recommends them...

Patrick

Thanks for the info, I will get the number and give them a bell.

Originally posted by HISUPE

Just had mine done at Micheldever this morning - took about an hour and a half and 90 quid - guess it depends on how much they need to change, as my initial figures weren't as bad.

Pretty much ended up with the same settings other than Front left and right caster which are 4.03 and 3.59 respectively!

Neil, Have you noticed any difference in how the car drives now?

Hi Matt,

To be honest all I've done is drive back on the motorway and to work this morning, need to give it a bit of welly to really see.

It certainly feels "tighter" (steering is perhaps a little heavier but IMHO a good thing as I thought it was too light) and seems more composed when braking, less susceptable to tramlining etc.

As for outright grip round bends etc, still got to suss that one out I'll report back after a week or so