Does it really matter where you take car for an alignment?
Discussion
xjay1337 said:
Contract Killer said:
Take your car to quikfit for an alignment, then take it to Centre of Gravity in Brum, you will notice the difference.
It was one of the best £600's ive spent on my S2000.
Most techs will go thats near enough, where as pay your money and you get perfection.
I had it done free at the local tyre shop when I had 4 tyres, it took some time and the results were astonishing. It was one of the best £600's ive spent on my S2000.
Most techs will go thats near enough, where as pay your money and you get perfection.
£600 for an alignment did you have mug on your forehead? lol
SpeedySpeedBoy said:
Almost paid £120 for a 4 wheel alignment which I think is quite above the going rate. I think most places including the dealer charge £70 or so.
Was trying to figure why its significantly more, it was a performance car garage and maybe its to do with their alignment technology, ....
I would guess the cost is more to do with it being a performance car garage so they feel they can charge performance car prices.Was trying to figure why its significantly more, it was a performance car garage and maybe its to do with their alignment technology, ....
I think you're a bit out with how dealers for the marques you mention will charge - I asked Mercedes years ago and there was much sucking through teeth and talk of £2-300. I got it done at a recommended place for £50.
fellows4 said:
Almost as crazy as those people who pay £600 or more for a car wash! /s
I know you're joking but an alignment is an alignmentI usually pay around 20 quid for 4 wheel alignment (no camber adjustment)
Where as compare to a 20 quid car wash and a 500 quid one there is an actual difference
Motor Engineers not far from me charge £120 for alignment and they said it's because all their mechanics are highly qualified and must go through a minimum of seven training stages or something. Not entirely sure what they were but I had a strange noise coming from a previous car and after God knows how much time and money the main dealer spent on it (including a Honda Master Tech) they couldn't find the fault. Was under warranty. They even fitted a new clutch and flywheel lol.
Took it to these guys and the owner jumped in the car with me to listen out for the noise. 10 seconds, I kid you not, and he said straight away it's the turbo shaft. And it was!
Sometimes it's worth paying the extra.
Took it to these guys and the owner jumped in the car with me to listen out for the noise. 10 seconds, I kid you not, and he said straight away it's the turbo shaft. And it was!
Sometimes it's worth paying the extra.
Most alignments I carry out cost around £80-120 for the average performance car, as in one with more than just front toe adjustment and take around 1.5-2hrs. It takes this long because it's carried out properly, as in carrying out a full health check of the various components that would effect the alignment before even getting to the point of adjustment. There is also as noted above, time spent with the customer either going through current issues or how they would like the car to behave. Then there is the equipment. I started on strings and now use a Hunter system which helps greatly with repeatability and cornerweighting. Strings have their place, primarily at a race circuit as a quick reference check after contact. The Hunter systems can be setup to work for speed or accuracy. Some places will skip checking wheel runout as this costs time. You also can't check this with strings.
Centre of Gravity generally go more in depth on a single vehicle and will tune dampers through various test drives across the day, this is where the cost comes from. We generally set dampers and send customers away and liase over the phone so the owner can get a feel for the car over a period of time.
You are also paying for experience. I've had plenty of cars through with problems that main dealers can't sort or cars that don't have any listed adjustment but if you know where to look you can always find some to even things out. I've even been called in to dealers to sort cars their technicians can not.
As mentioned above, they systems themself are straight forwards but you still need someone who knows what they are doing. Not all cars are straight forwards to align. Some need panels removing to access adjusters, some adjusters need special tools that are car specific, some cars need shims........
Oh, and don't get me started on seized adjusters. They don't loosen themselves, this takes time and more equipment that comes at a cost.
Centre of Gravity generally go more in depth on a single vehicle and will tune dampers through various test drives across the day, this is where the cost comes from. We generally set dampers and send customers away and liase over the phone so the owner can get a feel for the car over a period of time.
You are also paying for experience. I've had plenty of cars through with problems that main dealers can't sort or cars that don't have any listed adjustment but if you know where to look you can always find some to even things out. I've even been called in to dealers to sort cars their technicians can not.
As mentioned above, they systems themself are straight forwards but you still need someone who knows what they are doing. Not all cars are straight forwards to align. Some need panels removing to access adjusters, some adjusters need special tools that are car specific, some cars need shims........
Oh, and don't get me started on seized adjusters. They don't loosen themselves, this takes time and more equipment that comes at a cost.
If you want your car to drive in a straight line without continuous small steering inputs. If you want to to steer into a corner and keep the same line regardless of bumps and regardless of mid corner gear changes get a 4 wheel alignment. Tell them the specs are on the internet as their machine may not have TVR specs. It will totally transform the drivability as long as the bushes are good in the suspension arms and steering rack and the ball joints tie rod ends are good. They will always check this. Go for where the race cars and exotics are. It's worth 200 quid easily. Be fussy about chassis tuning it's so rewarding and all your chassis components including tires will last way longer.
Bainbridge said:
I take my car to a dedicated alignment specialist who does a good job, but I wouldn't get a tyre place or chain outfit to do it because it's likely they will just adjust back and forth until the computer display moves out of the red and into the green.
Yes, and not just any place that has a Hunter system. I had mine aligned at such a place, a small local chain of tyre fitters, but it still wasn't driving right, so took it to a local garage to have the suspension checked. They reported (and fixed) that the steering wasn't straight and the rear was out of alignment and all for less than the local tyre fitters charged for the Hunter alignment.Contract Killer said:
HorneyMX5 said:
I’d hope that £600 included corner weighting and a hand job.
Corner weighting yes, BJ no thankfully!It did take them most of the day.
I did also get a couple of instant coffies if i remember correcly.
trevalvole said:
Bainbridge said:
I take my car to a dedicated alignment specialist who does a good job, but I wouldn't get a tyre place or chain outfit to do it because it's likely they will just adjust back and forth until the computer display moves out of the red and into the green.
Yes, and not just any place that has a Hunter system. I had mine aligned at such a place, a small local chain of tyre fitters, but it still wasn't driving right, so took it to a local garage to have the suspension checked. They reported (and fixed) that the steering wasn't straight and the rear was out of alignment and all for less than the local tyre fitters charged for the Hunter alignment.I had my Cayman sorted out by RPM Technik.
Asked me if I had any track days etc coming up. I said I'd prefer a fast road/track day setup (I was going to Spa shortly after the setup) rather than just a road setup.
Car was transformed, lots of small changes here and there. Cost a few quid (think it waas £300), but worth it for the peace of mind knowing that it was done properly and the fact the car was driving so much better. Dialled out a lot of the inherent understeer that had been prevalent.
Asked me if I had any track days etc coming up. I said I'd prefer a fast road/track day setup (I was going to Spa shortly after the setup) rather than just a road setup.
Car was transformed, lots of small changes here and there. Cost a few quid (think it waas £300), but worth it for the peace of mind knowing that it was done properly and the fact the car was driving so much better. Dialled out a lot of the inherent understeer that had been prevalent.
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