Wheel alignment - do you leave your car?

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by blackf6

Ok... Do you just keep replacing your camber worn tyres?

That's...kind of what I was wondering too...

[danzvtil]

I like my cars but, geez, not leaving them in the workshop....what next, doggy daycare webcams in the workbay so you can log in and check that your car is ok?

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by Spurious

...& before you all ask, I wheel align my own car at home using a long straight edge (1" dowel or thicker, at least 2m in length), a measure tape, a trolley jack (or ramps for minute adjustments) & a couple of spanners.

Simple:
Centre the steering wheel & see which side needs to move, if not both, this is where the long straight edge is used by placing it across the centre line of the rim & hold it parallel to the body.

1: Do this on both sides to see which wheel is off & by roughly how much, by eyeballing the gap between the end of the dowel & the body (@ drivers/pass' doors).

2: Raise the front enough to take the weight off the tyres (not off the ground), then loosen the tie rods & adjust them no more than 1/4 of a turn at a time, repeat step 1 until you're happy they're pretty even both sides.

*Be aware that the wheels will often rest on a slightly different angle when they're raised off or almost off the ground, & wide tyres will often pull to one/either side (whilst driving) depending on road surface. Using ramps for the alignment will ensure the wheels are sitting "normally" during the procedure.

At this point you can tighten the tie rods, lower the car, remove jack & drive along a short straight road to get a feel for it. Repeat step 2 if need be.

Once you're done with the major adjustments, raise the car again (tyres contacting ground) & use the measure tape to accurately measure the distance between the same tread groove on each tyre, the centre most groove for example.
Do this by placing the tape as high as you can against the chassis on the front of the tyres & again at the back (both front tyres of course, NOT the rear tyres LOL).
If there's a difference between the 2 measurements then adjust them TOGETHER a fraction more. ie: if the rear measurement is 3mm wider then the front, then adjust BOTH wheels 1.5mm inward at the back (toeing out).
I personally will tolerate a >1mm difference between the front measurement & the back

If you find the car pulls to one side whilst driving straight, this indicates that (usually) the wheel on the side to which the car pulls will need to be toed IN.
This is not always the case but this is why I use 2 methods of measure at the same time. ie; the dowel straight edge & the measure tape.

Granted that this sounds complicated on paper, you'll find it'll take you roughly 30 to 40mins given that a short drive is advisable after each small adjustment.

I will take photos of my car to prove my theory if necessary, to simply demonstrate that after the last alignment, some 2 years ago, even though I've since bought different wheels, my wheels are dead on, it drives & brakes in a straight line, & the current tyres show no signs of uneven wear & they've been on the car for about 6 months.
I've done 3 alignments on my car in 6 years, each a success!

Great write up, if you get the chance next time you do a alignment, can you take some pics as you go so us less mortals can get a better understanding as I would like to attempt this on my AUII one day, cheers.

[Top_Ghia]

Wow. Wheel alignments sure bring out the crackpots.

[rjk74]

Helped my wife's nephew do a 5min wheel alignment on his escort rallycar during service at a historic rally once, all done with a shifter and tape measure, he reckons it worked okay.