wheel alignment

[zylvia213]

Ok so i replaced my tie rod ends on saturday and finally had time to take the car to an alignment shop this morning.

So i dropped my car off and they tell me its gona be $74.99 for 4 wheel alignment. So i leave my car there and go to work....i get a call from the guy at the shop and states that i need a camber adjustment aswell for an additional $100. Now do i really need to have this shop do the camber adjustment or can i do it myself and save me some money??? Should this be 2 seperate adjustments wheel alignment and camber adjustment?

[1slowS13]

usually an 'alignment' includes both toe and camber adjustments...

[ryguy]

Yeah dude, they're bending you over. Alignment includes toe, camber, and caster (if it's a car with adjustable caster). Tell them to fuck themselves and take it to a real shop.

*EDIT*
If the shop is unfamiliar with aftermarket suspension components, they might think they need a camber adjustment kit. Do you have front coilovers with adjustable top mounts and adjustable rucas? You might have to show them.

[dori_sil8t]

u's getn jackd foo.

[zylvia213]

i have coilovers all around and rucas

[JRas]

$100 for camber adjustments..

take your buisness elsewhere, seriously.

[zylvia213]

So i had the guy just do the alignment without the "additional" $100 for camber adjustment.I have no choice but to leave the car at that shop.... its 1 block away from my work and i dont have any time after or on the weekend to take it some where else. I paid $70 for the alignment.

[Maiku240sxS14]

Yeah he screwing you! I paid $75-$80 on all 4 corners. You should definitely look for another place to get your alignment done.

[veeates36]

You live in Los Angeles.. You need to take it to City Tire in Southgate.. They do awesome work at an awesome price. Good Luck

[JRas]

So i had the guy just do the alignment without the "additional" $100 for camber adjustment.I have no choice but to leave the car at that shop.... its 1 block away from my work and i dont have any time after or on the weekend to take it some where else. I paid $70 for the alignment.

ask him why camber adjustments are extra.. they do it on stock cars with stock arms.. why would this be any different.. instead of using an eccentric bolt to adjust they use the arm to adjust.

[s14l0v3r]

He definitly tried bended you over lol but it was most likely cuz he thought you needed a camber kit...or he wanted more money lol but either way a 4-wheel alignment should cover camber and toe all around and caster in the front. Don't go back.

[zylvia213]

well i just picked up the car and well it doesnt pull or rides all crazy now.... I still asked and told the guy why the camber wasnt included in the alignment. He still said cause its seperate and more work needs to be done. I told him that other shops include this aswell but he still said its xtra. Oh well i got fucked i know not to go back there again. Now any tips on how i can adjust the camber on my car front and rear????

[JRas]

what the fuck was the point of an alignment than? seriously, he screwed you... talk to the manager and tell him you came in to get an full alignment and they only did a portion.

what extra work needs to be done?

be a man, stand up for yourself

[zylvia213]

so called him back and told him that i found more shops that include the camber as part of the aligment and why they want to charge extra to do the camber adjustment. He kept saying that the camber set up on the 240sx's is different which requires more labor and thats why they charge more. I told him the car has camber plates and rear adjustable arms that why would it be more labor if its just unscrewing bolts and turning or whatever.... he said that every shop is different in doing these services. He told me to come after work and he will show me what he is talking about. I think we are not on the same page here, he is confused or something.

[proconcept23]

Firestone offers a what they call a lifetime alignment...totally worth the 120 bucks or so. every time you even touch or install a new suspension piece you will need an alignment, so this pays for itself after the second time you need an alignment...

[mondojackal]

Yes, but Firestone doesnt advertise that they only allow one alignment per 6 months or 6000 miles or something like that.

[MisawaJason]

damn, they charge 20,000 yen locally for a laser alignment, which now is well over $200. It's the norm over here I guess. I wouldn't think twice about paying $174.99, but I guess alignments in the "real world" are mad cheap. effin Japan

[JRas]

so called him back and told him that i found more shops that include the camber as part of the aligment and why they want to charge extra to do the camber adjustment. He kept saying that the camber set up on the 240sx's is different which requires more labor and thats why they charge more. I told him the car has camber plates and rear adjustable arms that why would it be more labor if its just unscrewing bolts and turning or whatever.... he said that every shop is different in doing these services. He told me to come after work and he will show me what he is talking about. I think we are not on the same page here, he is confused or something.

stop by the shop, have him explain this.. because it's absolute bullshit.

I want to know how adjusting the camber on a 240sx requires $100 extra for labor.

the front.. I take it you have adjustable camber plates.. loosen 4 bolts with an allen wrench and slide it to desired spec.. tighten 4 bolts.

the rears .. stock form have an eccentric bolt that you turn until it reaches the desired setting.
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8663/boltya4.jpg

with an adjustable ruca you tighten or loosen a nut.. it's not rocket science

damn, they charge 20,000 yen locally for a laser alignment, which now is well over $200. It's the norm over here I guess. I wouldn't think twice about paying $174.99, but I guess alignments in the "real world" are mad cheap. effin Japan

at least it sounds accurate..

[MrChow]

Firestone offers a what they call a lifetime alignment...totally worth the 120 bucks or so. every time you even touch or install a new suspension piece you will need an alignment, so this pays for itself after the second time you need an alignment...
I have it. Love it. It paids for itself. They don't do special alignment so don't think your getting top notch stuff.

Yes, but Firestone doesnt advertise that they only allow one alignment per 6 months or 6000 miles or something like that.
Nope. I never had a problem with that. I've gone after 500 miles they didn't say anything.
They advertise it for everything 3k miles.

[zylvia213]

Hey JRas thanks bro for all your input. I dont really know whats up with these guys. I went back to the shop after work and explain to them that i have adjustable camber plates in the front and adjustable rear arms that can be easily adjusted... when i was showing them the camber plates and telling them that thats where the camber is adjusted they tell me that thats for caster adjustment and that the camber needs to be adjusted where the 2 bolts of the coilover attaches to the spindle...... i dont get it are these guys stupid and dont know what they are doing...???? That shop has been there for a while now i would think they know their shit. I dont know if they are giong by stock suspention set up. This shit is wack yo

[ryguy]

For what it's worth, I had my front lowered down 3-4 inches or so, and just slid the camber plates as far to the positive side as they would go. I took it to get aligned and the front camber was in spec. If you need something to get by on temporarily, I would do that.

[w0nderbr3ad]

Hey JRas thanks bro for all your input. I dont really know whats up with these guys. I went back to the shop after work and explain to them that i have adjustable camber plates in the front and adjustable rear arms that can be easily adjusted... when i was showing them the camber plates and telling them that thats where the camber is adjusted they tell me that thats for caster adjustment and that the camber needs to be adjusted where the 2 bolts of the coilover attaches to the spindle...... i dont get it are these guys stupid and dont know what they are doing...???? That shop has been there for a while now i would think they know their shit. I dont know if they are giong by stock suspention set up. This shit is wack yo

Thats just stupid. Camber isn't adjusted on the spindle. Those guys are just tryin to make money off you. Find a better shop, one that people recommend and techs that know what they're doing. If anything visit shops and ask them questions.

[ryguy]

Thats just stupid. Camber isn't adjusted on the spindle. Those guys are just tryin to make money off you. Find a better shop, one that people recommend and techs that know what they're doing. If anything visit shops and ask them questions.

They're either absolutely incompetent as mechanics or they're trying to play you for a fool. Don't ever go back, and make sure you spread the word about how terrible the place is.

[Ailiaw]

+1 on the Firestone lifetime alignment. It pays for itself after the second time, just be careful since they may have gotten new equipment. The one next to my house got a new alignment machine and has a much steeper incline to get it on it so low cars might not make it on.

[windshieldwiper]

I dont see how alignment can be done for $70. you have to take the tie rods off and stuff. you cant adjust the camber on the front of 240sx's anyway. on hicas, you cant adjust camber on front or rear. if you have after market parts that allow for camber adjustment in front that would probably throw the alignment shop.

not sure the point of aligning 240sx as you cant adjust camber in front and tie rods have to be the same on both sides so there isnt much room to adjust. the specs have a wide range . pretty hard to fall out of specs.

yes, i know i dont know what im talking about but either do you, more than likely

[boske]

yes, i know i dont know what im talking about

then why are you posting? seriously?

[windshieldwiper]

then why are you posting? seriously?

doesnt stop you or anybody else in this thread.

[JRas]

Hey JRas thanks bro for all your input. I dont really know whats up with these guys. I went back to the shop after work and explain to them that i have adjustable camber plates in the front and adjustable rear arms that can be easily adjusted... when i was showing them the camber plates and telling them that thats where the camber is adjusted they tell me that thats for caster adjustment and that the camber needs to be adjusted where the 2 bolts of the coilover attaches to the spindle...... i dont get it are these guys stupid and dont know what they are doing...???? That shop has been there for a while now i would think they know their shit. I dont know if they are giong by stock suspention set up. This shit is wack yo

:facepalm: I can't believe the stupidity of people these days.. I don't understand how these people can even call themselves a mechanic..

if you your front coilovers that have camber plates like these:
http://www.motoringfun.com/images/posts/20070613-02.jpg

you loosen those four allen wrench bolts, this allows for them to slide foward for negative camber and back for postive camber.

caster on the other hand couldn't be adjusted from these bolts.. because they slide a completely different way..

http://www.mkiv.com/techarticles/lance_alignment/caster%5B1%5D.jpg

caster is adjusted from tension rods

[SoSideways]

doesnt stop you or anybody else in this thread.

Sorry but I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to the 240sx's suspension in a basic topic such as this.

If you're talking about changing the suspension pick up points and stuff, then no, I don't know what I am talking about, and would rather just listen to the engineers and read what they have to say about it, but that doesn't happen too often on this board, so for the purpose of Zilvia, I do qualify myself to "knowing what I'm talking about" for 98% of the time.

You, on the other hand, don't, so why post?