You guys maybe familiar with the minor hit and run accident that I was in. Ever since I got my car back, i've been meaning to get it thoroughly inspected to ensure everything is in perfect order. I want to get the wheel alignment checked. Anyone ever had their alignment checked at a shop like meineke? They supposedly charge $55. The dealer charges $79.95. I'm not to sure about going to the dealership, because I don't want them to know about the accident. =)

 

whats that matter?

oh and i wouldnt waste my money at the dealer, anyone should be able to do an alignment just fine.

 

Go to Firestone, if you have one in the area, and get the lifetime wheel alignment for around $150.

 

Be careful!!! Most of these places check alignment and camber, but they don't pay any mind to toe. Toe is just as important as camber. Remember though, there is only adjustments on our cars for toe in the front and VERY minor toe in the rear. If you have significant issues, you'll need some kits. I suggest (from my previous posts) to get the Ingalls kit for the rear and the SPC kit for the fronts. The Ingalls makes your rears fully adjustable whereas the SPC kit for the rear only handles camber.

 

Actually, just about all alignment shops will know about the toe adjustment but not camber or caster. It's because that's all they can adjust on most cars. If you have a camber kit, make sure to point that out and provide any specific info that pertains to that camber kit.

 

Yeah, I didn't say that clearly enough. I went to the most well known shop her in Cincinnati because I don't trust the in and out places. I'm not saying their underqualified, but they have less to loose if they get it wrong than a privately owned shop.

I have the details of how my alignment went.



Not sure if you get this with the other shops.

 

Nice rear camber (before specs).

 

Yeah, ya like that. The toe is even WORSE... obviously 3-4x out of spec. That's what happens though when you install your own adjustable camber and toe kit and then springs right behind that. Now the car drives great but I think I'm going to get more camber added when I put new tires on it.

 

I have been working on dialing in the TSX alignment to my liking. I have found that slight toe in on the rear and slight toe out on the front creates a SUPERB feeling car. The steering has weight and is super responsive, of course this is at the sacrafice of a little tire wear, but if it allows you to enjoy driving a little more its worth it! I tried about 12 different settings till I found the way I liked it. A little toe in either direction can make a HUGE difference on how the car performs and feels.

Setting it nuetral SUCKS, its so lifeless and dull- the steering feels cheap and numb. This is not true on all cars, but very true on the TSX and Accord.

And to the member who said that most shops don't set toe, HUH? I have done more alignments then 99% of the people in the business on all types of cars. I have tought at least a dozen techs, and have been to several Hunter and JBC seminars on the latest alignment information. Toe is the one thing that is ALWAYS set, most cars are known as "toe and blow" or "toe and go" alignments. Toe will impact tire wear more then camber or caster(unless its extreme), not to mention dictate the steering wheel position.

 

It was me and the quote obviously doesn't apply to you b/c of your experience... and that is what matters. However, a lot of these shops get some inexperienced people, which is why I said, be careful. I would never said "don't go" to a place like Meinke or wherever. I have my wife's car at a chain shop right now getting an alignment done. My TSX just had a lot of custom adjustments I wanted done and I wanted someone with your experience, which is why I went to a place that specializes in suspensions. The guy that adjusted mine was called by Porsche to help them build their race car suspensions. He isn't cheap, but you can see from the results above, he is good. Plus he consulted with me about my custom setup and some things to watch out for since he would've wanted to put more camber in the rear. Downside is I would've needed to do my tire rotations ever 3-5k instead of 10-12k. Additionally, since it does snow here in Ohio, I didn't want to make my snow tires worthless with more than -1 degree of camber. I may adjust to -1.5, still thinking about it.