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good alignment & corner balancing in N. CA
- Thread starter Dinan M3
- Start date
Hi guys,
any recommendation for a good alignment and corner balancing shop in Bay area?
i need to tune my coilover....
Thanks
-jjc.
any recommendation for a good alignment and corner balancing shop in Bay area?
i need to tune my coilover....
Thanks
-jjc.
Just got a quote from Jeff of custom alginment..
Corner balancing = $ 75.00 to set up + $ 150.00 to balance
= $ 225.00
Alignment = $ 180.00
install / balance 4 tires(18") / tires disposal = $ 146.00
does that sound right to you?
-jjc.
Corner balancing = $ 75.00 to set up + $ 150.00 to balance
= $ 225.00
Alignment = $ 180.00
install / balance 4 tires(18") / tires disposal = $ 146.00
does that sound right to you?
-jjc.
It sounds typical for them. They are definitely on the high side, but their work justifies the price. I use them exclusively for suspension work on both the Dinan and the Zanardi. I've had other "highly reputable" independent Bay Area NSX shops mangle my wheels during a tire install for much less...
I really think you are wasting your money on corner balancing, unless it is a real race car. As long as you get the ride height and rake is right, there is no point to do corner balancing. The rake and ride height is most important. Unless you are willing to cut some metal and move around objects to get the desired corner balance, why even do it? Would you want to get one corner of your car higher than others to achieve the desired corner balance?
JJC,
Custom alignment is really good. There is another place in Oakland called Conversion Technique that is really good on alignment. Make sure you get the desired ride height before you do alignment.
Email me I can give you some recommendation on setting ride height for your driving habit.
Custom alignment is really good. There is another place in Oakland called Conversion Technique that is really good on alignment. Make sure you get the desired ride height before you do alignment.
Email me I can give you some recommendation on setting ride height for your driving habit.
Guys,
Just to help members who has to pay a lot of money to get work done, just because we have expensive looking cars and probably have a lot of money, I can get your car align for $100 and mount and balance your 18" tires for $25 ea. Tire disposal fee is $2 each.
We have had very very few problem with scratching wheels and stuff but if we did scratch one we will fix it or buy you a new wheel.
Call me at 510-783-8383
Ron
Motorsport Techniques
Hayward, CA
Just to help members who has to pay a lot of money to get work done, just because we have expensive looking cars and probably have a lot of money, I can get your car align for $100 and mount and balance your 18" tires for $25 ea. Tire disposal fee is $2 each.
We have had very very few problem with scratching wheels and stuff but if we did scratch one we will fix it or buy you a new wheel.
Call me at 510-783-8383
Ron
Motorsport Techniques
Hayward, CA
JJCNSX said:
I called up Custom Alignment yesterday and they quoted me $200 for the alignment. They said, "$100 for the front, $100 for the rear."
Either they are giving you a discount because you are getting other work done, or they are not consistent with their pricing.
-CiaoBoy
CiaoBoy said:
LOL, I called them up yesterday to get a quote for my M3. This time they quoted me $180 for a 4-wheel alignment. I guess it just depends on who answers the phone!
-CiaoBoy
Just had my alignment done today at CustomAlignment. The work was first rate.
After the car was on the rack...
First thing their tech did was take my tire pressures.
Then loaded my approximate weight onto the drivers seat.
Next he took the time to show me my car's current alignment settings.
Then took the time to talk with me about my expectations. He listened to me!..I wanted less push in the front for those sweepers.
He then made some suprising suggestions. Zero toe in the front! Not what I expected to hear. He kept camber in it though.
His explanation...your tires are the most important component of your suspension. In my case to get my desired results using new RE750's I needed zero Toe in the front. His next suggestion was for me to install a larger sway bar for the rear then the front if needed.
Use a deliberate approach getting the car dailed in.
Wow! the car is much more resposive now and most of that push is gone now!
All in all, a very positive experience.
The Fee: $50 to put it on the rack. The $50 will be applied to the alignment cost if you choose to make any changes.
$100 for the front
$100 for the rear.
I paid $200 out the door.
No regrets......
After the car was on the rack...
First thing their tech did was take my tire pressures.
Then loaded my approximate weight onto the drivers seat.
Next he took the time to show me my car's current alignment settings.
Then took the time to talk with me about my expectations. He listened to me!..I wanted less push in the front for those sweepers.
He then made some suprising suggestions. Zero toe in the front! Not what I expected to hear. He kept camber in it though.
His explanation...your tires are the most important component of your suspension. In my case to get my desired results using new RE750's I needed zero Toe in the front. His next suggestion was for me to install a larger sway bar for the rear then the front if needed.
Use a deliberate approach getting the car dailed in.
Wow! the car is much more resposive now and most of that push is gone now!
All in all, a very positive experience.
The Fee: $50 to put it on the rack. The $50 will be applied to the alignment cost if you choose to make any changes.
$100 for the front
$100 for the rear.
I paid $200 out the door.
No regrets......
NSFRBLX said:Just had my alignment done today at CustomAlignment. The work was first rate.
After the car was on the rack...
First thing their tech did was take my tire pressures.
Then loaded my approximate weight onto the drivers seat.
Next he took the time to show me my car's current alignment settings.
Then took the time to talk with me about my expectations. He listened to me!..I wanted less push in the front for those sweepers.
He then made some suprising suggestions. Zero toe in the front! Not what I expected to hear. He kept camber in it though.
His explanation...your tires are the most important component of your suspension. In my case to get my desired results using new RE750's I needed zero Toe in the front. His next suggestion was for me to install a larger sway bar for the rear then the front if needed.
Use a deliberate approach getting the car dailed in.
Wow! the car is much more resposive now and most of that push is gone now!
All in all, a very positive experience.
The Fee: $50 to put it on the rack. The $50 will be applied to the alignment cost if you choose to make any changes.
$100 for the front
$100 for the rear.
I paid $200 out the door.
No regrets......
Cool deal. I have an appointment this Friday morning for my M3. I'll write up my experience too.
-CiaoBoy
I brought my 95 M3 to Custom Alignment on Friday morning. I must concur that they do excellent work and the guys are very knowledgeable. My car was pulling slightly to the left and Firestone was unable to correct the problem due to the car having camber and caster settings that cannot be changed. Only toe angles can be changed. Well, Custom Alignment couldn't change them either, unless I bought camber/caster plates, but they did point out that one of the bushings in the lower control arm was purposely put in differently. I know that my car used to pull to the right quite significantly, and apparently the last shop fixed the problem by changing how this bushing was positioned, which in turn changed the caster of the left front wheel. The shop owner at Custom Alignment invited me to look under the car to point this out to me and explain his hypothesis. He also said that he recommended that I leave the bushing like this because putting the bushing back into the original, correct position would likely make the car pull to the right again and it would be even more annoying than the slight pull to the left that I'm experiencing now. He recommended just getting a front alignment done.
The tech also found that my steering wheel wasn't centered, so he adjusted the tie-rods to fix that. Throughout the process of getting the front alignment done and the tie-rods adjusted, I saw the tech take my car out for a test drive about 4 or 5 times, each time coming back to the shop to put the car on the rack and work on it. That's pretty meticulous work!
So apparently they know their stuff, from what I can tell. They are a bit pricey, however. If you have a hard-to-fix problem or special needs, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. But if all you need is a normal alignment, I wouldn't pay double the price of some other shops just to have them do it.
-CiaoBoy
The tech also found that my steering wheel wasn't centered, so he adjusted the tie-rods to fix that. Throughout the process of getting the front alignment done and the tie-rods adjusted, I saw the tech take my car out for a test drive about 4 or 5 times, each time coming back to the shop to put the car on the rack and work on it. That's pretty meticulous work!
So apparently they know their stuff, from what I can tell. They are a bit pricey, however. If you have a hard-to-fix problem or special needs, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. But if all you need is a normal alignment, I wouldn't pay double the price of some other shops just to have them do it.
-CiaoBoy
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