Alignment question

[ak]

I noticed that my car pulls slightly to the right. Would front end alignment suffice to fix this problem?

Also, what is the optimal setting for stock NSX? I don't care too much about the tire life as I drive it less than 5000 miles a year.

Local dealer here wants $190 for 4 wheel alignment...quite a difference from what's listed on the FAQ!

 

[nsxtasy]

I noticed that my car pulls slightly to the right. Would front end alignment suffice to fix this problem?

It's the first thing to do, since it's relatively inexpensive and the most likely culprit.

Also, what is the optimal setting for stock NSX? I don't care too much about the tire life as I drive it less than 5000 miles a year.

See the FAQ section on alignment. The 1993+ factory front and rear settings might be the best for your purposes. The original 1991-92 rear settings give a little more crispness to cornering, at the expense of some tire wear; your choice either way. The alternative settings also given in the FAQ are primarily for those most concerned about tire wear rather than handling, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

If you don't tell the dealer which settings you want, they will almost certainly use the 1993+ factory settings. However, if you ask for different settings, they will be happy to comply.

Local dealer here wants $190 for 4 wheel alignment...quite a difference from what's listed on the FAQ!

Make sure you post back to tell us what you actually wind up paying.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 19 September 2001).]

 

[ilya]

I just went through alignment hell and want to make sure you don't experience the same.
The average dealer charge for an alignment around here in Los Angeles is $110-120. This would be a full alignment with everything put into the spec you want. If a dealer quoted me $190 I would make sure to give a hearty, belly laugh as I walked out the door to MAKE SURE they understood how ridiculous that is.

I finally went to a good shop that does track cars almost exclusively and had the car aligned on an outstanding machine (Visualizer/liner 3D or something) with me sitting in the car. It cost $110 and was done by a pro who does many of track cars in the area.
Maybe NSXTASY knows of a dealer or one similar to my shop in the Chicago area.

In any case, especially for the conservative alignment you are looking for street driving, don't get ripped off. Go to a recommended shop in the area from another NSXer like Ken and don't overpay. I can see paying over $190 for a track car, but not for a standard alignment. Even in that case, there better be something mighty special going on for that kind of charge.



[This message has been edited by ilya (edited 19 September 2001).]

 

[ak]

Ok, so slight toe-out in the front and toe-in in the rear, right? Where in the limits do dealers set it up at?

 

[nsxtasy]

Maybe NSXTASY knows of a dealer or one similar to my shop in the Chicago area.

We've already been chatting about this. ak is going to the right place, the dealer in the Chicago area that does the most work on NSX's (out of the 9 dealers here) and that has the latest alignment machine. And he's not going to pay $190.

 

[kenjiMR]

ilya, I wish there was an alignment shop like that here in the Bay Area... Don does my NSX, but I have to pay $150 for an alignment for my MR2 and another $170 or something for corner weighting....

 

[nsxtasy]

Where in the limits do dealers set it up at?

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the dealers try to set it up spot on. So for example, if it says the front toe is -3.5mm +/- 1mm, that means they try to make it -3.5 mm. If they have trouble (as is sometimes the case with modified cars), as long as they can get it between -2.5 mm and -4.5 mm, they would still consider it within specs. But they would try for the exact spec (3.5 mm).

 

[steveny]

my car does not pull either way but the steering wheel is not centered on the column. I would say it is off by 1/4 inch of the column showing on the right hand side when going straight down the road. Does this mean it is out of alignment. BTW it was not like this at the beginning of the summer, and I can not remember hitting anything. Ken?

 

[ak]

Ok, I just got my car back. Ken, you were right, they charge $76 for front only and $152 for 4 wheel alignment. I ended up getting only front done at this time. Here are the spec.

Before After
L Camber -0.5 -0.4
R Camber -0.2 -0.2
L Caster 7.7 7.7
R Caster 7.6 7.6
L Toe 0.38! -0.14
R Toe -0.07 -0.16

All numbers are in degrees. No wonder it was pulling to the right! Anyway, the car now goes mostly straight...if I get anal, I can say it may be pulling teeeeny tiiiiny bit to the right maybe but not really. The only thing is the steering wheel is now slightly tilted to the right when I'm going straight. I'll leave it for now...

 

[bobyang]

Good thing you took care of the pull right away. I bought my car three months ago and it had a pull to the left. Procrastinated getting it aligned until a few weeks ago. Toasted my front right tire in <2500 miles.