Bad alignment...question

[Paul91]

The tech said that he could not get the car aligned back to factory specs. He said he got it 'close' and tried to 'even things out'
FYI, this is a higher end shop and they have a brand new Hunter machine.

Halfway home I noticed that the car didn't feel right. The front end is really squirrly and the steering wheel has a lot of play in it. Much more than before.

They didn't give me the spec/results sheet, and I forgot to ask for it.

Also, the steering wheel is cocked to the left and not straight. If I straighten it, the car will turn to the right. I noticed this in heavy traffic.

I obviously have to go back. My question is this: With my current setup (Stock 15/16 wheels with stock springs with new bilsteins on lower perch (7/8 drop)) is their any reason why they would not be able to align it to factory spec??

I'm wondering if having an 18/19 combo on there for so many years may have warped my suspension somehow?!?

Thanks,

 

[NSXGMS]

My question is this: With my current setup (Stock 15/16 wheels with stock springs with new bilsteins on lower perch (7/8 drop)) is their any reason why they would not be able to align it to factory spec??

Yes--a serious accident. There's no reason an NSX with OEM springs and Bilsteins should not be able to be aligned to factory spec but every reason if it's been smashed up. I'd look into that.

What generally happens is after the accident someone pays a lot of money to play around with the alignment and get it wherever it needs to be to feel as good as possible. This is trial and error but it's still cheaper than actually repairing the suspension properly or having to disclose the car was in an accident. The resulting alignment specs can be way out in left field but the car actually drives well enough to hide any red flags. OEM alignment specs will reveal exactly how badly the suspension was damaged.

Obviously your car is not driveable and could be very dangerous. If this issue is in fact due to previous damage your options are to basically repair the suspension properly which might require new A-arms or frame repair, etc or have your guy take the alignment back to the way it was. Obviously properly repairing the car is the safest thing to do as while the jury-rigged alignment specs might feel OK the handling of the car will be extremely compromised and potentially unsafe.

 

[mickeylex]

Yes--a serious accident. There's no reason an NSX with OEM springs and Bilsteins should not be able to be aligned to factory spec but every reason if it's been smashed up. I'd look into that.

Not sure that is completely accurate. There are many examples on Prime where the 1" drop causes camber to be -2+ degrees in the rear on cars that have not been in accidents. The front can often come back into spec, but not always. The rear w/ any drop over 0.5 inch usually doesn't come into spec (close, but not w/in).

 

[NSXGMS]

Not sure that is completely accurate. There are many examples on Prime where the 1" drop causes camber to be -2+ degrees in the rear on cars that have not been in accidents. The front can often come back into spec, but not always. The rear w/ any drop over 0.5 inch usually doesn't come into spec (close, but not w/in).

True but after an alignment close to OEM spec the car should not feel unsafe as it does. Leads me to believe accident.

I could be wrong but it's worth investigating.

 

[Paul91]

Ok..went back and got things squared away. The original tech who did the alignment apparently didn't know what he was doing. I returned the car to the shop and the lead tech said it was WAY out of spec. It took him another 3 hours to do it right, but he was able to get in into the spec range.

I asked him if he thought the car had suffered from an accident or not. He didn't think so.

Anyways, the car feels great.

 

[nis350]

Ok..went back and got things squared away. The original tech who did the alignment apparently didn't know what he was doing. I returned the car to the shop and the lead tech said it was WAY out of spec. It took him another 3 hours to do it right, but he was able to get in into the spec range.

I asked him if he thought the car had suffered from an accident or not. He didn't think so.

Anyways, the car feels great.

3 hours is kinda long... The alignment on the NSX is fairly straight forward.

I have eibach (1.25 in drop) and the camber is out of OEM spec. for both the front and back.

Glad it is OK now.

 

[nigel]

m3456y, had his done on a "new" Hunter machine last month and found that the initial setup of the machine was ALL WRONG. Being a past national champion racer he knew this and the shop had the factory setup pepole come in and re-callibrate the machine. That was indeed the problem and now all is well. It took them extra time as well fighting the oem numbers because of the bad machine setup.
They may not want to admit it but give it a go, it has happened before.

Cheers
nigel

 

[NSXGMS]

Ok..went back and got things squared away. The original tech who did the alignment apparently didn't know what he was doing. I returned the car to the shop and the lead tech said it was WAY out of spec. It took him another 3 hours to do it right, but he was able to get in into the spec range.

I asked him if he thought the car had suffered from an accident or not. He didn't think so.

Anyways, the car feels great.

Of course I had assumed your alignment was done by a competent tech. All bets are off if that's not the case.

I'm glad the problem was quickly solved. I probably should have recommended at least a second opinion on the alignment before I cried accident but again, I foolishly assumed that the tech was on the ball.

The NSX alignment isn't rocket science. The guy who did it should be banned from doing them at all, ever, on any car. I hope they corrected it free of charge. From now on I'd only take my car to a shop that is very familiar with NSXs. As you can see even minor mistakes can turn into hassles you don't need.