I recently replaced the gear assy, p/s pump, pressure hose etc and had my front wheels aligned on my 02 camaro. Steering work was done and the dealership and alignment was done at firestone because they offered a 'lifetime alignment'. My car now pulls to the left and the steering wheel's 'default position' is slightly offcentered. The dealership is telling me the issue with it pulling to the left and steering wheel is due to the alignment but Firestone showed me the print out that shows everything is within specification. Is there anything else it could be? Taking it to firestone tomorrow to have them look at it again. Getting very frustrated. On that note, does anyone know of a reputable performance shop that works camaros in the LA area? Much appreciated.

 

Find a new place to align it......within specs means NOTHING>........NOTHING

Did I say NOTHING?

!st of all only a complete MORON would tell you its within specs while it pulls to the left.............

I been down this road many times.

 

How much do you weigh?

I worked in a shop where we did an alignment for a guy 2 times, and it kept pulling to the left, (smaller car, Toyotal Corolla iirc) because he weighed a bit over 300 lbs.

The guys did the alignment with him in the car, and he didn't have anymore pulling issues after that.

 

With in specs can still pull just because it's with in specs does not mean it is correct. The spec are a range and it can be on the out side of the range and be "in spec" but still cause a problem with your car. like other guys said find a new shop.

 

Fair enough. And I weigh a cool 220.... Maybe I should ask if it makes sense to be in the car when they align. Any other potential reasons for it pulling to the left though?

 

We're your tires rotated at the same time ...could be a tire pull ??

 

Tires weren't rotated... taking it to the shop end of day today. Hopefully will get to the bottom of it.

 

Why bother? You need to take it to a REAL alignment shop, Firestone is a joke.

 

put the left front wheel on the right front and the right front on the left front and see if it still pulls. if it does get it aligned again. want to have the caster at -.1* to -.2*.set tow at like .7 on both sides.

 

Don't bother with Firestone. They will reluctantly put it back on the rack and screw it up even more, especially because they have to do this one for free. I hope you didn't buy the lifetime alignment.

 

Thanks rhino. And yeah....it is a lifetime alignment...ugh. Maybe I should try to haggle for a refund if its still screwed up. Just paid $169.99....

 

You need a pro to look at it, i'd bet a gazillion dollars their alignment machine isn't even accurate !

 

^^^THIS!!!

Firestone, (nor a local chain called, STS) would even put my car onto the rack because it is lowered (NOT 'slammed') a little bit, let alone let me give them the performance alignment specs I wanted it set to.

 

Any recs for reputable alignment shops in the LA/So Cal area? ugh. Need to do more research before lighting cash on fire.

 

I think I try the dealer before Firestone.

 

Pruett's Precision Alignment

Haven't been there personally but it's recommended by other members.

 

looks like your post got messed up.

when you understand alignment numbers, it becomes very simply and you will see alignment is nearly the same for all vehicles.

caster, the amount of pivot angle of the steering arm in relation to the control arms. more positive caster will keep the wheels going straight at speed and will make the wheels return back to center after a turn. caster is set anywhere from +3° to +5°. when you go over 5-6° it becomes harder on the steering components. most vehicles never go over 6°.
with caster, there's a trend to have about 0.5° more positive caster on the right front than left front. this will make the car pull left, and is done to compensate for road crown. i think it's kinda stupid because there are plenty of roads that don't slope to the right, and when that happens the car will really pull left. so i think the best bet is to have even caster on both sides, anything above 4°, the main thing being even on both sides.

camber, the amount of angle the wheels tilt inward. again you want even on both sides. i would recommend 0 to 0.5° positive which is oem, where the wheels tilt outward at the top. when the car is moving and the suspension compresses, you gain negative camber so a slightly positive camber is best for highway, the tire stays flat and gives best fuel economy. don't forget, whenever you turn because of steering geometry the tires gain negative camber anyway.

toe, the amount the tires point inward. same deal want even both sides. positive toe where they point inward gives stability at speed. negative tow pointing outward will make the car squirly and very quick to turn and give oversteer. normal toe is +0.1 to +0.3°.

 

I wish we could see some printouts of what the alignment looks like, fairly simple to diagnose. Shops that pay alignment techs the least often turn out the worst alignments. That's not a rule though.

 

Sounds like the tech who aligned your car is one of the "green=good" techs. Those actual specs actually mean something, and if the numbers can't be interpreted correctly, then you're likely to get a pull. you should have enough cross caster to help compensate for crown of the road, stuff like that. Your car could be set to the full inside spec on toe on the right side, and full outside spec on toe on left side, and while they would both be green, your car would be steering left all the time. Just because the measurement is "Green" on the alignment screen, doesnt mean it's good.

Another thing to consider is our cars require a special tool to adjust caster and camber. Most indie shops will not invest in special tools that certain makes and models require, because there are just too many of them; but you can bet the dealer has the correct tool to do it right.

 

Alignments can be strange at times. I myself had a strange experience with a slight drift to the left after getting new tires, all 4 were road-force balanced (and I had more positive caster on the left). The shop wound up giving me a 1.5* cross caster (4.7 on left, 3.2 on right), just to make my car go straight (I had no issues ever since). Out of spec? Most likely. Can't explain why, but it worked (some responses on message boards were "my car might be bent", "tire pull", etc). Shop found nothing wrong with the car or tires (which are not shaking at highway speed).

Bottom line, you may have to think outside the specs, and go to a shop that is willing to make the customer happy and honor their guarantee.