What's the BEST alignment machine out there?
11-02-2018, 06:13 PM
#1
What's the BEST alignment machine out there? The last two alignments I have had are not ideal. Both have issues with caster because they pull to the right and its driving me nuts so I want to figure out what the TOP machine/s on the market are and find a new shop to work with on alignments. I feel a little bad because Ive been using the same place for 20+ years but the clown running the old gear in there just doesnt get it so Im looking for greener pastures.
11-03-2018, 07:37 AM
#2
You can learn to do it yourself with jack's and strings or toe plates and a camber/caster gauge if you really want to dial it in. Plenty of how to's online, I've been doing mine for years and times I've had it checked it was always in spec and better than they will do. Takes time the first few but after you get the hang of it you can do it quicker than dropping it off and picking it up.
11-03-2018, 11:00 AM
#3
IMHO, as long as the alignment machine is in calibration, the brand or age of it doesn't matter. It's the skill, and even more importantly, the amount of patience, that the person doing the alignment has, that's what makes or breaks a good/proper alignment.
I know a shop in my area, where the guys still use the old fashioned "lights and prisms" hanging off the wheels, projecting an image to a scale that's attached to the wall, in the front of their pit. As 1950s as it is, A) the two guys that own the shop know their stuff; and B) they spend the necessary time to do the job correctly. On the other side of the coin, there's also a shop in my area that's been recently renovated, and they not only bought a brand new Hunter Engineering rack, they had the foresight to install the rack in an 8" deep pit, so no matter how low your car is, it drives on without issue. Unfortunately, most of their techs are of the "it's in the green, so it's good enough" mind set. So, while they have "state of the art" equipment, they still may or may not get the desired results, depending on the day of the week, time of day, mood of the tech.....
As an old friend of mine, a former Rolls-Royce and Jaguar certified master mechanic, once said, regarding the newer alignment racks, "I can get everything 'in the green', and still have the car going down the road sideways". His point was that it's not the alignment rack, as much as it's the person doing the work.
I know a shop in my area, where the guys still use the old fashioned "lights and prisms" hanging off the wheels, projecting an image to a scale that's attached to the wall, in the front of their pit. As 1950s as it is, A) the two guys that own the shop know their stuff; and B) they spend the necessary time to do the job correctly. On the other side of the coin, there's also a shop in my area that's been recently renovated, and they not only bought a brand new Hunter Engineering rack, they had the foresight to install the rack in an 8" deep pit, so no matter how low your car is, it drives on without issue. Unfortunately, most of their techs are of the "it's in the green, so it's good enough" mind set. So, while they have "state of the art" equipment, they still may or may not get the desired results, depending on the day of the week, time of day, mood of the tech.....
As an old friend of mine, a former Rolls-Royce and Jaguar certified master mechanic, once said, regarding the newer alignment racks, "I can get everything 'in the green', and still have the car going down the road sideways". His point was that it's not the alignment rack, as much as it's the person doing the work.
11-04-2018, 06:55 AM
#7
Yeah fair enough regarding the tech doing it. I use this German old school guy with a pit but hes too old now and has a decent guy doing them for him now and hes ok, but the caster is never right. If the caster is green it can still pull even within spec. Ive done the string thing myself in the past, meh. When the old German guy did the work they were great. Fearing finding a new tech I figure if I started by aiming for the newest bestest equipment that would be a good place to start