Wheel Alignment

[vic]

Hey, I am looking to have my wheels re-algined, however, Chiswick Honda is looking to charge £190 for it. Can anyone suggest a capable garage / tyre shop which is able to perform such a task, without charging a fortune?

Thanks

[/list]

[Mike_L]

I paid the full wack at Honda for mine to be done however next time I will try Micheldever tyres. If your willing to travel out of London a little way - they have facilities to do the 4 wheel alignment and they have an excellent reputation - They have guy's permanently assigned in the alignment bays where its all they ever do (and with pride).

Also, I can specifically rate there tyre expertise and value- I don't even bother getting quotes elsewhere now, people will travel for miles because they are such good value.

Micheldever Tyres
Micheldever Station
Winchester Hampshire
SO21 3AP

Tel: 01962 774437

[ctrlaltdelboy]

Micheldever are indeed well recommended by many.

mine is being done next week by Supertracker - as well as making the alignment kit used in many garages they have facilities at their Southampton factory to do customer alignments too.

useful link (http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/TireWheel/alignment.htm)

[Kevin]

Apparantly at Micheldever when you book an appoitment at the alignment bay, you bypass the usually present queue for drive through tyre fitting. It may be worth printing out the section from the service manual on how to do the alignment. As there are more adjustments that can be made on the NSX than other cars, there is a procedure whereby you need to adjust one setting, then another, but that puts the first one back out, so you do that again etc etc. By getting the adjustments done in the correct order will save time, and make sure the settings are correct.

I have visions of 'technicians' that can't be bothered to get it right, and give the customer some lame excuse why it can't be done correctly. I had one such arguement with a monkey at a tyre fitting place once before.

[michaelw]

Hi,

Did you get the tracking done at Supertrack as I need to get mine done and have a problem with the caster on my car which I think needs more than the usual attention from a standard wheel allingment service?

Michael.

[ctrlaltdelboy]

I had mine done at Supertracker last week, so did Steve (with the green auto). mine seems somewhat more 'planted' on the road now- I intended to test it out at coombe today but I failed the noise test at 103.5DB, guess I'll be putting the cats back in :cry:

[michaelw]

Glad to hear the tracking is better, but sorry to hear the noise was a problem. 103.5 db's is a fair ammount. I had a very loud Caterham that was only 102 I failed a track day noise test in that and it is the most frustrating thing. That must sound absolutely superb though. Mine sounds fantastic on reasonably quiet Volks racing exhaust, about 93db I think.

Michael.

[ctrlaltdelboy]

it's funny that I measured 103.5db 'cos the car does'nt seem to be much louder since de-catting and last time i went to coombe with the cats in I was only 98db

anyone got a noise meter?

[Kevin]

Interesting you should mention the difference in noise readings. One time my friend's TVR was measured at 101dB, the next time there it measured 103dB. Both failed the static test.

But, the first time he put extra silencing in to be OK on the track. Second time, he tried to go out without the silencing, and again was OK!

This was at Bedford.

[ctrlaltdelboy]

yes it seems a bit wierd mate,

jon was there (Coombe) 2 weeks previously and measured 98, then on the same day I scored 103.5 he read 102 - and he as done nothing to his car in the meantime, except change a head gasket (must have been one of those extra noisy ones :roll:)

Darren

[DamianW]

mine is being done next week by Supertracker - as well as making the alignment kit used in many garages they have facilities at their Southampton factory to do customer alignments too.


Darren - is www.supertracker.com the right place to get contact details for this lot? I fancy getting mine checked out, ever since putting new front tyres on the handling has felt a bit odd.

[mcibuk]

Anyone have any suggestions for good tracking services in the North of England - say Yorkshire/Lnacashire??

Thanks

[Nick Graves]

FWIW, the S2000 is very sensitive to alignment, which is prone to get knocked out on Britatin's (alleged) roads.

It is recommended to replace all four tyres as a set and to have the alignment then checked. (It is not advisable to check alignment on old tyres as they are probably unevenly worn and will make the car stand funny).

I would have thought that it would also be good practice for the NSX too.

[f2reddy]

I`ve used a local crash repair centre for alignment checks on my NSX in the past, they had an Optoflex alignment jig and they charged around £50. The last time my Honda dealer did a set up they used a Sun alignment jig and only charged £53.
It seems that the price of servicing and checks varies wildely around the country, Chiswick Honda seem to be at the expensive end.

[howardgreen]

I was about to go for the wheel alignment of my car. but i though to read on the forum about it...So, watched this thread and its really helpful...Thanks for the posts.

[andy300]

had mine done with new tyres, three weeks ago at merrow tyers and alignment centre in farnham surrey ,contact number 01252 724209 speak to martin , he did a great job for me , andy

[Nick Graves]

Update; actually you CAN have the alignment done on worn tyres, it makes little difference.

However, it might make it DRIVE funny if they're coned or edge-worn.

[Senna88]

Does anyone have the OEM wheel alignment settings to use please?

[PeterW]

Section 18 in the service manual.;)
http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Service_manuals (http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Service_manuals)
Peter

[duncan]

Peter,
Be very careful, the early factory recommendation for toe-in/out had a misunderstanding with the consequence that the factory stated total toe in/out was applied to each wheel, therefore doubling the applied settings. What followed then was a class action in the States because tyres were ripped out in under 5000 miles, followed by a rapid alteration of the settings. If you go to a decent tyre place, the computer link on their alignment machine should call up the current answer.
Below is the setting I've picked up from wiki on Prime.

FRONT: Total toe out = -3.5mm +/-1mm; camber = -20min+/-30min [-0.33deg+/-0.5deg]; caster = 8deg
ALT FRONT: Total toe = -2.5mm; camber nil; caster = 8deg


REAR 1991-1992; Total toe in = 6mm+/-1mm; Camber = -1deg30min+/-30min [-1.5deg+/-0.5deg]
REAR 1993 on; Total toe in = +4mm+/-1mm; camber = -1deg30min+/-30min [-1.5deg +/- 0.5deg]
ALT REAR; Total toe in = 3mm; camber = -1deg


I went for the ALT setting front and rear, which by observation are the straightest and still within factory spec. My own reasoning being that I predominantly did Motorway miles which are in a straight line and didn't want my tyres wearing out for no good reason. The more aggressive are more suitable for bendy roads, with the downside of higher wear rates. Attached is a speadsheet I downloaded from wiki, which on observation shows a little difference to the above, your tyres, your choice. Others will no doubt chip in with their preferences.

[havoc]

One observation from my S2000 days (which probably applies more to the non-PAS crowd) is that you can replace caster with front camber, if you so wish:-
- Caster provides dynamic front camber, i.e. the more lock you've got the more camber the outside wheel has. A great engineering solution for everything except one thing...
- Higher caster = reduced steering feel, typically. 8 degrees is very high caster...almost Audi-like. S2000 has ~5.5 degrees, ITR has less still, Mk4 Prelude IIRC has almost none (Nick, can you confirm?).