Wheel alignment - how often to ?

Ockie said:
Urg. I am getting gatvol now of getting my tyres alligned. Went away for a long weekend earlier in the year and had to drive on a dirt road. On our way back on the N3 I realized my wheel alignment was out. Took it to I think it was Supaquick. They did it and as I was driving back home I noticed it was still not right. Took it back the next day and they redid it. Again, still was not right. Took it back same day and then they got it right.

Put two new front tyres on two days ago at Minty's. I asked the guy if I need to have alignment done and he said no, you only need to have alignment done if it was out already. So I said OK cool. True as fck ... as I was driving that day I noticed the alignment is out again after having the tyres done. Decide to leave it for now. Anyway, as I was driving to day it was irritating me so much that I took it to Tyres & More. Have it done and as I drive I notice it is EXACTLY THE SAME STILL!!!. Steering wheel poynting a bit to the left, but car is going straight. I take it back after work and the guy says he will redo it for me, but if I could please sit in the car this time and hold the steering wheel straight as he does it because the handlebar thing they use to keep the steering wheel in place does not fit well on my car. Anyway, go through the procedure again while I hold the sterring wheel straight. Drive home and TRUE AS NUTS! Still not fcking aligned. FFFFFFCCCCKKKKKK!!!!! Going to take it back again tomorrow morning and make them redo it .... AGAIN! And this time the guy will come with me for a drive straight after.

Jirre.....with those fancy machines they use to do it you would think they get it right first time everytime no???? URG.

Sorry for the rant. But I have OCD when it comes to this kind of thing. :mad:
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sell it, get a bike :)
 
Ockie said:
Urg. I am getting gatvol now of getting my tyres alligned. Went away for a long weekend earlier in the year and had to drive on a dirt road. On our way back on the N3 I realized my wheel alignment was out. Took it to I think it was Supaquick. They did it and as I was driving back home I noticed it was still not right. Took it back the next day and they redid it. Again, still was not right. Took it back same day and then they got it right.

Put two new front tyres on two days ago at Minty's. I asked the guy if I need to have alignment done and he said no, you only need to have alignment done if it was out already. So I said OK cool. True as fck ... as I was driving that day I noticed the alignment is out again after having the tyres done. Decide to leave it for now. Anyway, as I was driving to day it was irritating me so much that I took it to Tyres & More. Have it done and as I drive I notice it is EXACTLY THE SAME STILL!!!. Steering wheel poynting a bit to the left, but car is going straight. I take it back after work and the guy says he will redo it for me, but if I could please sit in the car this time and hold the steering wheel straight as he does it because the handlebar thing they use to keep the steering wheel in place does not fit well on my car. Anyway, go through the procedure again while I hold the sterring wheel straight. Drive home and TRUE AS NUTS! Still not fcking aligned. FFFFFFCCCCKKKKKK!!!!! Going to take it back again tomorrow morning and make them redo it .... AGAIN! And this time the guy will come with me for a drive straight after.

Jirre.....with those fancy machines they use to do it you would think they get it right first time everytime no???? URG.

Sorry for the rant. But I have OCD when it comes to this kind of thing. :mad:
Click to expand...
The car knows you not straight
 
In a perfect world 10,000km along with rotation.

But 15,000km and letting the dealership do it (depending on car brand) at service time also isn't the end of the world and can often be better especially in the case of Mercedes for instance.
 
ScottulusMaximus said:
?? I've never waited for wheel alignment in my life?

I do it every service, is cheap and helps tyres last(which aren't cheap)
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Well if you are doing it along with the service....of course you don't wait for it as you wouldn't even be there.
 
i rotate twice a year, about every 7500 kms. the super sports wear, so have to take care of em.
 
SauRoNZA said:
In a perfect world 10,000km along with rotation.

But 15,000km and letting the dealership do it (depending on car brand) at service time also isn't the end of the world and can often be better especially in the case of Mercedes for instance.
Click to expand...

I have never seen alignment machines at car dealerships? Thought it is the sole domain of tyre shops?
 
Ockie said:
I have never seen alignment machines at car dealerships? Thought it is the sole domain of tyre shops?
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Find out what tireshop your dealership uses. some (vw's) actually do have the facility
 
Ockie said:
I have never seen alignment machines at car dealerships? Thought it is the sole domain of tyre shops?
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To be fair how many proper brand dealerships have you visited?

Porsche, VW, Volvo, Jag/Land Rover, BMW, Mercedes, Audi all do it themselves and will also do tyre changes for you.

Even Kia and Renault I’ve seen.
 
I have hit so many pot holes and replaced some rim and tires, but every time I had wheel alignment done they said it was perfect I actually wasted my money.

But funny enough it broke my steering rack, hitting a couple of pot holes. cheapest quote is R5500 for refurbished and R13000 through the dealer original.
 
I do the wheel alignment, tyre balancing & rotation (front to back on each side) every 10,000 kms - it's due in about another 2 months or so - I had 4 new tyres fitted at the beginning of April, as the old ones were over 5 years old and the rubber was starting to show signs of cracking, primarily due to ageing & UV exposure.
 
My Pirellis lasted just over 25 000kms. not much opportunity to rotate. but in retrospect, that kind of compound I should probably have done every 5000kms.

most of the time, you can feel if alignment needs to be done, be it tire pull, tracking etc... IF it isnt the alignment, it can point to tread wear, tire inflation, even suspension. either way, alignment is a good opportunity for a once over.

Alignment frequency also differs depending on the car, if you have a low, firmly sprung sports car with super low profiles, bumps, potholes has a way worse effect.
 
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