Evo X alignment

[jump23]

I ran over some road debris the other day and now the X pulls slightly to the left so I think I need to get an alignment.

Any recommendations on shops where I can get this done?

[ryanowarrior]

i need to know the answers to this as well. bump for answers

[Chemwarrior]

I would suggest going to Firestone and getting their lifetime alignment. I have gone back to them many times after getting my initial alignment and each time it doesn't cost me anything.

[Evolvedgti]

Hey Dan, what does that firestone lifetime cost. and can you give custom specs?

[Chemwarrior]

Hey Dan, what does that firestone lifetime cost. and can you give custom specs?

I believe it's ~$140 and yes you can give custom specs. What is so great is that you can go back as many times as you want with no further cost to you.

[blkonblk2red]

gte gran turismo ... one of the best shops do aligntments to spec autox drift etc... also does corner balancing with you in the car... so according to your weight but.... its not cheap :-D big 10 tires... i thikn does it lifetime for 150 but just watch out because they go "test drive the car" and depends on who you get...

[Chemwarrior]

The plus with Firestone is that they have stores everywhere. I got my lifetime alignment at a store here but I have gone to stores in Tennessee and used my lifetime alignment.

[Evolvedgti]

I believe it's ~$140 and yes you can give custom specs. What is so great is that you can go back as many times as you want with no further cost to you.

Thanks Dan. I am going to do that!:D

[TouringBubble]

I've heard good things about Firestone too. Just try to talk to the tech that actually does the alignment and not just the guy up front.

And, don't go to factory specs! you probably want to max out the negative camber on the F and R and zero out the toe. At least that's what you wanted on the VIII and IX. Not sure about adjustability on the X.

[atlsupra]

Gran Turismo East (770.455.0347) all the way. If you want the shop to do it right and treat you car well while it's there (ie, not test driving your car and abuse it), there is no other places. A good alignment should last you for very long time and unless you hit a major pot hole or gone off road, it should not change.

Just to give you an idea, we took a customer's 94 Supra Turbo to a nearby Kauffman Tire, and they said know know what they are doing (we brought in the alignment spec for track use), and after 2 1/2 hours, they are done with it. They end up moving the caster to 4.8 degree and has 0.3 and 0.5 degree of cambers in the front and 2.0 on the rear which I specifically told them not to touch the rear which was 2.5. I asked the tech, and he said he can't get anymore camber out of it. I was pissed and call Kieran immediately and head over there. They know I was in a rush and get the alignment in spec for less than 30mins. Just showed the difference of a average shop compare to a good shop that do race car alignment all day. Keep in mind that they are one of the few shops can actually do BMW alignments other than dealership.

[atlsupra]

Regarding the alignment spec, depends if you are just daily driving or track use only. If your X is just for track, then max cambers no problem, but if you are street use, then I won't suggest it as you will soon wear out your inner tires a lot faster. Since our X is mostly street and somewhat frequent track use, we set it at 1.5F and 1.7R. Talk to Jeff or Gaab at GTE and they will adjust to what you want.

[shunderwunder]

GTE is definately the best for performance alignment. If you just want stock spec the that Firestone lifetime alignment sounds like a great deal.

[Evolvedgti]

I've heard good things about Firestone too. Just try to talk to the tech that actually does the alignment and not just the guy up front.

And, don't go to factory specs! you probably want to max out the negative camber on the F and R and zero out the toe. At least that's what you wanted on the VIII and IX. Not sure about adjustability on the X.

Not sure if that was directed at me. I have coilovers, that is why I asked about the custom specs. i need to run neg camber for my rims.

[TouringBubble]

Regarding the alignment spec, depends if you are just daily driving or track use only. If your X is just for track, then max cambers no problem, but if you are street use, then I won't suggest it as you will soon wear out your inner tires a lot faster. Since our X is mostly street and somewhat frequent track use, we set it at 1.5F and 1.7R. Talk to Jeff or Gaab at GTE and they will adjust to what you want.

Max camber on an Evo is around -1.8*F and -1.5*R with stock adjustment. If the X has more adjustment than that, I'm incorrect about setting it to max. With 0 toe, it will not excessively wear the inner shoulder. I run -2.6F and -1.5R with no abnormal wear. Toe eats tires, not camber.

[ryanowarrior]

The X dosent even have front camber adjustments does it?? Only the rear Ima pretty sure

[atlsupra]

The X dosent even have front camber adjustments does it?? Only the rear Ima pretty sure

It doesn't have front caster adjustability. Camber is adjustable.

[atlsupra]

Max camber on an Evo is around -1.8*F and -1.5*R with stock adjustment. If the X has more adjustment than that, I'm incorrect about setting it to max. With 0 toe, it will not excessively wear the inner shoulder. I run -2.6F and -1.5R with no abnormal wear. Toe eats tires, not camber.

Sorry forgot to mention, my car is lowered so it's able to have more negative cambers. But stock should still be able to squeeze out around 1.4 and 1.5 both front and rear.

I don't know where you get your information, but negative camber definitely wears out the inner tires.
http://www.jeepfan.com/projects/CastorCamber/techfig_07b.gif
Toe has effect as well, but it's not on the inner edge, both front or both rear should wear out at the same time. It's usually set at 0 degree.
http://www.jeepfan.com/projects/CastorCamber/techfig_07a.gif

[ryanowarrior]

so how you adjust the camber on the front of the X then?? gotta get aligned ASAP now

and what adjustments should i ask for when i get aligned??

[atlsupra]

so how you adjust the camber on the front of the X then?? gotta get aligned ASAP now

and what adjustments should i ask for when i get aligned??

I don't do my adjustment myself. I let the Jeff at GTE do it. Talk to them, everyone's setup is different depends on your use :D

[em1toevo]

I have the lifetime alignment from Firestone. I think it was around $150. I just got the the Mall of Georgia location. It is so worth the money.

[TouringBubble]

Sorry forgot to mention, my car is lowered so it's able to have more negative cambers. But stock should still be able to squeeze out around 1.4 and 1.5 both front and rear.

I don't know where you get your information, but negative camber definitely wears out the inner tires.
http://www.jeepfan.com/projects/CastorCamber/techfig_07b.gif
Toe has effect as well, but it's not on the inner edge, both front or both rear should wear out at the same time. It's usually set at 0 degree.
http://www.jeepfan.com/projects/CastorCamber/techfig_07a.gif

Camber does angle the tires and weight the inner shoulder, yes. That's 100% correct. But, if the toe is set to 0, the tires move in a straight line down the road which doesn't create much resistance. The inner will wear faster than the outer, but not at an excessive rate.

When you change the toe on the car, the wheels no longer point straight ahead. They are now angled to the direction of travel, which essentially creates a "scrub" effect as the tires cannot just roll along ... they must have some degree of slip as they are opposing one another and the direction of travel.

So, even if you have minimal negative camber and set the toe at anything other than 0, you WILL increase the wear of the tires. You are decreasing the contact patch (in a straight line) of the tire and favoring the inside (negative camber) and then scrubbing that smaller contact patch down the road (toe). The scrub kills the tire, but it just happens to be the inside that goes quickest due to the camber.

[Hikaru]

+1 for GTE! They have done my car plenty of times and take care of it very well!

[killercd4g63]

I'm Bumping this because i just used it :)

maybe someone else needs an alignment done as well.

Who installs customer bought parts though???
I got a brand new set of tires and brake pads that need to be installed on another car of mine.

Any help???

[TouringBubble]

GTE should be able to do that as well. Firestone may as well ... labor is labor.

[killercd4g63]

Oh ok.
I called around but I kept getting shops that say they don't install customer parts. Even though my pads are oem pads :(