Laser alignment

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Laser alignment

Postby Bernard » Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:44 pm

I brought the car for alignment today as I have the (dreaded) NCT next week. I was told that the camber on the front right wheel was out.

I searched (my friend) the forum for camber adjustment and found these threads.
http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=910
http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3343

My question is because the camber is out on one side and not the other do I still need to buy adjustment bolts to fix it or is there something else I can do?
The mechanic that was looking after it said he couldn't do anything...
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Postby ikeane » Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:04 pm

Do you not have camber adjustment on the top of your shocks Brendan?
The first time I had my wheels aligned yer man told me the same thing till I lifted the bonnet and showed him...eejit :roll:
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Postby Bernard » Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:09 pm

ikeane wrote:Do you not have camber adjustment on the top of your shocks Brendan?
The first time I had my wheels aligned yer man told me the same thing till I lifted the bonnet and showed him...eejit :roll:


How long have I worked with you Ivan? :lol:

Anyway, there's no camber adjustment on the shocks (he asked) just spring rate...
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Postby CJ » Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:50 pm

Front camber can't be adjusted unless you have aftermarket bolts (Camskill). A bit of negtive camber won't hurt in the handling stakes (in fact it will improve handling) although it would be better to have the camber set the same on both sides.

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Postby Bernard » Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:56 pm

I've just ordered the adjustment bolts, any suggestions as to what camber would be best for everyday driving?
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Postby CJ » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:19 pm

Bernard wrote:I've just ordered the adjustment bolts, any suggestions as to what camber would be best for everyday driving?


-1 deg is good.

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Postby Bernard » Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:58 pm

CJ wrote:-1 deg is good.

CJ


Cheers CJ.
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Postby ikeane » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:00 am

ikeane wrote: Brendan


:smt033
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Postby Bernard » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:31 am

ikeane wrote:
:smt033


At 10 o' clock on a Sunday Morning?

You should've been at mass :smt018 :lol:
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Postby Dragonheart » Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:58 am

They dont have ashtrays at mass.................
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Postby Bernard » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:02 am

Dragonheart wrote:They dont have ashtrays at mass.................


They do on Wednesdays.
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Postby Dragonheart » Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:11 am

So thats where they get all the ashes from, all the boys smoking down the back.

'Tip it in there lads, we'll make good use of that!'.
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Re: Laser alignment

Postby Bernard » Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:30 am

Bernard wrote:The mechanic that was looking after it said he couldn't do anything...


I reckon this has cost me over €70 :evil:
First of all someone doing laser alignment day in day out should be able to spot a worn track rod end. But no, I had to fail the NCT to find that out.

As I've said before he said the camber was out but couldn't be adjusted so I go and buy the adjustment bolts from camskill.

Well, I brought the car to my local mechanic the other day to get all my new bits fitted.
A couple of hours later I got a phone call to say there wasn't any point fitting the adjustment bolts as I already had them :roll:

What kind of eejets work in these tyre places?

€30 for a retest that I shouldn't have had to do and £25 (+P&P) for the bolts that I already had, not forgetting I also had to pay for the alignment.... not a happy camper.

OK..... rant over.
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Re: Laser alignment

Postby Myfeckin FTO » Fri Feb 01, 2008 12:20 pm

quote="Bernard"]............What kind of eejets work in these tyre places?
..........................
€30 for a retest that I shouldn't have had to do and £25 (+P&P) for the bolts that I already had, not forgetting I also had to pay for the alignment.... not a happy camper............[/quote]


Theres a lot of eejits that seem to work in tyre places - You have to stand over them to make sure they don't stuff it up. I've had them chip paint from my rims, not have a clue about what camber/toe to run or how to adjust, and lately try fitting V rated tyres on my car when they orig physically showed me Y rated tyres (Course they were gonna charge for Y rated).


I'm sure if you bring along those camber adjusting bolts to the meet that you'll have no shortage of takers - Anyone with aftermarket dampers/springs/coilovers etc should be interested in these.
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Re: Laser alignment

Postby Bernard » Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:04 pm

Myfeckin FTO wrote:I'm sure if you bring along those camber adjusting bolts to the meet that you'll have no shortage of takers - Anyone with aftermarket dampers/springs/coilovers etc should be interested in these.


That's the plan.

It's not so much the time or money that p!ssed me off, it's the principle.
I had the naïve notion that you should get what you pay for.
Also, the place and the paticular guy that looked after it were recommended to me...

Parkway anyone? :roll:
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Re: Laser alignment

Postby Myfeckin FTO » Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:38 pm

Bernard wrote:[.......Also, the place and the paticular guy that looked after it were recommended to me...

Parkway anyone? :roll:


Yeah - I know the guys there (though I didn't recomend it -honest!)

It really depends on who is on at the time really. But TBH - it really doesn't matter where you go in Limerick - I've tried them all and one is as bad as the other.
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Re: Laser alignment

Postby Bernard » Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:53 pm

Myfeckin FTO wrote:But TBH - it really doesn't matter where you go in Limerick - I've tried them all and one is as bad as the other.


I see what you mean.:roll:
Having gotten the track rod ends fitted I brought the car into the dock road last Friday for alignment.

I'd excuse the difficulty getting the car on the ramp but having to ring the manufacturer of the machine to find the setting for the FTO wasn't exactly confidence inspiring...

Then I watched as the "mechanic" had to cycle up the road to buy a vice grips because he couldn't find his....WTF

They managed to get all the lights green on the machine but I wasn't about to ask them to reset the camber...-0.3 will do until I find someone a little more professional.
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