Alignment Option

[dannyhsu]

If I know for sure I only need my toe adjusted will it be cheaper? Because they're charging me $120 for all 4 wheels (camber, caster, toe), but i know for sure my camber cant be adjusted to factory specs since I'm lowered

[s2cmpugh]

That's too high. Down here in Richmond the average price is around $80-$90 for a four wheel alignment. You can adjust camber if you installed an adjustable camber kit, and that adjustment is included in the price of the alignment.

Try someone different.

[Bad_dude]

I get my 4 wheels computerized alignment for $35. It takes about 1.5 hours or more. This is just for stock height cars.

[CB7 R3ason]

down in mobile al it cost 90 bucks well worth it....

[HardInThePaint]

They won't give you a discount because you don't need camber adjusted. The price is for everything regardless of what needs to be aligned. And $120 is a bit much, a 4 wheel alignment should cost somewhere in the range of $50 to $80 give or take. Unless if its a lifetime alignment then anything over that is ridiculous.

[dannyhsu]

They won't give you a discount because you don't need camber adjusted. The price is for everything regardless of what needs to be aligned. And $120 is a bit much, a 4 wheel alignment should cost somewhere in the range of $50 to $80 give or take. Unless if its a lifetime alignment then anything over that is ridiculous.

Oh. Yeah, that's what I was asking, if they would give me a discount since basically all they can adjust is my toe. $120 is too much, but it was the only shop that had an underground ramp so I could actually get on the machine plus it's a performance shop...

[Accord problems]

Oh. Yeah, that's what I was asking, if they would give me a discount since basically all they can adjust is my toe. $120 is too much, but it was the only shop that had an underground ramp so I could actually get on the machine plus it's a performance shop...

dam sounds like there rapeing your wallet . over here in cali i pay 65 for camber, teo, caster . and they have the ramp that underground ramp . i love that ramp ever thing els my car gets stuck on .

[deevergote]

MOST shops won't touch a lowered car. I had to lie to get mine done at Firestone (and they did a shit job of it... destroyed my rear tires...)

Do you have a camber kit? If not, then your camber can't be adjusted anyway. To my knowledge, the caster on our cars rarely needs adjusting (I honestly don't even know how to do it on our cars!)
Toe is the main killer of tires, though if you have significant negative camber, that will do a good job on the inner edges.

I would look for a place that offers a lifetime alignment deal, like Firestone. $200 or so, once, and you can get your wheels aligned at no further cost as often as you'd like for as long as you own that car.

[mitsubishiv5]

i tend to do lowered cars, i actually did my own alignment on my accord without correcting the camber more because toe is what causes inner tire wear in relation to camber. there are also a bunch of other factors that play with an alignment such shocks and bad springs that even with a great alignment can still mess with tires.

when i get to the alignment process i give a quick visual inspection, such as ball joints, and tire rod ends, as well as abnormal tire wear. most common tire conditions are cupping due to worn suspension components like blown shocks.


here is an alignment for a friend i did awhile back, this is with camber adjustment(match both sides to negative camber, rear toe adjustment, front camber adjustment,caster(traction bar), and toe all 4 Wheels. remember this guy wanted negative camber


this is using a current hunter alignment machine:


but what many customers tend to ignore is the technicians recommendations. this guy needed nee axles, rebuild his rack and pinion and replace a bunch of bushings. he came back numerous times after replacing part by part. its just one of those things " i told you so"

he had to install a rear toe adjustment arm because there was no room for adjustment.


the alignment i did for my accord, was just toe adjustment. got my toe specs close to zero(off top of my head) and if i remember the camber it was around -2.5° all around after installing eibach sportline lowering springs. then few Weeks later my rear struts blow, replaced those and redid alignment, and had the st sway bar kit installed. all i recommend is replacing all relative suspension components before alignment.


120 isn't bad if the shop literally corrects everything, but off stock non adjustable camber/caster that doesn't sound great.

[s2cmpugh]

i tend to do lowered cars, i actually did my own alignment on my accord without correcting the camber more because toe is what causes inner tire wear in relation to camber. there are also a bunch of other factors that play with an alignment such shocks and bad springs that even with a great alignment can still mess with tires.

when i get to the alignment process i give a quick visual inspection, such as ball joints, and tire rod ends, as well as abnormal tire wear. most common tire conditions are cupping due to worn suspension components like blown shocks.


here is an alignment for a friend i did awhile back, this is with camber adjustment(match both sides to negative camber, rear toe adjustment, front camber adjustment,caster(traction bar), and toe all 4 Wheels. remember this guy wanted negative camber


this is using a current hunter alignment machine:


but what many customers tend to ignore is the technicians recommendations. this guy needed nee axles, rebuild his rack and pinion and replace a bunch of bushings. he came back numerous times after replacing part by part. its just one of those things " i rod you so"

he had to install a rear toe adjustment arm because there was no room for adjustment.


the alignment i did for my accord, was just toe adjustment. got my toe specs close to zero(off top of my head) and if i remember the camber it was around -2.5° all around after installing eibach sportline lowering springs. then few Weeks later my rear struts blow, replaced those and redid alignment, and had the st sway bar kit installed. all i recommend is replacing all relative suspension components before alignment.


120 isn't bad if the shop literally corrects everything, but off stock non adjustable camber/caster that doesn't sound great.

Excellent tips there! Merchants Tire just aligned my Accord and rebalanced all my tires for $135 with a small 6000 mile warranty. The tech. informed me that after aligning it once he went for a quick test drive, but noticed strong pulling. So he had to realign it again, as the car was that far off spec. I installed Neuspeed sport springs (supposed to be 1.75" drop in front and 1.5" in the rear), Koni STR.T struts/shocks, Prothane bushings on front and rear, and SPC adjustable upper ball joints (-1.5 to +1.5). I adjusted the SPC BJ's all the way out to remove as much negative camber as possible. After the alignment, my camber is now -.2 and -.1 on the front. I'd call that acceptable, especially since my upper control arms do NOT hit the inner fender.

Also, not one word was spoken to me about my car being lowered. Hope this helps you or someone else!