Jim1000
Member Since: 26 Jun 2011
Location: Twickenham, Middlesex, UK
Posts: 315
  
|
| Do I need a specialist for wheel alignment? |
|
Hello
Got to get tracking/alignment done again this week. Let the wife drive it and she whacked the kerb. "I thought it would've alright, this thing can climb mountains can't it?" she said. 
Anyway. Can I pls ask. When I got the car it was a bit all over the place. Rang around and found local tyre place who claimed to do 4x4s. They conned £93 out of me and even 2 attempts, they couldn't get the concept of clamping the steeping wheel straight.
Soon after I paid £32 to a really good tyre place in Maidenhead who 're-tracked' it and put the steering wheel spot on straight. Lovely.
I haven't time to drive to Maidenhead this week but my local ATS tyre place showed me they have the 'laser kit' and say they do 4x4s all the time. RRs etc.
Question is, with the Air Suspension etc, should I trust them or ask them if they have particular equipment or follow a certain proceedure?
I don't want pretenders to eff it up.
Thanks in advance. Nov 04 D3 TDV6 HSE Java Black
|
 7th Aug 2011 9:25 pm |
|
|
johnnychainsaw
Member Since: 24 Nov 2009
Location: West Sussex
Posts: 1222
|
I had my wheels done by a large independent tyre specialist near Basingstoke they were very well set up and did a superb job cost about £60 great value for money. My local lr dealer quoted me over £200 for the same work. This was done over a year ago and all is good tyres wearing evenly and absolutely no wobbles what so ever.
|
| 7th Aug 2011 10:06 pm |
|
|
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
|
having had mine done twice by Independents within weeks of one another, I might have just open a storm drain and thrown the money down it 
Whilst it might have looked ok by the average joe public, the camber was out on the rear widely leaving the vehicle ossilating from nsf to osr and osf to nsr. Another few weeks and we had "chirstmas lights" on the dash and went in to stupid mode.
Spent £125 plus vat at Westover LR, Salisbury who re-calibrated the suspension and steering along with the tracking, identified and proudly showed me a faulty osr height sensor in situ before taking my instructions to replace (including splicing in further on the wiring loom due to a previous bad install) all of em.
The manner of its driving and even when sat on the drive was a whole world different to any "tyre specialist".
BTW I've seen numerous D3's charging down the motorways of this land with the camber so stupidly out on the rear axle its a wonder they've managed to keep it in a straight line.
Moral of my story, get it done by those who know, to replace a badly worn tyre after paying £60-£80 for yer local tyre supplier would mean you've spent well in excess of £200 plus vat 
|
| 7th Aug 2011 11:55 pm |
|
|
|
|
geoff.
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: West kent
Posts: 8531
|
Jim
i ehco what character says
tyrepro in coulsdon has the hunter machine and the fitters know what they are doing plus i,m in and out there quite a lot so could always set the other stuff for you.
geoff
|
| 8th Aug 2011 5:27 am |
|
|
garrycol
Member Since: 06 Dec 2010
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1117
|
Don't you need to get the suspension locked before you can do an alignment - so only those with computer equipment to enter the car's systems can lock it at the correct height before the alignment is done.
Do these independents have the ability to lock the suspension??
Garry
|
| 8th Aug 2011 5:57 am |
|
|
geoff.
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: West kent
Posts: 8531
|
nop but i do 
|
| 8th Aug 2011 6:03 am |
|
|
BulletProofBomb
Member Since: 11 Apr 2010
Location: South Lanarkshire
Posts: 22
|
So does that mean theres no use in me going to one unless I can find a Land Rover garage that has one?
|
| 8th Aug 2011 6:04 am |
|
|
geoff.
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: West kent
Posts: 8531
|
to get the aligment,camber & caster done correctly you need to set the veh suspension in tight tolerence mode unless you can do that it will never be spot on you can get it very close but not spot on .
will now sit back and wait for the O yes you can brigade
geoff
|
| 8th Aug 2011 6:10 am |
|
|
BulletProofBomb
Member Since: 11 Apr 2010
Location: South Lanarkshire
Posts: 22
|
Very close will do for me, just burned through a tyre on my RRS in under a year due to poor alignment so anything will help once I fit a new one. Thanks Geoff.
|
| 8th Aug 2011 6:14 am |
|
|
geoff.
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: West kent
Posts: 8531
|
make sure you get it done with s good machine such as the hunter, and when i say close its very close to being spot on
i did mine about 3 weeks ago not in tight mode took it for a 5 mile run then put back on machine ,set tight mode and yes it was slightly out so re-done now drives perfect
geoff
|
| 8th Aug 2011 6:18 am |
|
|
garrycol
Member Since: 06 Dec 2010
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1117
|
Again Landrover have outsmarted themselves with the need to set the suspension to do a wheel alignment - when set I believe you can only drive at a max of 25kph. Maybe fine if you live in the UK with a dealer just down the road - in Aust outside of the capitals dealers are normally a few hundred km apart so you cannot get to a dealer to set the suspension.
Why didn't Landrover simply have a set of alignment holes where you put in a couple of pins in to set the suspension.
They have designed a magnificent vehicle but from the service perspective the vehicle is not fit for purpose in the more remote environments it operates in.
Garry
|
| 8th Aug 2011 7:19 am |
|
|
Jim1000
Member Since: 26 Jun 2011
Location: Twickenham, Middlesex, UK
Posts: 315
|
So basically I call and ask:
1. Do you have Hunter equipment?
2. Do you set the suspension in tight tolerance mode?
IF, they say we have Hunter or our kit is just as good but we don't set it in tight tolerance mode, you you think I'm likely to get the tracking good but not perfect?
Will not setting suspension to tight tolerance mode not damage the suspension?
This is my baby. I spend more time fussing over this thing than my kids!!! Nov 04 D3 TDV6 HSE Java Black
|
| 8th Aug 2011 8:57 am |
|
|
geoff.
Member Since: 24 Jan 2010
Location: West kent
Posts: 8531
|
Jim
if your struggling to find somewhere get yourself over to tyrepro in coulsdon i,ll even meet you and put the car into tt/mode
geoff
|
| 8th Aug 2011 9:10 am |
|
|
Jim1000
Member Since: 26 Jun 2011
Location: Twickenham, Middlesex, UK
Posts: 315
|
Found a place I'm going to try. Booked in for tomorrow as they seemed impressive on the phone. Smart indy round the corner, all this time just assumed they wouldn't touch my D3.
Chap said £62+vat as long as nothing's seized, they use Hunter equipment and do it all the proper way for LRs. He said come over at 8am and I'll show you around all our kit.
I pointed-out it was twice the price of ATS tyres and he said, yes, but they don't know what they are doing. Those young lads are selling MacDonalds one minute andy then doing a crash course on how to operate alignment equipment the next!
These people sound good. I'll give them a try - and thank you all for your views and info.
(I used to be draftsman in my old days and so anything not straight drives me mad, driving down the motorway with it pulling slightly and the steering wheel not straight was like visual tinitus!) Nov 04 D3 TDV6 HSE Java Black
|
| 8th Aug 2011 9:12 am |
|
|
