Hunter Alignment specs

[Superskoda]

I have always heard good reviews about the hunter alignment set up but never got to use that kit on my car. I previously lived in Northern Ireland and they never had it there at the time. Maybe this is the reason that every time I have needed new tyres it was because of in proper wear on the inside of the rear tyres. Every time I have had new tyres I have paid for alignment too (not hunter kit) but if anything this has just made it worse!

Anyway I need new tyres yet again but now live in Lincoln and there is a local Vauxhall specialist that has the hunter kit but I always read there were different settings? What's the latest/best settings that I check they are going to use?

Here is the current damage on the worst side.

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[Superskoda]

Just spoke to them, check is free then they charge for adjustments. If everything needs doing it will cost £90. If it works I will more than save that on tyre wear at £95 a tyre (Goodyear eagle f1's) the company is http://vauxalist.co.uk anyone had dealings with them?

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[philbes]

That is expensive.  I paid a total of £24.90 when just front toe required adjustment.  On a previous visit when front toe and rear camber needed adjustment I paid a total of £49.68 .  This was on Hunter kit. On both visits I was shown read out diagram of current settings, discussed changes required and then also given diagram after adjustment.

[softscoop]

That is very expensive. Pk Automotive on Deakon Road have a hunter rig I believe and will do it for £45.

Tyre and Tech on the Allenby estate have a hunter laser rig and also an even better 3d system.

This was reply to an enquiry from Tyre and Tech

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Hi Sam

Thanks for your enquiry. We charge from £30 +vat for a 4wheel laser alignment & from £50 +vat for a 4 wheel 3D optical alignment with printout , depending on the vehicle and the condition of the adjustment points, e.g seized and requiring heat etc (no extra work is done without customer authority). Octavias are generally straight forward so I wouldn’t expect any issues .

The laser is the older technology where lasers are hung on each corner and they point to targets from which we can assess the amount of out true that exists..its the modern day equivalent of the bits of string they use to use in the early days. With this you get front and rear toe plus the amount of setback on an axle(that’s how much one wheel is in front of the other on the same axle).

The 3D equipment has targets mounted on each wheel and has cameras looking at each target. The vehicle is rolled backwards about 6 inches and returned to its original position. From this the equipment calculates front and rear toe ,front and rear cambers ,setback, castor & toe out in turns if required and will compensate for out of true wheels. You also get a before and after printout with this.

The laser equipment can’t do that. Both are very accurate in their measurements , but the optical gear gives more information faster.

Regards

Steve

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Edited 30 May, 2015 by softscoop

[RedRooster]

Just had mine done in doncaster at f1 autocentre, they have a hunter machine, spoke to the guy doing the work about the rear camber issues on the vrs which he was aware of, I had adjustments at each corner the worst being osr being 3 degrees out ...... Which is why I took it in as the tyre was destroyed on the inner edge but had a good 5-6mm left on the outside!

It cost me £60 plus vat and a new tyre.

Hope you get yours sorted mate.

[Superskoda]

That is expensive. I paid a total of £24.90 when just front toe required adjustment. On a previous visit when front toe and rear camber needed adjustment I paid a total of £49.68 . This was on Hunter kit. On both visits I was shown read out diagram of current settings, discussed changes required and then also given diagram after adjustment.

£90 is for all wheels needing adjustment and the most I should pay. Hopefully the fronts are fine.

That is very expensive. Pk Automotive on Deakon Road have a hunter rig I believe and will do it for £45.

Tyre and Tech on the Allenby estate have a hunter laser rig and also an even better 3d system.

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These aren't advertised as hunter kits on their websites and also don't show up on the www.alignmycar.co.uk website.

Thanks for the replys, I'm all booked in now for Wednesday. I'll post back with the before/after print offs.

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[dara85]

I have paid £96 in Drury Lane on Manchester rd after having new suspension, drop links, ball joints and rear fishbone bushes fitted so all 4 wheels needed to be aligned.

Quite expensive I'd say...

[Bigboy]

Hi

After an advisory on my 1st mot last week about the insides of the rear tyres being close to the legal limit I'm looking to get mine done before I replace the rear tyres. With that in mind Can anybody recomend a good garage to do this in the cheshire or close surrounding area just looking for personal recomendations from any of you guys that may of had it done and been pleased with the service and quality of workmanship they received rather than picking local garage off the align my car.co.uk site

Thanks in advance

Paul

Edited 30 May, 2015 by Bigboy

[rlp]

Just had my car done on Hunter machine , very pleased so far , but it does depend on how good your technician is. cost just over £100 all round adjustment At Autostop in Bridgend 

[brad1.8T]

The brand of the machine doesn't mean much.  The guy using it is what matters.

 

Most aligners set up a vehicle according to the specifications without knowing what they are doing or the theory behind what the angles do. 

 

SuperSkoda - if the people that have done your alignment in the past can't fix that inside edge wear then it wouldn't matter what type of machine they were using.

[Superskoda]

Well things haven't gone too well.

Lower rear arms can't be adjusted due to them having their bolts rusted solid. They have quoted £320 for new arms, nuts etc and labour to cut out the old ones and fit the new ones. Not sure on the tps price for rear lower arms but it seems expensive.

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[brad1.8T]

Which indicates the previous aligners haven't adjusted anything as it was "too hard".

 

Can't you give it repeated penetrene baths?

[Superskoda]

Which indicates the previous aligners haven't adjusted anything as it was "too hard".

Can't you give it repeated penetrene baths?

Not sure about the baths. Checked the prices with TPS against what they quote and they were both the same. TPS had the quote on the system from when the garage phoned up. All they are charging on top is 2 hours of labour which seems very reasonable.

This was the best they could do until the items are changed.

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[brad1.8T]

If you tend to hook into corners hard (and consistently) then that rear camber is about right. 

 

If you are attempting to fix the inside edge wear on the rear then they have made it worse as they have given it more negative camber.  NB: it is bang on factory specs of 1'45" +-30" but any fool can set it to the specs. 

 

Ask them to set it to -1'15.  If you tend to use the car as a shopping trolley (I do) then tell them to fool the machine & set it up as an Octavia Elegance which is a fraction more upright (1'20" +-30).  Ask them if they will aim for between -0'50" and -1'0". (minus 1 will do as they'll be having conniptions).

 

All the other settings on the vRS & Elegance are the same.

 

Also, if the car tends to drift left they should move the subframe over a fraction so that the cambers are equal or a fraction more -ve on the LHS.

 

Any reason they didn't check the caster? (it's barely adjustable via the subframe but worth having the info if the car drifts left or right excessively)

[Superskoda]

I did think that more negative camber would lead to more wear on the inside edge, but I don't really understand how it got so bad with the original settings.

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[brad1.8T]

Do you carry a lot of gear in the back?

[Superskoda]

Not really just a normal family car. Normally has a pram and baby stuff in and occasionally full of shopping. Fully loaded with a roof box too a couple of times a year for family visits and holidays. Off to France on Saturday so that's why it all needs sorting now.

Can't complain too much as this is the cars only expense other than servicing and tyres in over 5 years and about 64,000 miles.

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[brad1.8T]

As you load it, the rears squat and get more -ve camber.  If you can get it aligned with a full tank of fuel & some gear in the boot then it will fool the machine (if the aligner insists on sticking with factory specs).

 

I used to have some really fat-f**kers of customers (Jabba the Hut's brothers I think) and I'd put about 60kg of concrete in the drivers seat to emulate some (these buggers were 120kg - 180kg) of the suspension squat they'd cause.  All the sales guys & tradies I looked after knew to come with their normal load of work gear on board.  It made a big difference if the springs & dampers were starting to get sad.