An argument with a pothole last night meant a new tyre today - but fortunately it seems nothing more.

 

A new tyre also means the almost obligatory free tracking check...  The results were 8 on both sides on the gauges at the back, and -1 and +2 at the front.  Unclear what the units of measurement were, but "degrees" were mentioned in relation to the front figures.  I was told that my car's wheels were supposed to be "parallel" and so apparently the numbers didn't matter as long as the backs were the same as each other, and the fronts were the negative of each other.  I didn't end up get the tracking adjusted, and one of the staff even told me afterwards that he wouldn't have got it done either.

 

However, is any of the above correct?  OK, it was 8 on both sides at the back, but surely if it had come out as 5 on both sides that would be due to the wheels being different to how they are, although it would still (by the above logic) be OK?  And at the front, couldn't they have either adjusted it so the readings were -1 and +1, or -2 and +2 to satisfy the above criteria - but surely that again would be two different alignments, and only one of these (or even some other amount) is correct?

Tracking is pants.

 

I'd get down to a 4 wheel alignment place and get it done right. £50 well spent.

+1 what Aspman says.

 

Whoever says the numbers don't matter is talking through their backside. You MUST get a full 4 wheel laser alignment done. There is absolutely no point in having the fronts set to match the rears if the rears are out.

 

I had my 4 wheel alignment done recently, and could not believe the difference in the way the car felt after it was done.

 

Mike

I agree.

 

I have had mine done twice since I have owned it (By the place who I bought it off, I don't think it was a decent 4 wheel alignment tool though I did receive a report). It makes a huge difference and can help with fuel economy (if it is quite bady out of alignment)

Agreed. Got mine back yesterday and it feels like a totally different car. Get it done

I asked my local skoda dealer and they wanted £85. Is that ok price?? 

I asked my local skoda dealer and they wanted £85. Is that ok price?? 

 

£85 is about right but they will do it to " within tolerances ", they might even send it to a third party.  A proper Laser alignment place should to it to the correct spec for around the same price

http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/

 

Directs you to garages with Hunter alignment rigs which seem to be the recommended option.

Is £95 + vat a bit steep?

yes - that is not cheap.

Garage near me (using supertracker system) is free for the check, then £15 per adjustment.

My skoda garage wanted £45 inc vat. Shop around mate.

I'll have to ask mine, do they do it properly? not done this before so what should I look out for?

 

Thanks

Doing it right costs money.

Unfortunately you can spend a lot of money and still not have it done right.

I can recommend these people if you are any where near Chesham, north-west of London.

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/
 
Transformed my brand-new Mazda MX-5 which was miles out of adjustemnt when it was delivered.  Tony Bones is a particularly helpful bloke:

(Usual disclaimers.)

I get CLCM in Edinburgh to do mine whenever I swap the summer tyres for winter and again when I swap them back. £50 well spent as the car corners like its on rails plus the potholes are a 'mare in these parts and the front end tends to take a beating.

Another satisfied customer.  

 

Some places offer a fixed rate, some charge per adjustment. 

Under £50, double check what's on offer.  Over £100 - bit steep.  Obviously depends on what's wrong, some adjustments can take a while if parts are rusted and seized.  I get mine done every tyre change now, pays for itself in tyre life, with the huge bonus of feeling so much better to drive.

 

Most important thing is the skill of the operator.  Modern alignment machines like the Hunter will do a lot to reduce read error, but the operator still has to do the adjustments, work out how to cope with seized parts, how to optimise settings because one end of the tolerance band can feel different to the other.

The last place I used checked there was no heavy stuff in the boot, checked the tyre pressures, lots of wiggling and bouncing to settle everything down.  Plus some entry level swearing because the rear camber bushes were seized.  In the end, about two hours work = £90.

 

Either a well recommended place locally , or a bit of travel.

Another satisfied customer.  

 

Some places offer a fixed rate, some charge per adjustment. 

Under £50, double check what's on offer.  Over £100 - bit steep.  Obviously depends on what's wrong, some adjustments can take a while if parts are rusted and seized.  I get mine done every tyre change now, pays for itself in tyre life, with the huge bonus of feeling so much better to drive.

 

Most important thing is the skill of the operator.  Modern alignment machines like the Hunter will do a lot to reduce read error, but the operator still has to do the adjustments, work out how to cope with seized parts, how to optimise settings because one end of the tolerance band can feel different to the other.

The last place I used checked there was no heavy stuff in the boot, checked the tyre pressures, lots of wiggling and bouncing to settle everything down.  Plus some entry level swearing because the rear camber bushes were seized.  In the end, about two hours work = £90.

 

Either a well recommended place locally , or a bit of travel.

Agree.

A full alignment will check a lot more than just toe-in.  It should include camber and toe-in (or out) of all four wheels, the symmetrical centering of the alignment the rear wheels as a pair, the alignment of the fronts (as a pair) with the rears, the castor angle, the precise symmetrical matching of all the settings each side - and more.

Even some simple basic tracking gauges use lasers, so do not be impressed by the words "laser alignment".

Many places offer full alignment but haven't even got the proper kit, and many places (even main dealers) which have got all the right kit do not necessarily have anyone with the depth of training, skill, experience, dedication, enthusiasm, patience and determination to get it spot-on.  I have seen good, trustworthy main dealers fail to get it right, even with all the kit.

It is a very specialised craft, and it is worth going to a specialised workshop with a good reputation and which has been personally recommended to you, and paying what that costs.  Even having it done badly is not cheap, and only having it adjusted "more-or-less" or "near-enough" is pointess.

Having said all that, I wouldn't normally expect to have to have this done regularly on most cars, or even as often as whenever I had a new set of tyres fitted.  I would only have it re-checked if the car started to feel less "planted" or less stable in the way it drove, or if it had suffered damage.

The Mazda MX-5, despite being a small, low-cost, lightweight sports car has remarkably sturdy suspension and after I had to get mine adusted properly when it was brand new, it was still spot-on when I had it re-checked 6 years and 50,000 hard-driven miles (on some occasionally very rough roads) later.

It would be interesting to hear from other Ocavia owners how well they find their wheels stay correctly aligned over long periods, especially 4x4 owners.

Had my 4 wheel alignment done by Reynolds of Rushock near to Kidderminster (they are a VW/Porsche specialist) for about £85 due to my rear tyres sawtoothing BADLY. They had the new revised geometry that Skoda released for the octavia.

 

The difference in the drive once the alignment was done was amazing, felt like a different car. I saw an improvement in mpg, road noise an steering feel so well worth the money.

 

I had the rear tyres replaced by ETB in Kidderminster and they said they had never seen tyres worn in such a way!

 

Shame Skoda wouldn't get the geometry adjusted FOC, the sawtoothing is caused by poor geometry settings on early octavias from the factory.

 

Get it done!

I had my geometry setup by Hunter and supertracker machines. The steering wheel was still out and pulled to the left because of this.

I bought myself a Track ace. As you can see the two results are virtually identical and I can align the rears too.

is this worth getting done? I have had the car for 2 wks now and it drives well, so would I really need to get it done?

Absolutely. My hatch drove well for 3 years before I had the alignment checked, and it was WAY out. It may be driving well, but it will be better when it's set up properly.

 

You can't even trust it being right straight out of the factory.

 

Mike

well that's just decided it for me. Thanks - any recommendations for the dartford kent area?

I had my geometry setup by Hunter and supertracker machines. The steering wheel was still out and pulled to the left because of this.

I bought myself a Track ace. As you can see the two results are virtually identical and I can align the rears too.

 

I think I am going to invest in one of these, it looks easy to use and its small. (I find it really annoying when you hit a pot hole and it puts the steering wheel out of centre and then have to have it aligned again)

An argument with a pothole last night meant a new tyre today - but fortunately it seems nothing more.

 

A new tyre also means the almost obligatory free tracking check...  

 

Me too last Saturday afternoon, I don't know about pothole though, its almost the size of a small garden pond ! Off to get two new Michelin PS3's tomorrow and a 3D tracking check. Last hi tech tracking I had done was on the much missed Fabia vRS 6 years ago. Well worth it though, ran a set of PS2's on that for well over 20k miles IIRC, hope it turns out as well this time.

 

Oncoming & following traffic made it hard to avoid a pinch rupture on the side wall. Fortunately we weren't far from destination and able to fit spare (another worthwhile purchase).

Me too - well SWMBO, borrow my car, 2 tyres striaght away, on a series of potholes, so had to be recovered & a 3rd tyre had a 4 inch gash in it.

Went back with the camera & tape measure (as advised on www.potholes.co.uk), the council had filled them, so nothing to photograph or measure.

 

Had the alightment done on a local Hunter rig and it was a mile out, so £60 well spent, as well as the other £350 for 3 new tyres..

New Michelin PS3 x2 fronts fitted today, and 4 wheel alignment wasn't at all bad. Wheel undamaged, ran true & balanced fine, no evident damage to suspension components. Final result on tracking adjustment gave pretty good result, thanks to the guys at Protyre Creekmoor in Poole. Drives superbly, well worth the £60 cost. 

 

Once the tyres are scrubbed in should be even better.

I used this place in Kent http://www.kaizermotor.co.uk/ got excellent service and price would use them again.