I had my wheels rotated and aligned at Kwik-Fit. It was quick, courteous and they sent me home with a before and after printout. At the very bottom of the page, in red, it says, "One or more values are not within specification. Tire wear, handling and safety problems may result." So, I paid them £65 and they sent me home with a health and safety warning.

 

Today, I went to see the service manager for an explanation. He said he had never seen such a warning statement before. I showed him the two values that were out of spec. They were both related to left and right front wheel caster. The range was meant to be 8°15'-7°15'. The left front castor was 7°14', the right 7°09'. So, not way out, and the same as before the service was done.

 

The manager said some adjustments could not be made and had to be done at the factory. So, I have two questions: 1) does this sound likely? and 2) would the fact that the Sportline sits 15mm lower than other Superbs account for an incorrect specification range? They use the Hunter Tracker wheel alignment system. It does say on the printout: Sport Suspension (G02).

 

I've queried Kwik-Fit customer services, asked my dealer's service manager for his opinion and, now, you good people. Any comments?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jerry

 

Edited 17 March, 20188 yr by freelunch

I have to say my tyres on MY18 with DCC are also weirdly wearing. Like its normal that outside/inside goes because of fast cornering and stuff (i do drive pretty fast in corners) but most of the wear on my car is on center of tyre and outside, but most thread is inside. I've never seen this before so I suspect the alignment is bad. However I can't feel it anywhere but on tyre wear. Car has 17.000km. On my previous car I've always had most wear on inside/outside and very slow on center. I also fill tyres from 2.3-2.5bar on Superb.

DCC is -15mm of standard I believe. I did hit a curb when reversing once but that was at very  very slow speed and only front-left wheel. Wear is not normal on all 4 tyres. 

Just trying to confirm its very likely that factory alignment is off  I think dealer should sattle that before selling the car? I had doors misaligned as well. That much that I felt like I had open window all the time (drivers side).

I had my (SII so I presume similar set up) wheel alignment etc done complete with printouts and they had to replace four bolts that were required to be adjusted but are a one fit job, once adjusted cannot be re-adjusted without changing them. Perhaps they do not carry those bolts or do not know what is required. 

6 minutes ago, Danny 57 said:

I had my (SII so I presume similar set up) wheel alignment etc done complete with printouts and they had to replace four bolts that were required to be adjusted but are a one fit job, once adjusted cannot be re-adjusted without changing them. Perhaps they do not carry those bolts or do not know what is required. 

 

And can you remember if that was for front wheel caster adjustments? Thanks.

The before measurements.

I had lots of red when I had it done and then put new tyres on which meant it had to be done again, so be warned.

The front left wheel was red on the camber and toe and green on the caster. The front right wheel was only red on the toe. The combined front total toe was red as was the steer ahead.

 

It’s money for old rope at Kwik Fit.

 

They tried exactly the same tactic with mine when it had the front tyres replaced. It’s BS.

2 hours ago, Danny 57 said:

The before measurements.

I had lots of red when I had it done and then put new tyres on which meant it had to be done again, so be warned.

The front left wheel was red on the camber and toe and green on the caster. The front right wheel was only red on the toe. The combined front total toe was red as was the steer ahead.

 

 

Obviously I forgot to add that the after test was green on all points.

1 hour ago, MorrisOx said:

It’s money for old rope at Kwik Fit.

 

They tried exactly the same tactic with mine when it had the front tyres replaced. It’s BS.

On that basis, and hope it is not too OT, where do Briskodians get these checks done? I've heard bad about dealers and tyre places. Would be good to know who the good guys are.

My car needs the suspension geometry redoing. If it wasn't for the fact it was a lease I'd be taking it to somewhere proper like Center Gravity, but alas the dealer or Kwik Fit will have to do. I was under the impression the ACC needed a two hour recalibration after suspension geometry was aligned. Do KF do this, or was it not an issue, or something else entirely?...

The car doesn't sit any higher or lower. I can't see it being an issue with radar measuring how fast/far something is in front of you. I'm not going to let myself worry about this. I just want an answer from Kwik-Fit, maybe by the end of next week. I'll post here when they do get back to me.

 

In the meantime, I'd like to find where I can get real actual alignment specs for a MkIII Sportline?

 

Oh, I can walk to my local Kwik-Fit, hence the choice. I figured they specialise, what could go wrong? I've got a Watling and a WheelPower a short drive away, but they couldn't take me.

So the camber is out by a maximum of 6' ( minutes ) on one side and 1' ( minute ) the other side.

1' ( minute ) is 1/60 of a degree which is 1/360 of a full circle.

 

The amount it is out by is insignificant. Don't waste any time or money on this.

 

Thanks AG Falco

I stopped going to Kwik Fit after they told me my shock absorbers were leaking and needed replacement. I said no thank you and was still running the car three years later.

I heard later that the place had been caught spraying oil on shock absorbers.

@AGFalco Thanks for the facts, and I suspected that we were talking about very small measures here.

 

I will not be spending and more money on this, I can assure you. However, I have a lot of free time on my hands and I want Kwik-Fit to explain their health and safety warning to me.

 

The car does steer straight (as the printout suggests) and I could see the mechanic double checking the wheel bolts with a torque wrench, so I'm comfortable driving the car.

It is highly unlikely that places like Kwikfit, FI, Halfrauds etc will ever do a more professional job than either the dealer (or their specialist agents if they dont do it themselves).

 

How long do they take to do a 'full 4 wheel alignment' ? 20 minutes, half an hour?  Is that really enough time to do a proper job and make any adjustments? Do they really pay sufficient attention to setting up their 'modern, computerised kit'? Are they using the latest and correct settings or just doing a generic set up?

 

If you really do feel the need for checks of a level above everyday then you just need to find a company who specialise in suspension tuning/adjustments etc (i.e that's all they do). It will cost money as a full and proper alignment/adjustment might take up to 2 hours to complete and would include full checks on the suspension not just a few 'alignment' checks. For me, that is a waste of money as there is every likelihood that you will hit that pothole or scrape the kerb within a couple of days and have to do it all again; if you are that OCD about it 

 

SWMBO recently took her Volvo to a local, independent garage because it was 'pulling left' and they had a Hunter Kit (didn't tell me before hand!). They 'aligned' her car so well for £90 that in fact they had aligned it to crab along the road when I got in it a few days later.  Quick call into the Volvo dealer and reset, at no cost, to the correct settings for the model and model year. (no cost 'cos we are long standing customers of the partnership and have built up a good relationship with them).

 

Are there poor dealers out there? You bet. But I bet they are far fewer than the number of poor high street tyre shops and some back street garages . 

Ouch! Now I'm nervous all over again!

@freelunch

Sorry didn't mean to alarm you. As AGFalco said, it is three fifths of five eights of ***** all , sort of makes my point I thought?

Edited 17 March, 20188 yr by Sagalout

2 hours ago, freelunch said:

The car does steer straight (as the printout suggests)

 

You can have a car that has perfect alignment figures but still will not drive straight.

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

 

Kwik-fit did mind when i had new tyres - mine was out by miles.

 

They did it however what  i am interested is the rear suspension, "they" advised they could not do the as it was not adjustable.   Is this only possible with DCC or where they talking *****  ?

Just a wee question re the rotating tyres.

 

What tyres have you and how many miles had the done, and did you not just move front to rear, rear to front, 

did you move them in a cross pattern then have the alignment check done all without the car going out for a run after the tyre rotation?

8K miles on P7's. Had them criss-crossed, then aligned. Put a mile on the car since the alignment.

Made the mistake of going to a tyre chain for a wheel alignment years ago.  I'd hit a kerb, burst a tyre and the alignment of the car just didn't feel right thereafter.

 

Not a good experience.

 

They put the car up on the ramp, tinkered with it for a bit then the car got handed back to me with the steering wheel at 5-to12, they were closing as I left so went back the next morning.  Tinkered with it again then the steering wheel was offset the other way.  Told the manager to just forget it and got my money back - think it was £30 ish.  He apologised and it was clear they didn't really know what they were doing.

 

Took it to a wheel alignment specialist (if anyone in Scotland needs this service I can recommend the guy) and for £60 he completely sorted out the problem, the car felt fantastic.  He made the point that tyre places are just that - they are tyre fitters and sometimes they don't really know how to line up the geometry of a car.  Take it to a specialist.

5 hours ago, Mickey43 said:

Made the mistake of going to a tyre chain for a wheel alignment years ago.  I'd hit a kerb, burst a tyre and the alignment of the car just didn't feel right thereafter.

 

Not a good experience.

 

They put the car up on the ramp, tinkered with it for a bit then the car got handed back to me with the steering wheel at 5-to12, they were closing as I left so went back the next morning.  Tinkered with it again then the steering wheel was offset the other way.  Told the manager to just forget it and got my money back - think it was £30 ish.  He apologised and it was clear they didn't really know what they were doing.

 

Took it to a wheel alignment specialist (if anyone in Scotland needs this service I can recommend the guy) and for £60 he completely sorted out the problem, the car felt fantastic.  He made the point that tyre places are just that - they are tyre fitters and sometimes they don't really know how to line up the geometry of a car.  Take it to a specialist.

 

Been there as well. Lesson learnt.

After hitting a pothole quite hard last week I decided to take the car over to a friend… a Kwik Fit manager  anyway, some helpful info (hopefully):

 

Hunter kit is still regarded as the best available, but it obviously depends on the operator.

 

Firstly, the caster is not adjustable on the Superb III… not even by a dealer. The front camber can be adjusted, but only in tandem as it involves loosening the subframe bolts and even then it doesn’t always budge... it’s not something they generally do. He also suggested there was an in place kit available to allow for further subframe adjustment… again, not something they do. The toe is what matters at the front, within reason.

The camber and toe can be done at the rear although some cars come with standard bolts from the factory so cam bolts are needed to make adjustments (SIII has cam bolts already). It might explain @Danny 57’s situation, although they might just have been seized. He also said there are no stretch/single use bolts required for suspension adjustment that he knows of.

 

He said to fill the tank before coming over and keep the boot filled with what I normally carry. From memory, there were five suspension choices for the SIII and mine was the G01 (standard). Some of the newer Hunter setups have a vin/index lookup, but this 2012 machine asked to reference the build sticker codes. Although the vehicle database updates regularly, the core software normally doesn’t unless there is a fault with the kit. I noticed how sensitive the ramp was and the figures changed the higher up the car was… closer to the cameras. Hunter software options vary and some allow you to skip the ride height values etc. and some add the disclaimer that you got @freelunch… others versions don’t. The kit is calibrated once a year so might be worth asking when your place last had it done.

 

Up here in Scotland it’s £50 to make an adjustment at the front or rear so £100 if both require it. They do a £130 cover option which allows a check/adjustment every three months for two years.

 

No adjustment was needed (or worthwhile) on mine:

 

 

@Alan_P Thanks for that! I expect that by Thursday I will be getting a very similar reply from Kwik-Fit.

 

I find it interesting that my castor measurements would have been within spec if the computer had loaded your car's settings.

 

Hopefully, Škoda UK will get back to me in the next couple of days to confirm the official alignment specifications.

 

Cheers.

I just had my alignment done at the dealer and after everything is green except the Caster, which hasn't changed.

 

I had to do an internet search and it seems the Camber is vertical angle, Toe is the pointy in/out angle and castor is something to do with the angle the wheel makes with the suspension strut and according to the internet doesn't affect tyre wear.

 

My before measurements showed the front wheel toes were slightly out and the rear wheel toes fractionally out.

 

After adjustment all the toes were within spec.

 

 

What they did suddenly panic about was the risk that the acc radar may need realigning, but it didn't (not that I thought it would)

 

I originally went to a major chain (not kwik fit) and they said they wouldn't touch it because of the auto-steer etc and advised I went to the dealer, who was actually cheaper.

 

150 L&K