Alignment old school style FTW

[Roadtech195]

Hi guys, yesterday I put new rubber on the GP. The old tires where worn about 2 inches on the inside shoulder in the rears. I took it to an alignment shop this moring to get the negative camber fixed. After about two hours of waiting...The manager tells me its all fixed and I was good to go. I look at the back tires and notice they look exactly the same as when I first showed up! He tells me that the rear is in "spec" Left at 1.0 degrees and Right at 1.5 degrees. and there is nothing they can do about it. I drove home a little pissed at the lack of service. Got home and put my car up on jackstands, got under it with a level, tape measure, and the tools I needed. equalized both linkages in the rear and got both of the tires at .5 degrees (used a smart level). I made sure the thrust angle and camber up front where zero'd out... and for the hell of it, I put the level on the underside of the car and it was dead level on all axises.
I then took it to a different alingment shop(same company) and they told me everything was lined up perfectly and at factory "spec".
So my question is how come they couldnt get it right with an electronic machine and yet my dumbass got if perfect with basic hand tools and common sense? I also asked the owner of the company the same question and his reply was to give me a full refund and offered me a job

[wjcollier07]

There seems to be a missing link here. When adjusting camber in the rear of just about any vehicle, especially when we're discussing an entire degree of adjustment, we're also talking about severely affecting the toe and thrust angle. I'm not immediately familiar with the adjuster setup on the W body, but in general, balancing between toe and camber is even sometimes necessary to gain the perfect amount of handling and tire wear. It's hard to say how its possible you changed it that much and the second place said it was all good. Were you supplied printouts on both occasions? There is a possibility that the camber is adjusted exactly at the axis of the toe adjustment, and it might not be affected...but this isn't how most modern cars are set up in the rear.

Secondly, only -0.5 deg camber in the rear is REALLY toward the light side, unless you strictly plan on driving like a grandma and are looking for the very best tire wear possible. Very light negative camber toward zero in the front is a very good and normal thing for a vehicle like yours, allowing full contact patch, etc. But in the rear, you're going to get a very 'at the limit' feeling in most cornering situations. Furthermore, if you go positive with camber, this feeling is magnified to the point of absurdity, even to the point of feeling like you're driving a horse and buggy.

[Bonneville92V688]

Remember though, there are a LOT of places that either don't align cars at all and tell you they did, or eyeball adjustments and then say it's fine. It's actually sickening how many of these places say they they aligned your car when they didn't even touch anything.

Small story....

My Dad busted a well known, popular place back in '99 when we had a '88 Plymouth Voyager. It was pulling real bad to the left, so he took it in to get it aligned. After it was all said and done, he got back in and drove it away to find that they didn't even do anything! He looked under the van and saw no marks whatsoever on the tie rods. Took it back and chewed them out. This time they took him back there and put it on the machine and aligned it properly. They refunded his money and apologized, but we never went back there. They closed 2 years later due to bad BBB ratings and deception. One of the biggest things this place got busted for was tricking old people into thinking they needed complete brake jobs... pads, rotors, hoses, master cylinder rebuild, new brake lines, etc. when all they needed was pads.

[DCJREDLINE]

One of the biggest things this place got busted for was tricking old people into thinking they needed complete brake jobs... pads, rotors, hoses, master cylinder rebuild, new brake lines, etc. when all they needed was pads.

That happens here ALOT. Dealerships, Jiffy Lubes, Goodyear tire centers EVERYWHERE. Working at AutoZone I saw ALOT of this.

[Roadtech195]

wjcollier07 you are absolutely right about .5 being on the light side. I took it to a very reputable place and they told me the "ideal" camber for my specific vehicle is -1.0 to -1.25. -1.5 is a little on the heavy side and will develope shoulder wear more rapidly. This place was cheaper than the first too! They set me at -1.0 firm on both sides and the car handles great. With new tires, propper alignment, and poly bushings... this car has become a lot more fun to drive.

[00Beast]

I had a similar experience with my 98 Tahoe. Got it "aligned", yet nothing looked different, the camber was way off. After I sold it, got a call from the new owner, "has this truck ever been aligned? The frame knock-outs are still there". Believe me when I say I wasn't happy at all. You pretty much have to baby sit everyone anymore...