Tracking?

[MillzE]

Hiya guys n gals,

Got the tracking done on my car today after lowering it on 17's, it was at a local garage that I hadnt been to before.

Basically while I sat down they took the car away and within 10mins it was back

I paid (£20) and asked the guy behind the counter if it was out by much (not having a clue what I was on about I might add! ) and he told me it was "quite bad....out by 2mm".

Can anyone confirm that the wheel alignment does only take this short period of time?? Am I meant to feel a difference also, because I can't!!

Cheers :D

Matt

[admanirv]

Hiya guys n gals,

Got the tracking done on my car today after lowering it on 17's, it was at a local garage that I hadnt been to before.

Basically while I sat down they took the car away and within 10mins it was back

I paid (£20) and asked the guy behind the counter if it was out by much (not having a clue what I was on about I might add! ) and he told me it was "quite bad....out by 2mm".

Can anyone confirm that the wheel alignment does only take this short period of time?? Am I meant to feel a difference also, because I can't!!

Cheers :D

Matt

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I had mine tracked today mate, after i got it lowred, took about 10mins too, it was done with a lazer and the guy took they measure things to the wheels.

far as i know, if its been tracked property but tired are pumped up correcty it should drift the left or right.

Usually when it ahsnt been tracked right, you get abnormal wear on the side of the tyres.

probably someone can shine more

light on this.

[d.b.gorman]

I went over a big pot hole today. Should I get my tracking checked?

[Latimer]

Got mine checked out after hitting black ice and hitting the curb, garage said it wasn't out by much.

[MillzE]

I went over a big pot hole today. Should I get my tracking checked?

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Im pretty sure you dont have too mate

How do they actually correct it because I left the locking nuts out but didnt look like they were touched?

[cfc1]

I went over a big pot hole today. Should I get my tracking checked?

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It IS advisable to get tracking checked after hitting a bad pothole.. also , i would recommend getting tracking checked every 6 months,

Tracking can only take around 10 mins to do, all they do is loosen the lock nut on the trackrod end, then adjust the rod to the correct settings, however... after getting the suspension on any car changed (i.e. lowered), the standard tracking settings can change.. after all, the standard settings are for the standard suspension set up, what in essence you have done is put on "racing" suspension.. so, you need "race" settings for the tracking, and more importantly geometery. In this case i would recommend a geometric check... this is where they not only check the "Toe" settings (normal tracking) but they also check the castor and camber settings, this is the angle from top to bottom, as opposed to whether or not the front wheels are pointing in the right direction.

Tracking.. (top down view)

Castor..

Camber...

For more detailed info look here

Hope its of use to you guys.

Davy (tyrefitter for 15 years)

[MillzE]

ahh cfc1! just the man I hoped would reply!

Will try and find out about the other checks, it'd be nice to go to the garage with some type of knowledge about what they are doing now!

Thanks! :bookworm:

[cfc1]

No problem m8... glad to help :)

Added some diagrams to help folks understand what i mean.

[Kerby]

i have fitted new alloys to my car and ever since its been pullin to the left slightly and the steering wheel is slightly turned to the left when goin in a straight line. will trackin sort this?

[cfc1]

What has probably happened here is.. because you have changed the diameter and footprint of the wheels.. the tracking will be out slightly, or.. the tracking may have allready been out slightly, and changing to new tyres has exagerated the problem a little, resulting in the car having a slight pull.

As long as there are no other problems in the front end of the car (worn bushes/balljoints or trackrod ends etc... garage SHOULD check before adjusting), then yes.. tracking should sort the problem for you.

Edit: Having two different tyres on the front,or one tyre with a deeper tread than the other, and also, if the tyre pressure on the front of the car is different each side, this can also cause a slight pull.. another way to see if its a tyre problem rather than a tracking problem is to swap the front tyres from side to side(this can't be done on a permanent basis if the tyres are directional/rotational), if it pulls in the opposite direction then it can't be the tracking as tracking wouldn't change... if it does pull the other way, swap the tyres from front to back and see if it cures it.

If this solves the problem, it is not neccessassarrycery a tyre PROBLEM.. but just "one of those things" that happens with them from time to time.

[cfc1]

--- Necessarily ---

:P :P :P

[Demonic Angel]

neccessassarrycery

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And the award for longest word you can possibly make out of Necessarily goes to.......

lol

Seriously though - my car was aiming of potholes last week (they just sprung up everywhere!) - the car seems ok, I'm guessing you would also advise me to get my tracking done then Davy?

How much roughly does it cost - cant be too much for a 10 min job surely.....

[clarky]

My missus's rover 214 was out by 6mm when I got it checked - and it was a transformation when it was done ...

I've found problems finding a local garage that will track mine - most say that becuause its been lowered they cant do it.

Any ideas?

[Moffmo]

i have fitted new alloys to my car and ever since its been pullin to the left slightly and the steering wheel is slightly turned to the left when goin in a straight line. will trackin sort this?

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Get it sorted asap or you might not have any thread at the end of the week :!Removed!:

when i had the blisteins put on, the tracking was out by miles and very dangerous, when i had the tracking done you couldnt believe the transformation :D

[s0cks]

i have fitted new alloys to my car and ever since its been pullin to the left slightly and the steering wheel is slightly turned to the left when goin in a straight line. will trackin sort this?

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tracking should fix it. but never pulled left on mine. wierd.

my new car is so low that the rear wheels have negative camber proper jap tho ;)

[Kerby]

well i have a feelin that i might have put the back wheels on the front. i dont know so i will see if that works if not ill take it to the garage

[cfc1]

neccessassarrycery

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And the award for longest word you can possibly make out of Necessarily goes to.......

lol

Seriously though - my car was aiming of potholes last week (they just sprung up everywhere!) - the car seems ok, I'm guessing you would also advise me to get my tracking done then Davy?

How much roughly does it cost - cant be too much for a 10 min job surely.....

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If you have hit a few potholes, then yes , i WOULD advise getting it checked.. most garages should do a free check. Adjustment cost can vary from garage to garage.. anywhere from £15 - £25 for Laser Tracking.. and if you need to get it tracked, make sure the garage uses a LASER tracker, as theese are more accurate.

My missus's rover 214 was out by 6mm when I got it checked - and it was a transformation when it was done ...I've found problems finding a local garage that will track mine - most say that becuause its been lowered they cant do it.

Any ideas?

Find a garage that has "heads" on the gauges for 17" and 18" wheels, theese heads are slightly wider at the top.. so don't go as close to the top of the wheel arch (if you know what i mean).. It could also be that the ramp in the garage isn't flush with the floor when its fully down, and you need to drive up onto it, some lowered cars bottom out on theese kind of ramps. An M.O.T. ramp (if i'm right) should be level with the floor, so you drive straight on.

But i would recommend a Geometric check, as the standard settings will probably be wrong anyway.

tracking should fix it. but never pulled left on mine. wierd.

my new car is so low that the rear wheels have negative camber wacko.gif proper jap tho

This just shows you that the standard tracking settings go out of the window when you change the suspension on a car to something non standard... which is why i recommend a Geometric check.

For those that may not understand the importance of camber... think of a supermarket trolley, the wheels are mounted at an angle, so that when its pushed forward, the wheels sort of go to the back (difficult to explain), if you push it backwards the wheel sort of goes towards the front of the trolley.. but at all times keeping the wheels pointing in a straight line.. it's the angle of the camber that makes this happen... so, if the camber is out on your car.. then the wheels will be "fighting" the steering to point in a straight line, resulting in verry uneven tyre wear.

Davy

[GiJoe90]

I need to get mine sorted too. The last garage I took it to said they had set it up to a UK spec MR2 but it has never been right since (Mine is an import, and sorry it's not a Yaris folks!). I thought they just lined the wheels up with lasers compared to the rear track? Do they use some sort of set figures for different models?

Joe

[cfc1]

I need to get mine sorted too.  The last garage I took it to said they had set it up to a UK spec MR2 but it has never been right since (Mine is an import, and sorry it's not a Yaris folks!).  I thought they just lined the wheels up with lasers compared to the rear track?  Do they use some sort of set figures for different models?

Joe

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If they just set it up to the rear track, it would be set as "parallel".. not all cars are set like this.. some could be -2 some could be +1 etc.. ALL cars have there own (standard) setting.. most garages have a referance book or chart which gets renewed every year to cater for new models etc.

On some cars with adjustable rear settings, if they set the front up to the rear track, and the rear is out, then the front will be out too. On cars with trackrod ends on the rear i would advise a geometric check, same with any import car, just incase the settings differ to a UK spec car..... you cant go wrong with a geometric check. (it's a similar check to getting a car put on a jig to see if the chassis is twisted.. but maybe not quite as technical( i don't know much about jigs :lol)but you get the idea folks)

[GiJoe90]

I need to get mine sorted too.  The last garage I took it to said they had set it up to a UK spec MR2 but it has never been right since (Mine is an import, and sorry it's not a Yaris folks!).  I thought they just lined the wheels up with lasers compared to the rear track?  Do they use some sort of set figures for different models?

Joe

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If they just set it up to the rear track, it would be set as "parallel".. not all cars are set like this.. some could be -2 some could be +1 etc.. ALL cars have there own (standard) setting.. most garages have a referance book or chart which gets renewed every year to cater for new models etc.

On some cars with adjustable rear settings, if they set the front up to the rear track, and the rear is out, then the front will be out too. On cars with trackrod ends on the rear i would advise a geometric check.

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So if I take it to Toyota for a four wheel alignment, that should sort it out?

[cfc1]

If the car has been lowered.. then probably not.. if it has standard suspension, and Mr T has access to the Japaneese ( i presume its a jap import you have) settings , then it should sort it.

[alanbradley]

This is a really good thread, I've learnt lots...

So, if I were th fit lowering springs (lets say TTE ones for the sake of argument) how would the garage know what the correct settings were meant to be?

The same with if I were to fit 15" wheels - from what you're saying the various settings would need to be changed there too.

Or, should they just make sure that whatever permutation you have confirms to the one set of factory settings?

Does that make sense?

A

[Ryan1985]

This is exactly why I have no tread on my tyres!

The outside and middle of the tyre were fine but when I turned to full lock the inside of the tyres were bald and nearly through to the wire!

I REALLY need my wheels aligned!

[cfc1]

o, if I were to fit lowering springs (lets say TTE ones for the sake of argument) how would the garage know what the correct settings were meant to be?

They wouldn't know what settings should be.. so you get the geometric chech done.. this sets up the full car so that it is geometricaly perfect.. and (if they give you it) the computer print out will tell you what the "Toe" setting is.. then the next time you get normal tracking done, you can tell the garage what the correct settings are for YOUR set up.

he same with if I were to fit 15" wheels - from what you're saying the various settings would need to be changed there too.

As long as the wheels have the correct offset and the tyres are the correct rolling radius the standard tracking settings won't change.

Or, should they just make sure that whatever permutation you have confirms to the one set of factory settings?

NO aftermarket parts (modded suspension) confirm to the factory standard settings.. throw the book out of the window. its now useless.

Does that make sense?

No.. not in the slightest :P

[alanbradley]

Ahhh! Thanks

Maybe someone should sticky this topic for the workshop at some point (as lonk as cfc1 doesn't mind)?

A