How much should i pay for an alignment?
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03-12-12, 04:50 PM
#10
DigitalDon,
I don't think Firestone's quality would be that well, even thou it is life time.
The place I got it from is well known that people who own exotic cars (like Ferrari, Lambo, Aston Martin) go to this place specifically to get it done properly.
For my cars which I brought in, they corrected the geometry (sub frame of the car) to get it aligned. Most places around the area would not do or or have experienced to do it, therefore even if one has an alignment there, they would experience a problem with the tire wear. This is assuming stock suspensions.
I don't think Firestone's quality would be that well, even thou it is life time.
The place I got it from is well known that people who own exotic cars (like Ferrari, Lambo, Aston Martin) go to this place specifically to get it done properly.
For my cars which I brought in, they corrected the geometry (sub frame of the car) to get it aligned. Most places around the area would not do or or have experienced to do it, therefore even if one has an alignment there, they would experience a problem with the tire wear. This is assuming stock suspensions.
Last edited by Sango; 03-12-12 at 07:27 PM.
03-12-12, 05:22 PM
#11
Lead Lap
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Most lifetime locations have someone trained to follow the machine's guidance. Although it's acceptable, it's not the best. For example, you might ask for 0 toe and they'll give you .03 toe on one wheel and -.02 toe on the other. As long as it's within "acceptable" range, they'll move on to the next wheel.
With that being said, it's not terrible for your tires to be off slightly (you'll probably be off by your first pothole anyway) so as long as the shop is decent, you should be okay for lifetime alignments.
But I would also like to add, I've also had a local tuning shop perform the alignment and they got it on point. What's ironic is the 2nd gen IS has no camber adjustment and being lowered on F-Sport springs, they were able to bring my camber just a click within specs. They probably moved some bolts and whatnot around but they did a fine job. A "lifetime" location will not allow this. I also asked for 0 toe all around and instead of my expected ".01" or whatnot, they made sure each corner was perfectly on 0. I paid $125 for this if you're wondering.
Lastly, you should consider lifetime alignments are anywhere between 150-250 on average. You can check for coupons from the likes of firestone or sullivan tires if you have that on their website to save a few bucks. But also keep in mind, some locations do not work on coilovers. Thus if you ever have the intention of getting coilovers, make sure to talk to your local location to make sure whether they touch them or not.
With that being said, it's not terrible for your tires to be off slightly (you'll probably be off by your first pothole anyway) so as long as the shop is decent, you should be okay for lifetime alignments.
But I would also like to add, I've also had a local tuning shop perform the alignment and they got it on point. What's ironic is the 2nd gen IS has no camber adjustment and being lowered on F-Sport springs, they were able to bring my camber just a click within specs. They probably moved some bolts and whatnot around but they did a fine job. A "lifetime" location will not allow this. I also asked for 0 toe all around and instead of my expected ".01" or whatnot, they made sure each corner was perfectly on 0. I paid $125 for this if you're wondering.
Lastly, you should consider lifetime alignments are anywhere between 150-250 on average. You can check for coupons from the likes of firestone or sullivan tires if you have that on their website to save a few bucks. But also keep in mind, some locations do not work on coilovers. Thus if you ever have the intention of getting coilovers, make sure to talk to your local location to make sure whether they touch them or not.
03-12-12, 07:50 PM
#14
Depends, if you pay for quality and to do the fine adjustments, then you pay over $100.
Learned my lesson paying under $100 at Toyota and they could not get the 99 Toyota Solara aligned correctly because it kept getting out of alignment shortly after it left the the lot. After 5 times of myself bringing it back complaining, they figured out one of the sub frame bolts was loose. Should of been able to figure that out the first time I brought it back in about the problem.
They were trying to make an excuse that the KYB struts was the reason why it couldn't align properly which as non-sense because this was my second set and the first set were fine. I confronted them about it because they said, I didn't tell them; I said I did not have to because it never caused any problems when it was aligned before when KYB was there for the first set.
Learned my lesson paying under $100 at Toyota and they could not get the 99 Toyota Solara aligned correctly because it kept getting out of alignment shortly after it left the the lot. After 5 times of myself bringing it back complaining, they figured out one of the sub frame bolts was loose. Should of been able to figure that out the first time I brought it back in about the problem.
They were trying to make an excuse that the KYB struts was the reason why it couldn't align properly which as non-sense because this was my second set and the first set were fine. I confronted them about it because they said, I didn't tell them; I said I did not have to because it never caused any problems when it was aligned before when KYB was there for the first set.
Last edited by Sango; 03-12-12 at 07:59 PM.
03-12-12, 08:25 PM
#15
yea firestone is hit or miss they do a great job on my 2IS but this last time they havent gotten my SC right yet...I have to take it back probably this weekend its not way off but its not spot on the manager is a stand up guy though he told me to come back when I called and they dont care about having springs or spacers. Not sure what they would say about coilovers but I dont think they would care either as long as your not so low that they cant get you on. Also my brother went with 20" wheels with a lip and they didnt have the adapters to accomidate his wheels. No issues with my 19" BBS. I think I paid 120 for lifetime on each car my firestone is at the mall so I just drop by go eat or shop so no hassel. People are right though they wont do the fine tuning that you get at some places to get you to 0 toe only to an acceptable range.