Anthracite SC

So I've had a set of aftermarket wheels/tires and I can never get the alignment to be correct.

I have strusse SSR wheels 18 X 8.5 in the front..18 X 9.5 in the back..(deep dish) with 275s in the rear and 245s ni the front.

I've gotten an alignment 4-5 times during the life of these wheels and it's still not perfect.
The steering wheel is always slightly one way or the other. Never even. Maybe it's cuz I have bigger wheels in the back and that's something I have to live with?

Do you guys deal with this...those who have aftermarket wheels/tires?

If I get an alignment and the wheels veers slightly right on the road...the alignment people fix it as they say and then it steers to the left I'll take it to another place and they'll say it's fixed and it will go right again.

ARGH.

So I've just begun to live with it.

ANYONE relate to this?

Lex Luthor

I've never had a problem aligning a car I put wheels on, and a staggered fitment won't cause alignment issues, as far as the suspension is concerned (and i'm totally oversimplifying) they are four round hoops, regardless of width. Offset and overrall diameter can have a great effect, but that's not what you asked so I won't digress. If you're that concerned you could always put the oe rolling stock back on and see if you have any problems aligning....but I think you'll be wasting a hundred bucks, if you've tried five times and it's still not right...i'd start suspecting issues from lowering the suspension, worn bushings, or it's totally possible the car was nailed at some point and is a little tweaked (don't know if you're the original owner)...you can always have a bodyshop put it on a unibody machine and see if the pins line up nice or if it's off, that's what I would do.

Anthracite SC

Yeah...I'm not the original owner and so there could be body issues.
But moreso in my control, I did change the suspesion twice...(from tokico gas shocks to tein coilovers)
and that could be part of it.

Anthracite SC

The WHEEL alignment is fine. The STEERING WHEEL position is the thing that's not quite right.
THe guy at the alignment shop kept saying it was an estimate of where to put the "caster" Not sure what that is...right so that the steering wheel aligns w/the wheels.
So he and I spent an afternoon..where he adjusted it and I'd drive it..give him feedback...he's go adjust it again..and then I'd drive it back until it got very close. But it's still not perfect.

Any thoughts?

aliga

iTrader: (147)

If the alignment is correct, and you want the steering wheel to be centered. Why not, remove the steering wheel and reinstall it so it is centered?

Lex Luthor

Gazi, because if there is an issue with the suspension or otherwise where the car wants to pull to one side, re-installing the steering wheel to straighten it will just mean that you are fighting with the car the whole time the wheel is straight. If the steering wheel has ever been off the car then that might be something, otherwise fix the problem, not the symptom....

aliga

iTrader: (147)

LL, your right, but Mike indicated the alignment is fine in the latest post.

Can the steering wheel be "trimmed" to the center without taking the wheel off?

DHCrocks

actually the proper way to do the alignment is to center the steering wheel and then make the adjustments to the suspension. This is the first thing that they should have done. If they started to make adjustments and the steering wheel was off center then that is probably why you have it that way.

octane103

most people dont even consider this but......................
when you get your car back from the alignment shop, try to find a road that is really flat (very hard to do).
most roads are slanted to the right for drainage purposes. so if your car is aligned correctly, it may go slilghtly to the right. if you can find a 2 lane road that is straight and long and not busy you can center your car with the center of the lines in the middle of the road and you just might go perfectly straight.
just my .02 cents.