Can any shop do wheel alignment

[Chattanooga3]

I'll take a string alignment over any of the laser alignments any day of the week. It all comes down to attention to detail. At the end of the day it's money and you get what you pay for.

Someone old and awesome like me...

 

[ngng]

Someone old and awesome like me...

...sounds like you have plenty of time to do your own car then

 

[Occhis]

I had one technician tell me on the phone that he won't touch the car because it will electrocute him. I can only imagine the depths of misinformation that are out there about these things. The most common misconception is that you need all kinds of factory tools and technology to align the car, which is funny because we exclusively perform string alignments at MPP!

I predict that there will be a dramatic attitude change when Ford, GM and the other “traditional” brands start selling significant numbers of EVs. The light bulb will suddenly turn on (pun intended) with the EV bashers, especially with the pick-up crowd.

 

[KenC]

I predict that there will be a dramatic attitude change when Ford, GM and the other “traditional” brands start selling significant numbers of EVs. The light bulb will suddenly turn on (pun intended) with the EV bashers, especially with the pick-up crowd.

It'll be alright by then.

 

[Tripod]

H&R lowering springs installed. I have a quick trick two wheel alignment kit which I used to adjust camber as much as possible, but I wanted a four wheel alignment on a machine.

I found a place that would try (Showtime wheels and tires, Greenville NC). The first place I went would not attempt it (Meineke, Greenville NC).

I went into service mode and centered the wheel, they used the steering wheel holder. I also used car wash mode to keep it in neutral while I was out of the car.

Lowering the car made the front wheels toed out quite a bit. The rear was not as bad and only the right rear need toe adjustment.

They got toe within spec and front camber is more negative than spec, but it's not that bad. Toe and rear thrust angle are most important to me.

The reflectors fit on the tires no problem, you can see the rear toe adjuster cam bolt, and the measurement pictures are before, during, and after - not sure if they'll appear in that order.

 

[Chattanooga3]

...sounds like you have plenty of time to do your own car then

If you want something done right...

 

[ngng]

If you want something done right...

...don't take it to Tesla

 

[Tripod]

...don't take it to Tesla

HIYO! lol

 

[Rottenapplr]

Big brand tires did mine. Tesla suspension is like any other car. Nothing special. No magic sauce. My only worry would be them now knowing how to start the car but they know Tesla’s these days.

 

[jkdman123]

Anybody in SoCal, is $200 about the norm to align an SR+?? Tesla wants $275 and Big 'O' Tires wants $280!! Found another place that wants $200 and have an appointment with them. I used to get my Acura aligned for about $80 but that was a few years ago.

 

[The_Observer]

Anybody in SoCal, is $200 about the norm to align an SR+?? Tesla wants $275 and Big 'O' Tires wants $280!! Found another place that wants $200 and have an appointment with them. I used to get my Acura aligned for about $80 but that was a few years ago.

I am not sure about San Diego, but $200 seems a bit too much. I got mine done for $100 at a local tire/alignment shop that does Teslas well, and it seems to be fine. I would call and yelp around for more alignment shops and see if you can get a better price.

 

[Tripod]

Anybody in SoCal, is $200 about the norm to align an SR+?? Tesla wants $275 and Big 'O' Tires wants $280!! Found another place that wants $200 and have an appointment with them. I used to get my Acura aligned for about $80 but that was a few years ago.

Mine was $98. North Carolina though, so that may be a reason. Your SoCal alignment shop owner has to make his mortgage payment too, ya know?
But seriously, you should not pay $200 for an alignment. It took less than one hour, and that's with me fiddling around with the service mode, door latch, and car wash modes for 10 minutes before they could get started.

 

[shelant]

Mine was $98. North Carolina though, so that may be a reason. Your SoCal alignment shop owner has to make his mortgage payment too, ya know?
But seriously, you should not pay $200 for an alignment. It took less than one hour, and that's with me fiddling around with the service mode, door latch, and car wash modes for 10 minutes before they could get started.

Where in North Carolina? I am in Triangle area, do you mind sharing where you did the alignment for $98? Thanks!

 

[jkdman123]

Mine was $98. North Carolina though, so that may be a reason. Your SoCal alignment shop owner has to make his mortgage payment too, ya know?
But seriously, you should not pay $200 for an alignment. It took less than one hour, and that's with me fiddling around with the service mode, door latch, and car wash modes for 10 minutes before they could get started.

The place I took it to, they said it was dead on and needed no adjustments so they only charged me half price. That was the easiest $100 they made but considering my other options, I guess I came out ok. LOL

 

[Rottenapplr]

I have unlimited alignment when I got tires. Big brand tires. Worth it!

 

[HonchoNI]

No - there's a special piece of equipment needed - and the mechanic needs to be Tesla certified. We have a local body shop here that has the equipment and training, unfortunately they moved to another building that doesn't have the basic alignment setup - so our only option is the Tesla SC. So, unless you have a local shop with the additional equipment and training your only option will be a SC.

What special piece of equipment is that? I thought it was just a case of doing a normal alignment then going into the service menu and running through a calibration?

 

[HonchoNI]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to chime in here again if you're having trouble with alignment shops. Just to add some understanding for those of you that are new to alignments:

There is nothing special about an individual car that makes an alignment shop "unable" to align one car versus another. All that these systems do is spit out recommended alignment values.

Any alignment shop, if they cared to use their brain, could select a car in their system with a similar wheelbase, and the system would show the actual wheel alignment, and the alignment tech can simply set the alignment to whatever values are desired.

As the camber is not adjustable on the Model 3 front (although you can loosen the FUCA mounting bracket as mentioned above) or rear, you're simply setting the toe and going on your way. For most road car applications, that can be as follows:

Front: -2mm to 2mm per corner, negative for more steering response, positive for more stability. Closer to zero for improved tire wear.
Rear: 1mm to 2mm per corner, which is less than what Tesla recommends but this improves tire life considerably.

If you're working in degrees, 1mm (measured with toe plates) is approx 0.08 degrees.

This is not rocket science. If the shop is too lazy to do this very basic work, find a new shop (that includes Tesla service centers).

To straighten your steering wheel, if you are confident to jack up your car and remove the wheel, you can follow the simple steps in this video below to straighten out your steering wheel yourself. For free.

So much BS on this thread. Your info seems the best so far. Just add in the adjustment in tue service menu too and you’re sorted.

 

[Occhis]

Yes, any shop can do alignments can align a Tesla. Nothing special about Tesla suspension, all they need is the alignment specs. The question is WILL they do it. I’ve been turned down by several shops simply b/c it’s a Tesla. There is a local Jeep dealer that does mine.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Same here. Nothing special. A mom and pop shop has aligned my car. Given the number of Tesla cars in socal they would be crazy but to not work on them.

 

[jkdman123]

Same here. Nothing special. A mom and pop shop has aligned my car. Given the number of Tesla cars in socal they would be crazy but to not work on them.

You'd think so, but I had several people turn me away. One guy spouting about how since the car is all computerized and Tesla doesn't share maintenance manuals he didn't wanna be liable if he did the alignment and it didn't have the latest software update. LOL. I told him the M3's suspension has nothing to do with software and he wouldn't hear of it.