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Checked Alignment: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
- Thread starter Dreamin
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Aggmeister2010
Active Member
I do, but my wheel fitment won't allow it.
To be honest, I think their camber readout is a bit off - the readout from two other local shops showed it at -1.6 and 1.2 respectively, so I'd guess that's where it's actually at in the rear (and maybe less camber than it shows in the front as well).
This was just having Firestone (I have their lifetime alignment) get it reasonably drivable again, so I'll take it to a specialty shop to fine tune it in a week or two.
SnakeDoctorTD
Member
Man, I tried to get a lifetime alignment at the Firestone by my home, but they apparently think my car is a spaceship or something and could only offer the "exotic" one-time alignment. Mind you, this is after they first told me they couldn't even do the alignment due to my ride height (lowering links). I was desperate as they are the only shop that can even try in my immediate area, and said just perform the alignment at a higher height setting.
Anyway, I initially went to get an alignment as my passenger rear wore waay faster than the driver side, so I assumed the toe was off. The front looks like it was outta wack, but the rear looked in order. I still don't know why it wore so quickly on one side. I have to assume when the car lowers to the driving heights it's affecting the toe that much? Might be time to just take it to another shop that 1.) has an in ground machine and 2.) has the clamps that go on the wheels as opposed to around the tires.
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Aggmeister2010
Active Member
I took mine to the Firestone at Memorial City Mall - they're listed in the Houston Tesla Club's recommended vendor list, so they have done a ton of Tesla's at this point and are very comfortable with them. As you know, my car is lowered with links, they've never had a problem aligning it in 'low' while it's lowered. With that said, your car is much lower than mine, so they might need to do yours in 'standard' and just factor in a little less toe so that it's within spec when you drop it.
They have the Hunter Hammerhead system that has a lift, not in-ground. They just put it in high, drive it on, drop it back to low and let it settle, then get started. They do use tire clamps, not wheel clamps. I can't really comment on the accuracy of the tire clamps, but I'd imagine that the wheel clamps would always be a touch more accurate.
I drive in Low, so i had it aligned to low for the exact reason you mentioned. Granted, suspension is constantly moving while driving so I don't think it matters all that much, but combination of camber and toe being out of spec can grind the hell out of tires. Since I do have some cross-camber in the front, it'll be interesting to see what happens with these tires. All I can say is, it drives much quieter now, and finally goes straight.
My suggestion: Show up at the Memorial City Mall Firestone at like 6:50 AM (right before they open) on a week day, and they'll have you out of there by 8:30 driving pretty. Just ask to talk to the tech performing the alignment before he begins so you can tell him exactly what you want.
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SnakeDoctorTD
Member
Awesome, thanks Aggmeister. How do they work around the fact that the clamps won't rotate without hitting the fender though? As you can see, there just is not much room.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
Yeah, that's why i mentioned they may have to align you at 'standard' height (or whatever height leaves a sliver of space between the tread and the fender), and factor in a bit less toe considering that it'll increase when you drop the car back down. At the end of the day, Firestone isn't a performance alignment shop - but if you're having a problem and can tell them how to fix it, they'll cover you in a pinch.
As low as you are, I'd suggest taking the car to EVS Motors in Bellaire. They have the wheel clamps and are super accurate. They did my last alignment before the Service Center replaced my steering rack, and they were spot-on. As I drive the car more, if I find that i need a finer adjustment, that's where I go for it.
Nice wrap, by the way!
SnakeDoctorTD
Member
Might have to just go to EVS.
Re: the wrap, thanks. It's liquid wrap, and I do it myself. The spot on the mirror had to be peeled since the tolerances are so tight there on my car (doesn't seem to be an issue on my wife's X), and I forgot to turn auto-fold off DOH. It started lifting during my roadtrip out east to Orlando, so I just peeled it off. Excuse to change the color yet again. If you are looking for a color change, lemme know!
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
Hey folks, follow up question.
Below is my most recent alignment read-out. My car drifts to the right, even on roads tilted to the left. It's not terrible, but i'd like to fine tune it a bit. I'm curious if the front cross-camber is to blame.
My car is lowered, so I expect a bit of extra camber. But the alignment tech said that they couldn't get my left front camber any more neutral, though the passenger side was adjustable to -1 degree. I believe caster can affect the camber adjustment range...but surely not by *that* much.
I can see a little less than 1/8" difference in the depth of the driver front wheel in the wheel well vs the passenger, so there's definitely more camber on that side.....I just dont know how they'd have trouble getting things exactly equal when both sides of the car are identical.
What do y'all think?
PS: The Hunter machine showed ideal toe as 0.02 OUT in the front and 0.19 IN in the rear...which I think is at odds with Tesla's recommended specs. Should I adjust to that? Or just leave it?
Below is my most recent alignment read-out. My car drifts to the right, even on roads tilted to the left. It's not terrible, but i'd like to fine tune it a bit. I'm curious if the front cross-camber is to blame.
My car is lowered, so I expect a bit of extra camber. But the alignment tech said that they couldn't get my left front camber any more neutral, though the passenger side was adjustable to -1 degree. I believe caster can affect the camber adjustment range...but surely not by *that* much.
I can see a little less than 1/8" difference in the depth of the driver front wheel in the wheel well vs the passenger, so there's definitely more camber on that side.....I just dont know how they'd have trouble getting things exactly equal when both sides of the car are identical.
What do y'all think?
PS: The Hunter machine showed ideal toe as 0.02 OUT in the front and 0.19 IN in the rear...which I think is at odds with Tesla's recommended specs. Should I adjust to that? Or just leave it?
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Cross camber isn't ideal, if it were mine I'd set the passenger side to -1.5 also. But to get it to stop pulling you will probably have to adjust caster. Increasing the passenger side caster and/or decreasing driver side will make it stop pulling to the right.
The toe values on the Hunter are indeed what I would consider ideal and it's what I've set mine to. IMO close to half a degree toe in the rear is a bad thing and will shorten tire life.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
Got it. I'll put the front end on ramps today and see what wiggle room I have on the right front control arm to adjust the camber.
I'm still confused as to why the *most neutral* i can get on the driver side is -1.5, but the passenger is -1.0.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
OKAY, here are the pictures of my alignment adjustment bolts as of 5 minutes ago.
CAMBER: both eccentric bolts appear to be fully extended in the same position. This is confusing because there's half a degree of difference between the two. With that said, if I'm looking at it right, I could adjust the driver side to be more neutral (but not the passenger side) and potentially get them both to 1.0.
CASTER: both bolts are pretty neutral, plenty of room to adjust in either direction to take care of the drift.
I'm also looking at my rear camber - I think it's actually -1.6 and -1.4 (as measured twice by EVS here in Houston about 2 months back), so Firestone may not be totally accurate on that measurement. If the EVS values are right, i don't think I should really be worried by that small of a cross camber in the back.
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Aggmeister2010
Active Member
UPDATE!
I worked closely with the alignment tech at a local shop on the alignment specs below. this was measured at the equivalent of "low" height on unmodified cars (or "standard" on Unplugged Brackets, like me).
This has the car driving laser-straight on flat surfaces with zero correction needed, and no rubbing. Obviously if the road is sloped, it will drift to that side, but that's normal of every car on the road and should be expected.
NOTE: My rear camber is different because my rear subframe is shifted slightly to the driver's side, and I adjusted the camber the way it's shown to make it visually identical. It's a bit higher than ideal because of my wheel fitment, so you could go a little more neutral than that if you want.
I worked closely with the alignment tech at a local shop on the alignment specs below. this was measured at the equivalent of "low" height on unmodified cars (or "standard" on Unplugged Brackets, like me).
This has the car driving laser-straight on flat surfaces with zero correction needed, and no rubbing. Obviously if the road is sloped, it will drift to that side, but that's normal of every car on the road and should be expected.
NOTE: My rear camber is different because my rear subframe is shifted slightly to the driver's side, and I adjusted the camber the way it's shown to make it visually identical. It's a bit higher than ideal because of my wheel fitment, so you could go a little more neutral than that if you want.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
Folks, just one more update on the alignment.
Just remember that Autopilot relies on the Steering Angle input value to know what 'straight' is.
My car left the local Service Center with a pretty 'meh' alignment. A local vendor was able to fix the alignment, but did not reset the steering angle values - so AP kept wanting to sit at the very right of the lane.
If you have your car alignment adjusted and afterwards Autopilot swings off to the left or right when you turn it on, then the values of your neutral steering angle need to be reset. Essentially, AP tries to start by centering the steering, and its understanding of 'centered' isn't correct. This can be adjusted either by the service center or a tesla approved body shop (because they have the Tesla Toolbox software).
It's line 15 in the Service Manual instructions for alignment: Four Wheel Alignment - Check and Adjust
Just remember that Autopilot relies on the Steering Angle input value to know what 'straight' is.
My car left the local Service Center with a pretty 'meh' alignment. A local vendor was able to fix the alignment, but did not reset the steering angle values - so AP kept wanting to sit at the very right of the lane.
If you have your car alignment adjusted and afterwards Autopilot swings off to the left or right when you turn it on, then the values of your neutral steering angle need to be reset. Essentially, AP tries to start by centering the steering, and its understanding of 'centered' isn't correct. This can be adjusted either by the service center or a tesla approved body shop (because they have the Tesla Toolbox software).
It's line 15 in the Service Manual instructions for alignment: Four Wheel Alignment - Check and Adjust
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