Only Tesla can do the alignment??

[P3D-R]

Yeah for fine-tuning OE suspension, probably fine. When I put in my coilovers & got it aligned they told me it's "not enuff" but it's not like I want 0 camber up-front anyway, so whatever.

One guy mentioned "slotting the mounts" to get the camber "back in spec." That's how arsonists are born.

OMG hogging out those holes is horrible idea. It's not a darn old chevy truck where you do that stuff to the subframes. lol. There's enough room to adjust about half a degree. Most of the 3's i've seen can sit anywhere from -0.8 to -1.5 depending on ride height.

 

[Perscitus]

Just had my local alignment shop do an alignment, first time after 2 years.
Fast, easy and $80 total in New York city.

Very little that can be adjusted on the stock suspension, but enough for my public road daily use.

Rear driver's side toe was out (not much).
Front Left/Right caster was and is almost spot on symmetrical. Rest all within spec, and so we adjusted a bit to how I prefer, with simulated driver weight in place.

 

[P3D-R]

Just had my local alignment shop do an alignment, first time after 2 years.
Fast, easy and $80 total in New York city.

Very little that can be adjusted on the stock suspension, but enough for my public road daily use.

Rear driver's side toe was out (not much).
Front Left/Right caster was and is almost spot on symmetrical. Rest all within spec and and so we adjusted a bit to how I prefer, with simulated driver weight in place.

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I'm so jealous. That's like a $140 service in Northern California. You got a great shop to work with over there.

 

[Ritz]

Next time any "pro" tells you with unflappable confidence that there's *no* adjustment for camber/caster on the Model 3, tell them to have themselves fired.

Yes, you adjust front camber/caster by moving the FUCA (Front upper control arm) mount.

View attachment 601690

And the rear camber is done by adjusting several linkages until you get what you need (not enough to deal with heavily dropped cars, which is why there's an aftermarket, but if you're close to stock height, this will get you where you need to be).

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Great info! What's the source of the images? Are there service manuals available for purchase?

Best,

 

[P3dStealth]

The alignment is the same as any other car. Go to 21min of this video.

 

[Perscitus]

To whoever owns that channel - Is that a shiny *caugh* bbc tool, or are you just happy to post up videos on youtube?

Nice idea, but a hard pass on video hits rack up and click-bait previews.

Anything and everything that can be said about alignments on these cars (stock or aftermarket modified suspension setups) can be written in a few short sentences.
Most of it already on here.

 

[brokewithtwins]

Just had my local alignment shop do an alignment, first time after 2 years.
Fast, easy and $80 total in New York city.

Very little that can be adjusted on the stock suspension, but enough for my public road daily use.

Rear driver's side toe was out (not much).
Front Left/Right caster was and is almost spot on symmetrical. Rest all within spec, and so we adjusted a bit to how I prefer, with simulated driver weight in place.

View attachment 601761
View attachment 601762

Can you share the place you went to for an alignment? I'm also thinking to rotate and balance my tires as well.

 

[MarsOrBust]

If a shop does not want t do an alignment for whatever reason then you probably don’t want to leave it in that shop in the first place. I have also ran into this problem where a shop will not touch a Tesla so it is not unheard of. I have heard the same excuses from more work to align a Tesla to screws up the computer or afraid to damage the battery.

it does not matter if the excuse is valid or not but there are many shops that will not touch it. I went thru 6 shops before I found a shop William g to work on it and they did a lousy job on it anyway. Eventually took it to a SC to get things back to normal again.

 

[EmOne]

Had my alignment checked (they would not adjust "we don't work on Teslas") at a Firestone since was wearing out tires fast on M3P, inner tread mainly. Expected negative camber in excess, but was actually toe all wacked. Took to SC and they claimed not "their problem" implying that my driving caused problem ((NOT...I have a lifetime (68 yr)of avoiding potholes and have never knocked alignment out or damaged a wheel or tire)) so they would "fix" for $275. Nope. Walked, got MPP chassis components and found Suburban Tire to do the job (the tech owns a Tesla.) Local race shop recommended by my Bimmer guy "won't work on Teslas" Lots of dumb out there!

 

[sdleo726]

Had my M3 alignment here in SD. They did a good job. They use Hunter. So to answer your question, yeah it can be done.

hi, I need an alignment on my P3D and wanted to confirm where you had your alignment done? Who is Hunter? Thx.

 

[Perscitus]

Hunter is a brand of alignment machines, wheel balancing machines, etc. Very common, decent enough, vanilla.

 

[Koolio46]

and any alignment shop that says it will mess up the alignment machine are lying. If you watch a YouTube video on how an alignment is done (say with the Hunter alignment machine) you’ll see why they’re lying. Plus, Hunter machines have the alignments specs for their machines...if the alignment shop says they don’t have it then they haven’t downloaded the latest update.

 

[MarsOrBust]

They probably are lying but the why would you leave it at a shop that does not want to work on it even if they have the equipment to do it.
A couple of my local shops would not touch it either. If they choose to drive customers away I guess thats they're business but it not uncommon for it to happen with these cars.

 

[P3dStealth]

The not working on teslas thing just happened to me for a tire repair this week.

I had a shop refuse to fix a screw in my tire. I ended up plugging it myself with a plug kit I purchased from home depot on my way home. I even had the pucks for them.

 

[Perscitus]

Ignorance and laziness abound.

There is nothing special to either an alignment on these things and/or the suspension, brakes, wheels and tire servicing.

It's frustrating as its just a waste of your time if random shop xyz doesnt help with basic services.

Maybe in another 20-30 years the same will be true for ICE cars and most shops will turn them away: ' we not do oil changes' and 'no more emissions inspection tests or stickers available at this location'.

 

[Darmie]

That's BS, nothing special about aligning these cars. I've done many. In fact it's the first mod anyone should do on a brand new Tesla. Take delivery and go straight to an alignment shop to preserve your tires and improve range. Rarely have I ever seen a properly aligned Tesla come out of the factory and my shop is across the street. The only thing you have to do is remove the rear under paneling so some shops get lazy but just know you should be paying extra to align these cars. We charge $120 in Fremont for just toe but we are a specialty race shop. If someone thinks getting a lifetime alignment from Firestone pays off then more power to you. I have not experienced that. In fact I avoid franchise alignment shops at all costs. I'd rather support local race oriented mom and pop shops.

Yes agree. 2017 S75 would pull to the right but the wheel was straight. Come to find out, the rear was out of alignment right after delivery.

 

[Koolio46]

They probably are lying but the why would you leave it at a shop that does not want to work on it even if they have the equipment to do it.
A couple of my local shops would not touch it either. If they choose to drive customers away I guess thats they're business but it not uncommon for it to happen with these cars.

Totally agree. I would not trust a shop that states they can’t align a Tesla.

 

[Sto_Squad]

That's BS, nothing special about aligning these cars. I've done many. In fact it's the first mod anyone should do on a brand new Tesla. Take delivery and go straight to an alignment shop to preserve your tires and improve range. Rarely have I ever seen a properly aligned Tesla come out of the factory and my shop is across the street. The only thing you have to do is remove the rear under paneling so some shops get lazy but just know you should be paying extra to align these cars. We charge $120 in Fremont for just toe but we are a specialty race shop. If someone thinks getting a lifetime alignment from Firestone pays off then more power to you. I have not experienced that. In fact I avoid franchise alignment shops at all costs. I'd rather support local race oriented mom and pop shops.

I'm in need of new tires and would like to bring my car there for an alignment. Can you shoot me the name of your shop so I can schedule with ya'll. Thanks

 

[Cackster]

Just had my local alignment shop do an alignment, first time after 2 years.
Fast, easy and $80 total in New York city.

Very little that can be adjusted on the stock suspension, but enough for my public road daily use.

Rear driver's side toe was out (not much).
Front Left/Right caster was and is almost spot on symmetrical. Rest all within spec, and so we adjusted a bit to how I prefer, with simulated driver weight in place.

View attachment 601761
View attachment 601762

Any possibility you can give me the name of this shop? I too live in in NYC and need an alignment this week. Thanks!

 

[Bodyman42]

+1.. best to get your alignment done at a professional shop vs franchise alignment shops, the attention to detail and possibly higher standards will make a difference.

Hi Dave

I am trying to get my mechanic to align all the Tesla's we work on and he is a little nervous, would his Hunter alignment machine have spec's for all the models?

Rob.