Only Tesla can do the alignment??

[Dolemite]

is this real life

 

[TLLMRRJ]

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.

If he's nervous, you should be nervous. It's a car. It has wheels and suspension like other cars. If everything scares him, you should find someone more competent in their job.

 

[TheDriveway]

If he's nervous, you should be nervous. It's a car. It has wheels and suspension like other cars. If everything scares him, you should find someone more competent in their job.

It may be he's nervous because he has never driven an EV before.

 

[KenC]

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.

When I took my 3 into my local O'Reilly's, they were nervous too, but that was 3 yrs ago. They made me drive the car up onto the Hunter jig, and sit in the car and set the steering wheel straight, etc. And, no, the 3 settings were not in their system, though the S and X were. The tech just manually modified the existing settings for the X with the settings I brought, that I copied off the TMC forums. It all worked fine. Surely by now, the Hunter machines have been updated with the 3 and Y settings as well.

 

[techlogik]

He doesn't need specs loaded in the computer, if he has anything Tesla that is fine just to get it up on the screen for a range, or any car for that matter. With that said, yeah, I know it costs them like $500-700 to update the computer with all the specs. .There are plenty of specs/screen shots of people's alignment that show the acceptable range and values for Model 3.

Then the person can just go from there...otherwise, find somebody else. Guy I went to only had a 2018 AWD Model S...but so what...he knew the range because I had it on my phone and link and he just looked at it, and did what he could. Only thing we couldn't fix was right front camber, it was slightly out of spec...but whatever.

 

[Bodyman42]

If he's nervous, you should be nervous. It's a car. It has wheels and suspension like other cars. If everything scares him, you should find someone more competent in their job.

Thanks for the advice..

 

[Bodyman42]

He doesn't need specs loaded in the computer, if he has anything Tesla that is fine just to get it up on the screen for a range, or any car for that matter. With that said, yeah, I know it costs them like $500-700 to update the computer with all the specs. .There are plenty of specs/screen shots of people's alignment that show the acceptable range and values for Model 3.

Then the person can just go from there...otherwise, find somebody else. Guy I went to only had a 2018 AWD Model S...but so what...he knew the range because I had it on my phone and link and he just looked at it, and did what he could. Only thing we couldn't fix was right front camber, it was slightly out of spec...but whatever.View attachment 703733

Thanks for your help,I am sure with will do the trick.

 

[Perscitus]

If you want to make the alignment rack operators life easier, once on the rack, put the car either in a. towing or b. car wash mode, leaving the driver's side window open and car alarm disabled.

The OE 'within spec' range for the 3s are fairly wide and very little can be easily adjusted (front toe, tiny bit of rear toe.... for more creative techs who dont mind dismantling the frunk - also a bit of front caster, camber).

A custom alignment can optimize the toe in / out and total toe for either the dual motor or rear motor and tire/wheel setup and street or track duty. Not really worth it on an OE suspension setup though...

 

[Koolio46]

I had my Y aligned last November (2020) and the Hunter machine had the Y specs in it.

 

[LeHong]

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.

Can you please PM your shop info? I’m looking to have my MX aligned. Wear on my front passenger tires are starting to have significant wear at only 12k miles. I’m in the east bay. Appreciate it.

 

[P3D-R]

Can you please PM your shop info? I’m looking to have my MX aligned. Wear on my front passenger tires are starting to have significant wear at only 12k miles. I’m in the east bay. Appreciate it.

I'll send you to a place that can do it for you but you're gonna want to get the front end all fixed up. It's important to analyze the before measurements and find the explanation for the problem. Then correct the Camber/Caster and Toe.

 

[jsk617]

I've called 4 alignment places in Denver, Colorado, and they call can't do the Tesla. 4 of them said they can't do it because of the lane departure info and the need to pay Tesla for the info. I took it to a 5th place who said yes, but then they said my M3 VIN was too old (105xxx)--they could only do newer VINs? ?!?

Where did you end up taking it?

 

[cstork]

Where did you end up taking it?

I ended up taking it to the Tesla service center.....

 

[dhrivnak]

Funny how many people say "any shop can do the alignment" and all the shops say "we can't do the alignment on this car".......

My local shop declined as there was no way to set camber or caster, Just toe-in could be set and it was my camber that was out. On my early Model 3 there was no adjustment.

 

[subieworx]

That makes no sense really as most cars are in the same way adjustable as the Model 3. Most have limited to no camber adjustment and only have toe adjustment from the factory.

I align a lot of cars...

 

[P3D-R]

My local shop declined as there was no way to set camber or caster, Just toe-in could be set and it was my camber that was out. On my early Model 3 there was no adjustment.

You have to remove the frunk to get to the 2 x 13mm and 2 x 15mm bolts that hold the suspension upper carriage to the chassis. That carriage can slightly adjust camber and caster to get both sides to line up if you are anal like me. I've done it so many times I can just do it by eye now and it's solid every time on the Model 3. Since our upper control arm bolts to this carriage the carriage itself adjusts camber/caster much like a macpherson strut suspension that has a "camber/caster" plate. It's definitely unique. I'm gonna hook y'all up so you can show your alignment shops. Just take some screenshots.

 

[P3D-R]

I have also found deltas in the rear camber from the factory which can also be sorted and made symmetrical. It shows that there is a little bit of slop on both ends of the OEM spring bucket/LCA. In my opinion it's a lot easier to get an accurate adjustment in "jack up mode" so that there's no load on the wheels. That way you're not fighting the weight of the vehicle. Most guys don't worry about all this and just move to adjustable RUCAs. I personally like to keep my RUCAs symmetrical at first, get the lowers to line up, and then adjust rucas after. That's just me being picky though. The amount of slop in the lca is very minimal but enough to exhibit up to 0.8 degs of delta from what I've seen.

 

[jackmott]

If anyone stumbling in here is from Austin Texas, the shop Torqqe, in Southwest Austin is Tesla friendly and can do alignments or suspension work.

 

[Avid]

If anyone stumbling in here is from Austin Texas, the shop Torqqe, in Southwest Austin is Tesla friendly and can do alignments or suspension work.

If I may ask, what did they charge you for street alignment? Thanks.

 

[jackmott]

If I may ask, what did they charge you for street alignment? Thanks.

$250, that was to do the toe, front and rear.