Apart from the tracking, are there any other adjustments that can be made on the front suspension, e.g. camber, castor etc?
Front Wheel Alignment 1.4 FR
- Thread starter Walone
- Start date
Until recently everything felt fine, I had a slow puncture about 2 weeks ago (it didn't go flat), since getting it repaired the steering feels a bit 'vague', but it may be my imagination. The car drives straight (I can take hands off wheel with no wondering) but I think the steering wheel is a bit off centre.
I had new tyres and rims fitted on Friday and put the old wheels/tyres in my shed, when I looked carefully at the tread on the front wheels I noticed that the innermost rib on both tyres was worn quite badly across half the rib, I don't know if this is recent wear or not. I'm going to get the tracking checked soon.
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Looking at the tyres, something is not right. Before you get the tracking done, check all the joints and suspension components for wear or damage. Tacking can cause tyre wear like that but anything out on the suspension could too.
It's a bit of a coincidence that it felt funny after the puncture was fixed. Most of the guys who work in tyre fitters are fechin idiots and it's totally possible that they damaged something. They're great at throwing the jack under the car in the wrong place and bending stuff. Get the car up on a ramp and have someone who knows what they're doing to look at it.
It's a bit of a coincidence that it felt funny after the puncture was fixed. Most of the guys who work in tyre fitters are fechin idiots and it's totally possible that they damaged something. They're great at throwing the jack under the car in the wrong place and bending stuff. Get the car up on a ramp and have someone who knows what they're doing to look at it.
I would get a full vehicle alignment to check both front & rear axles.
Only really toe is adjustable on the front - subframes can be moved but that's probably out of the scope of most garages. You can also check your ride height is correct.
The rear axle also has an effect on your handling so if that's out it can cause problems.
Dampers can also cause strange handling - how many miles has your car done? My rear dampers were toast at around 100k miles, and my fronts also now need changing and i'm currently at 120k.
Check for physical damage first. There isn't any point in paying for wheel alignment if there is something visibly bent.
True but it can be difficult to tell by eye unless severely bent - in which case would be very obvious while driving.
Some garages will check alignment for free - and only charge if they make a change.
True, but worth a look. I've seen sills pushed in and a floor pan pushed up because they jacked on the back end of the lower wishbone.
Did you double check tyre pressures after the puncture was fixed? Often found myself experiencing a different car after tyre service, only to find out pressures were completely out of normal range.
Thanks for your replies gents. 
Just an update, the jack was placed in the correct place on the sill when the tyre was repaired.
I just had a look at the old rear tyres and they show similar wear pattern as the fronts, but not quite as bad! They had previously been on the front when the car was new and I changed them front to back/back to front at around 12000 miles, car has now done 31000 miles, 8 years old in December.
Glad I got new tyres as I found a long crack on the inner tread on one of the rear tyres!
@GlekkeMatrak yes I checked the pressures, thanks.
Just an update, the jack was placed in the correct place on the sill when the tyre was repaired.
I just had a look at the old rear tyres and they show similar wear pattern as the fronts, but not quite as bad! They had previously been on the front when the car was new and I changed them front to back/back to front at around 12000 miles, car has now done 31000 miles, 8 years old in December.
Glad I got new tyres as I found a long crack on the inner tread on one of the rear tyres!
@GlekkeMatrak yes I checked the pressures, thanks.
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