just dropped mine with prokit and i need an alignment. but will shops still turn me down if i have a 2 finger gap?



Modified by kb12 at 10:22 AM 10/10/2005

 

Some shops will not align lowered cars..

Some will but sometimes their rack is too tall and the cannot drive a lowered car onto it if its too low.

Some shops will charge you a normal alignment fee.

some shops will charge you more for a lowered car.

call around and ask

 

We do them all the time.. in MN just make sure they know what they are doing

 

so almost everyone i called says they have the ramp that you have to drive up. with a 2 finger gap will my car be able to drive up that ramp?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kb12 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so almost everyone i called says they have the ramp that you have to drive up. with a 2 finger gap will my car be able to drive up that ramp? </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you're riding on Pro-Kits most shops probably won't notice any difference than stock if you don't say anything. When I had my P-K, I just took it to a local suspension place. They asked if I had any weird or crazy setup, and I said 'nope' and they took it right in.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crazydave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Some shops will not align lowered cars..

Some will but sometimes their rack is too tall and the cannot drive a lowered car onto it if its too low.

Some shops will charge you a normal alignment fee.

some shops will charge you more for a lowered car.

call around and ask</TD></TR></TABLE>

All of the above is very true. TiresPlus does mine all the time, ($99 for three year unlimited alignment), and I have no finger gap. The same alignment guy always does my car...and he has some old 2x10 pieces of lumber that he puts under the ramps to make the incline less of an angle. I drive it right on/real slow with no problems. However, I always take my bumper off before I head down to the shop. It's real close to my house.

 

http://www.c-speedracing.com/h...t.php if you cant find anything check this out

 

i have a 98 accord and i got the springs cut about 2 in and it pulls to the right but it did that even before i got the springs cut. I had alignments done before and they never solved the probelm. I went to a shop and they told me that i needed to get 3 control arms replaced in the rear and the wheel was slanted to the side cuz of the negative camber. I wanna know if i really needed to get all that work done cuz its still going to one side and they still havnt fixed it even when i went back and told them to align it again. This is really frustrating since i spent almost $500 and the problem is still not fixed and my steering wheel shakes at 60 and i had my wheels balanced and they said i needed hub centric rings? i would appreciate if anyone would get back to me on this problem.

 

Sounds like you have a few seperate issues going on here.

So what exactly are your issues? Your wheel shakes? Why are you worried about camber? Are you getting any abnormal tire wear?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordchic09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I went to a shop and they told me that i needed to get 3 control arms replaced in the rear and the wheel was slanted to the side cuz of the negative camber. </TD></TR></TABLE>

You only have 2 control arms in the rear, and you shouldn't have to replace them for a camber problem unless you bent something. You can see the camber in my rear tires, and I don't have any problems at all because of it.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordchic09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wanna know if i really needed to get all that work done cuz its still going to one side and they still havnt fixed it even when i went back and told them to align it again.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You need to go back to that shop, have them put the car on the rack, and get a printout of your alignment specs. We'd be able to help you if you have your specs.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordchic09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i had my wheels balanced and they said i needed hub centric rings? i would appreciate if anyone would get back to me on this problem. </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you have aftermarket wheels with the proper lugnuts, and you still have this problem, then yes, you will need hub centric rings. If you are using aftermarket rims with OEM lugs, you need to get aftermarket lugs, as they have a different 'seat'. Then, if that doesn't work, you will need the rings.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...hid=4

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...id=20

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels...d=102

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/vibechart.pdf

Spend some time with those links above, so you don't keep throwing money at the problem without getting it solved.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordchic09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have a 98 accord and i got the springs cut about 2 in and it pulls to the right but it did that even before i got the springs cut. I had alignments done before and they never solved the probelm. I went to a shop and they told me that i needed to get 3 control arms replaced in the rear and the wheel was slanted to the side cuz of the negative camber. I wanna know if i really needed to get all that work done cuz its still going to one side and they still havnt fixed it even when i went back and told them to align it again. This is really frustrating since i spent almost $500 and the problem is still not fixed and my steering wheel shakes at 60 and i had my wheels balanced and they said i needed hub centric rings? i would appreciate if anyone would get back to me on this problem. </TD></TR></TABLE>

like autoxer said, get that alignment printout and post your readings.

also, when you cut your springs, did you keep the stock shocks? depending on the kind of pull you're experiencing, your stock shocks could very well be blown which would cause some funky handling issues. is the car extraordinarily bouncy at all?

replacing the cut springs and stock shocks would be my first priority AFTER getting any bent arms replaced (if there even are any) and getting an alignment done.

 

I got the springs cut over the summer and i did keep the stock shocks on it. well before i got the springs cut i had a drift to the right it was pretty bad and i went to Firestone and they said it was a manufacter defect. Well i waited about a year and my tires were in bad condition and i needed new tires, so i got that about a month ago and i got them balanced as well but the wheel kept shaking at 60. so i went to some place in miami to get an alignment and they told me that i needed 3 control arms in the rear replaced since the camber was bad. For some reason also part of the frame by the rear right of the car was torn and they had to weld it. I do have a print out but how do i send it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordchic09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I got the springs cut over the summer and i did keep the stock shocks on it. well before i got the springs cut i had a drift to the right it was pretty bad and i went to Firestone and they said it was a manufacter defect. Well i waited about a year and my tires were in bad condition and i needed new tires, so i got that about a month ago and i got them balanced as well but the wheel kept shaking at 60. so i went to some place in miami to get an alignment and they told me that i needed 3 control arms in the rear replaced since the camber was bad. For some reason also part of the frame by the rear right of the car was torn and they had to weld it. I do have a print out but how do i send it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

tell us the numbers on the alignment.

there should be 3 sets of numbers for each wheel or corner:

toe
camber
caster

there should be a before and after number for all 3 sets.

has the car ever been in an accident? did you buy it used? ever hit a curb or a pothole real hard?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by accordchic09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">since the camber was bad. For some reason also part of the frame by the rear right of the car was torn and they had to weld it. I do have a print out but how do i send it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm thinking this could be part of the problem. You should probably take it to a body shop to see if the frame is straight, and what parts are bent / damaged. This is assuming they tried to align it, and it's still out of spec.

You can scan the alignment sheet and post it to photobucket.com and then link it here.

 

this is the print out , after the springs were cut there was no bouncyness at all, it was as if i didnt get them cut at all, there is a slight pull now to the left instead of the right, i think im just gonna go to another palce and have them look at it or go to the dealer.

http://i24.photobucket.com/alb...4.jpg

 

 

i received the hubcentric rings but i dont know if i should go back to the place where i originallly got my alignment done or go to the dealership to get them put on?