Just wondering, what is done when you have an alignment done on your car. Is it something a person can do themselves, or is some sort of special equipment needed?

 

each car has a specification as to how the tires are suppose to be. usually the fronts are suppose to be at 0 degrees. that means they are both going straight forward. there is generally a +/- that goes with it too. for example, my prelude in the front is suppose to be 0 +/- 5/64. that means i can toe in or out up to 5/64 of an inch, or try to get them to be 0. i can go with a toe in and have the front of my tires pointing in towards the middle of the car, or i could go toe out and have them pointing out. the rear of my car is suppose to be +/- 5/64. so i have to decide if i want toe in or out in the rear. as you can see the measurements are very difficult to come to without having either the machine or the tool to do it with. if you want as close to accurate as possible, go with the electronic machine and have someone do the allignment for you. also keep in mind that if you lower your car, you will need to realign your tires again. so if you are planning on dropping your car, wait on the alignment and save some money (unless of course you are not doing this for a while down the road). if your car is not properly aligned your tires will ware quickly and poorly. also if you drop your car, you should get the camber correction kit and have it straightened out. that can also be checked on the alignment machine.