DISPROVING THE WHEEL ALIGNMENT
FALLACY
THIS ARTICLE WAS CREATED FROM AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY MARCH TAYLOR, OWNER OF A COLLISION REPAIR FACILITY IN HAWAII.
MARCH IS A CERTIFIED JAGUAR REPAIR FACILITY, AND WORKS SIDE BY SIDE WITH HIS TECHNICIANS AND KNOWS WHAT DETERMINES PRECISION REPAIR AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
The next time an adjuster wants to pay you tire-center prices for a collision wheel
alignment, get out the P-pagesand educate him till he gets it.
Is there a difference between a "collision" wheel alignment and a"tire center" wheel alignment?
Depending on what side of the industry you're in, the answer canbe strikingly different.
The repair side of the industry isexperiencing a disturbing trend, with many crying 'fowl" aboutthe capping taking place for wheel alignment.
We're seeing this happen with a few insurance companies and/ or UNINFORMED adjustors.
It's been documented that some insurancecompanies are allowing only the value of what the local tire centers charge for this service
with the insurance representativenot taking into consideration the real-worlddifferences between a tire centerwheel alignment(or 'maintenance alignment")
and a collision repair wheel alignment.
This has become an unfair comparison with the repair side being short-changed on a collision wheel alignment - which, in mostcases, is a very technical, time-consuming operation.
It's well-known that tire centers across the country often use WHEEL ALIGNMENT, AS A COME ON,or a loss-leader to boost TIRE AND OTHER SALES!!
Take some of the big-box stores for example,where they'll often do a wheel alignment at less than cost.
This trend has lead to the type of wheel alignment known as,
'Set the Toe and Let It Go" a term that describes what canonly be called a 'shallow" or "scratching the surface" wheelalignment at best.
Tire center wheel alignment technicians aren't saddled with the same in-depth scope of "thought process" or
"process of elimination" that a collision technician must go through; there aremany more factors inherent to crashed vehicles to consider.
After a collision, it's expected that the vehicle will handle as the manufacturer designed it to.
And this places a much higherdegree of responsibility on the collision wheel alignment technician, requiring him to look for and to diagnose handlingsymptoms/characteristics that a tire center wheel alignmenttechnician wouldn't be expected to.
Tire center Wheel alignment will generally focus on tire-wear- --related problems (simple camber and toe adjustments) caused by wear and tear.
While a collision wheel alignment must go well beyond tire wear and address handling characteristics, which is much more involved process.
It's often assumed when collision repairs are completed,------
if the sheet metal aligns -----and the vehicle looks good, ---
Then the vehicle should be able to have the wheels aligned back to factory tolerances with little or no difficulty.
But is that really how it is?
Using the most modern pulling and measuring equipment to front suspensioncomplete structural, suspension and steering work (whether on a unibody or a full-frame) doesn't ensure that the suspension andsteering components can be adjusted back into specifications -----And------that the vehicle will handle as is did before.
Many conditions will cause a vehicle to be un-alignable, falling into the category ofCLOSE, BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH."
It's also common that after going through the wheel alignment process,a technician will find that the vehicle will have to be remounted on the frame machine to do some 'cleanup-work" - additional pulling in thesuspension mounting area, an area that can't be accurately measured with framemeasuring equipment.It is also very common to find after a set the toe and let it go alignment, measurements that were overlooked, can create a very unhappy owner.One example, is a bent steering arm caused by the accident, which needs a precision alignment system to locate this problem.
What follows, are conditions that often exist after repairs have been completed:
1. Camber adjustment isnt sufficient to bring vehicle within specifications.Do a SAl check to determine the 'included angle."Check ball joints.Check strutCheck shock tower.Check for bent fasteners.Check position of engine cradle andlor lower control arm mount area, including engine cradle isolators.Check upper control arm mount area.Check wheel bearing.
2. Caster adjustment isnt sufficient to bring vehicle within specifications.
Check wheel base and lower control arm for damage.
Check frame length at control arm mount area.
Check strut tower for rear movement.
Check ball joint.
Check radius arm/tension rod, bushings and mounting bracket area.
Check upper control arm mount area.
3. Right and left caster and camber fall within specifications but the right to left reading isn't within tolerance.
Check engine cradle and support isolators.
Check strut towers.
Check SAl.
Check for damaged suspension components.
4. You can't center steering wheel.
Check steering sector shaft for twist condition. (Another very common condition)
Check right and left steering knuckle arms.
Check steering linkage.
Check steering rack mount area and bushings.
5.Steering has a slight amount of play.
Check wheel bearing tolerance.
Check steering gear or steering rack.(CAN YOU SAY, BUMP STEER?)
Check inner and outer tie rod ends (remove inner boot on rack-and-pinion-type steering).
Check idler arm.
Check steering linkage.
6. Vehicle drifts/pulls.
Check Tires and rotate.
Check thrust angle (measure wheel base)
Check tread widthif tire sizes and wheels have been changed from factory diameter and widthThis is critical to adjust specifications !!
Check ride height.
Check wheel bearings.
Check brakes.
7. There's an uneven turning radius.
Check steering knuckle.
Check location of steering gear.
Check steering linkageespecially the steering arms. You cannot tell by LOOKING, if these are bent. They look like they have been in a train wreck when they are brand new. This is critical for a vehicle that has been repaired after a collision.
YOU CAN DEFINITELY BE ASSURED THAT WHEEL ALIGNMENT EQUIPMENT IS NOT CREATED EQUAL. !!IN FACT, IN SOME N.A.S.C.A.R. RACE SHOPS IN THE CAROLINAS, I HAVE SEEN PLUMB BOB AND STRING PERFORM A GREAT JOB ON THE RACE CARS.
IN THE COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY, THERE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF SMOKE AND MIRROR SYSTEMS WHICH PROMISE A GREAT JOB, BUT THE PRECISION IS NOT THERE !
IT SEEMS THAT MOST SHOPS ARE OBSESSED WITH SPEED !
IN FACT, ONE BIG NAME ALIGNMENT MANUFACTURER NOW STATES THAT IN LESS THAN 4 MINUTES, WITH THEIR EQUIPMENT, YOU CAN HAVE THE CLAMPS, HEADS, ETC., INSTALLED AND MAKE ALIGNMENT ADJUSTMENTS.
AND I AM SURE YOU HAVE HEARD THE STORY ABOUT THE BRIDGE IN BROOKLYN
WE WILL INVESTIGATE MORE ABOUT HOW FAST CAN I DO AN ALIGNMENT!
IF THIS WERE YOUR $90,000 2009 JAGUAR CONVERTIBLE, WOULD YOU WANT IT ALIGNED WITH A TIRE SHOP SET THE TOE AND LETER GO ALIGNMENT??
CARS DAMAGED LIKE THIS, AND REPAIRED, DEFINITELY DESERVE A PRECISION ALIGNMENT !!
THIS IS TRULY PRECISION ALIGNMENT EQUIPMENT USED BY PROFESSIONAL RACE TEAMS IN EUROPE !!
NOW, LETS CONSIDER A FEW FACTS ABOUT THE MOST ADVERTISED WHEEL ALIGNMENT EQUIPMENT SOLD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.
IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING EQUIPMENT, DO YOU WANT TO PURCHASE SOMETHING WITH A BRAND NEW DISPLAY CABINET---BUT RECYCLED TECHNOLOGY, THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR MANY YEARS??
FOR BEGINNERSWHY DO YOU GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF WHEEL RUN OUT? MANY TECHNICIANS SAY IT IS TO COMPENSATE FOR A BENT WHEEL!!
LETS BE REALISTIC HERE. DOES THE COMPENSATION CORRECT A BENT WHEEL ??
AND, DOESNT IT TELL YOU SOMETHING, WHEN THE EQUIPMENT WILL NOT LET YOU PERFORM AN ALIGNMENT WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE RUN OUT PROCEDURE !!
ALSO, SOME VEHICLES SUCH AS MERCEDES, AUDI, AND SEVERAL OTHER HIGH-END VEHICLES, NOW INSIST THAT YOU DO NOT RAISE THE VEHICLE ONCE IT IS ON THE RACK !!
THIS MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOWER THE VEHICLE ON THE RACK AGAIN, ALL OF THE SUSPENSION HAS BASICALLY CHANGED
SOTO OUTSMART THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURER, WE SEE THE VEHICLE ROLLED BACK ON THE RACK, ONE REVOLUTION OF THE WHEEL AND THEN ROLLED BACK FORWARD TO TAKE CARE OF THE REQUIRED RUN OUT
THE REAL REASON THIS RUN OUT PROCEDURE IS DONE, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WHEEL---THEY ARE ADJUSTING FOR THE RUN OUT THEY ARE INTRODUCING INTO THE SYSTEM BECAUSE OF A POORLY DESIGNED, 4 POINT MOUNT WHEEL CLAMP
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A 4 LEGGED STOOL THAT DIDNT WOBBLE ???
I DONT THINK SO !!!!!
I CAN GIVE YOU ENGINEERING PROOF THAT THIS IS TRUE.
NOWMOVING ON TO ANOTHER SUBJECT
MOST NEW VEHICLE PURCHASERS (ESPECIALLY THE YOUNGER GENERATIONWANT TO JAZZ UP THE CAR EVEN BEFORE THEY TAKE IT HOME. LARGER DIAMETER, AND WIDER WHEELS. THIS CHANGES THE SUSPENSION, ANDDO YOU BELIEVE IT CHANGES THE SPECIFICATIONS FROM FACTORY SPECS TO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ?? AND, YOU CAN BET THE FARM THAT THIS IS HAPPENING !!
MOST EQUIPMENT ON THE MARKET TODAY DOES NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THE SPECS, AND ALIGN THE VEHICLE TO HANDLE PROPERLY WITH THESE ALTERED SUSPENSION CHANGES !!
RESULT??? A POOR HANDLING VEHICLE.
In the FASEP system, we have opened the typical
