Wheel alignment

[Seven11]

Positive and negative camber.

[Seven11]

What will happen if camber left alone.

[Guest Triggerhappy]

Wah, you guys had a meetup at JB har? Never jio!

 

BTW, I believe the correct term for that nut you installed is called the "Camber Adjuster". I have no idea how much it cost, but if I am not wrong, some cars cant even find a suitable camber adjuster to fix the tyre camber.... you need to get the original from the car maker.

 

Hi all,

 

I am the one that went in with Fabiaman,

[Fabiaman]

Hi guys, I have posted the location of this tyre shop we visited at

http://www.mycarforum.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=12674

 

If you have any opinions or experienec with JB TYRE SHOPS, pls kindly share with us there.

[Sky8807]

The solution for the front camber seem fishy. As far as I know, the jap car camber are not adjustable by default.

 

Zero camber is where the wheel is standing vertically, and positive camber is where the top of the wheel is further away from the car's longitudinal centreline. Camber is generally not factory adjustable. The method described for solving the probem is not technical. So if your friend want to do it, then there are risk involved.

 

Equipment is one things, the expertise in knowing the system and doing the job correctly is more important.

[Sky8807]

The pictures seem to shows excessive toe-in problems. Wearing of the tyre on the inside edge.

[Sky8807]

Hi Nilkz,

Camber not within the manufacturer specification is not uncommon on japs car. Even though they may be out , normally they are not serious as far as handling and driveability is concerned.

 

Sometimes by readjusting the absorber mounting position may improved the problems, sometimes change the shock absorber solve the problem. Sometimes cannot correct the problem at all. The fitting of unauthourised parts and disturbing the original setting without considering the strength and possible danger can result in serious consequences. Suspension and shock works very hard and are subjected to heavy load and stress during its operation. Weakenng the area by unauthorised means is risky.

 

Consult the agent to see whether such methods is recommended, if yes, then do it or else do it at your own risk.

 

Don't judge the shop by the equipment alone.

Edited April 23, 2002 by Sky8807

[Pauly75ts]

Hi! there, Sky8807,

 

When I had my Civic, the shops in JB uses a hydraulic pump to jack, for camber adjustments. Now with my Alfa 75, it's fully screw adjustable for the front suspension.

 

I wasn't comfortable with the jacking bit for adjustments as it'd fatigue the material. But, with my adjustable front, the JB shops still didn't do a good job for wheel-alignment, so now I do it in SG.

 

Rgds

 

Paul Yong

[Sky8807]

Conti car have more adjustments when comes to wheel alignments. They are more conscious of such needs and thus provide such adjustments. The jap just makes one adjustment during design and fits all the permanent point and that's it. no other adjustments camber and castor. Only toe-in and out and some model a little bit more that's all.

 

JB shop is cheap, but one have to verify whether it is good or not. Not all are good neither all are bad. Be Careful and cautious are the key word to remember when doing such work there. We should not go just for the money, maybe penny wise and pound foolish.

[Nilkz]

Thanks,

 

Aiyah, now feeling uneasy about the thing already... good thing i took back the original nut that they removed...

 

Sky, any tyre shops in s'pore to recommend? Thanks.

[Cool]

I think majority of us go to LEong Seng. (include me)

 

However, for maintenance, it is better to go to their main shop in Ubi.

 

Stamford Tyres has good equipments but dunno the price for Balancing and Rotation.

[Madarmour]

Did my wheel alignment last mth at AutoAcc (local Pirelli distributor) at Loyang. IMHO I would be happy if the technician takes extra care when inserting the alignment machine on my wheels. There are some workshops that wouldn't bother and end up scratching the precious rims! Got no pride in their work! BTW, the AutoAcc guy is very careful, so I'm happy with his work.

 

Anyway, if that workshop is good, they should have updated software on the alignment settings on various car makes and the technician adjust the settings based on these info, which are manufacturer's settings. That is unless you have your own personal settings.

 

There are 3 parameters - toe-in, camber and caster. Some of there parameters are not adjustable in certain cars. For my car, only the toe-in can be adjusted.

 

This mechanic also took a solo spin on my babe after adjusting, for 5 minutes! Cost me $68 after AROC discount.

[Carbine]

Hey Cool,

 

what is the general guideline for doing wheel balancing and rotation? 10K? 15? or 20K? Is the workshop able to work on both Jap and conti cars or are they specific on a particular make only? Thanx!

[Cool]

The wheel does not matter what car your drive...

 

Normally, I do my balancing very 5K cos I travel about 50KM a day... depends on how you feel.. so far, I find stamford does better whell balancing cos Leong Seng in Alexandra is quite limited with space and equipment. However, I will be paying their UBI branch a visit.

 

This will be my first time I am paying for wheel balancing .. hehehhe..

[Carbine]

The reason I'm asking is becoz of the previous posting by MikeChong abt "updating software on the alignment settings on various car makes and the technician adjust the settings based on these info, which are manufactuer's settings". hmmm... perhaps i should be directing the qerry at him.

 

so, mike, what's your advice?

 

btw, what's the addy for the UBI branch?

[Madarmour]

I think any alignment workshop worth its salt should have an updated database of most, if not all, cars' alignment settings. It wouldn't look good if they have to guess the settings as most ppl would like to align the wheels back to stock settings.

 

All you need is to ask them whether they have the settings for your car. If still not convinced, ask them to show you!

 

Some workshop may not have the settings. In that case, you have to refer to your manual for those settings.

 

Leong Seng

53 Ubi Ave 1, #01-09

[Carbine]

thanks mike!

 

I think i know what to do liao.

[Roadblock]

Hmmm, very interesting knowledge needed for tyres and stuffs. Great that you guys are so knowledgeable on such things.

 

Question: If the tyre shop cannot adjust the toe-in or camber or whatever that is wrong abt the tyre, what can we do? Send back to agent? From what I know, the car distributors normally do not have equipment for tyres?