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-pages
and 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 can
be strikingly different.
The repair side of the industry is
experiencing a disturbing trend, with many
crying 'fowl" about
the 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 insurance
companies are allowing only the value of what the
local tire centers charge for this service –
with the insurance representative
not taking into consideration the real-world
differences between a tire center
wheel 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 most
cases, 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 can
only be called a 'shallow" or "scratching the
surface" wheel
alignment 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 are
many 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 higher
degree of responsibility on the collision wheel
alignment technician, requiring him to look for
and to diagnose handling
symptoms/characteristics that a tire center
wheel alignment
technician 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 suspension
complete structural, suspension and steering
work (whether on a unibody or a full-frame)
doesn't ensure that the suspension and
steering 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 unalignable, falling into the category of
‘CLOSE, 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 the
suspension mounting area, an area that can't be
accurately measured with frame
measuring 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 isn’t sufficient to bring
vehicle within specifications.
Do a SAl check to determine the 'included angle."
Check ball joints.
Check strut
Check 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 isn’t 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 width—if tire sizes and wheels have
been changed from factory diameter and width
This 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 linkage—especially 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 LET’ER
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 BEGINNERS—WHY 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, DOESN’T 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”…
SO—TO “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
DIDN’T “WOBBLE” ???
I DON’T THINK SO !!!!!
I CAN GIVE YOU ENGINEERING PROOF THAT
THIS IS TRUE.
NOW—MOVING ON TO ANOTHER SUBJECT—
MOST NEW VEHICLE PURCHASERS
(ESPECIALLY THE “YOUNGER GENERATION”—
WANT TO “JAZZ UP” THE CAR EVEN BEFORE
THEY TAKE IT HOME. LARGER DIAMETER, AND
WIDER WHEELS. THIS CHANGES THE
SUSPENSION, AND—DO 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 sizes for a CHEVROLET CAMARO. If
any sizes have been changed, we can go to
the EDIT screen and change these settings.
In the previous slide, you can see that changes
have been made to the FRONT TRACK—AND REAR
TRACK MEASUREMENTS, which will definitely
change the specifications if we were actually
aligning this CHEVROLET CAMARO.
ANOTHER BIG QUESTION MARK, IS HOW MOST
EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS OBTAIN THEIR
CASTER READING.
MOST OF THEM, ONLY TURN THE WHEELS TO THE
LEFT UNTIL THE INDICATOR “GETS INTO THE
GREEN”.
SUPPOSEDLY, THIS ALSO GIVES AUTOMATICALLY
THE READING ON THE RIGHT WHEEL AT THE SAME
TIME.
NOW—WHEN WE GET “INTO THE GREEN”—HOW
MANY DEGREES IS THIS???? MOST
MANUFACTURERS SAY THIS IS 10 degrees. 10
degrees IS AN INACCURATE DIMENSION, BECAUSE
MECHANICAL ENGINEERS ALL SAY THAT YOU
SHOULD TURN TO 20 degrees FOR A TRUE CASTER
READING.
ACTUALLY—TO QUOTE FROM FORD MOTOR
COMPANY SPECIFICATIONS:
“TO MEASURE LEFT SIDE CASTER, TURN LEFT
WHEEL THROUGH THE PRESCRIBED ANGLE.
THEN TURN RIGHT WHEEL FOR RIGHT SIDE
MEASUREMENT. WHEN USING ALIGNMENT
EQUIPMENT DESIGNED TO MEASURE CASTER
ON BOTH THE RIGHT AND LEFT SIDE, TURNING
ONLY ONE WHEEL PRODUCES ERROR ON THE
OTHER SIDE”
This is FASEP equipment installed on a 2008
JAGUAR, after being repaired from a collision.
This premium vehicle needs a precision alignment.
A side view of the JAGUAR shown in the previous
slide
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING OUR
PRESENTATION--- AND
EXPLAINING WHY IT IS
NECESSARY TO TAKE THE TIME
TO PERFORM A COMPLETE
ALIGNMENT AND USE
PRECISION EQUIPMENT TO
SATISFY YOUR VALUED
CUSTOMERS
FOR CONSULTATION OR PRICING INFORMATION
ON FASEP PRECISION WHEEL SERVICE
EQUIPMENT ----PLEASE CALL
ED DINKLER
U.S. IMPORTER
PHONE
609-871-1799
WILLINGBORO, NEW JERSEY 08046