BustedSony....I don't dispute you at all. However, my experience is different than yours. Perhaps there's a different expectation and standard in Canada for this kind of work. Almost all my alignments have been done at National Tire and Battery...a national chain in the U.S....and none have involved a test drive either before or after the alignment. But I always get a print-out.

 

hmm..well i dident get a print out from this place, but i got one at sears the first time i got my car aligned. steering wheel feels a lilttle tighter, and it it seems to go stright, so im pretty sure they did aligned it correctly..well atleast i hope.

 

That's my comment to DelawareDon, "Steering tighter, goes straight" is what the tech looks for after alignment. The driver can come in complaining about poor handling, the alignment is done, and there's still a loose joint or sticky or loose gearbox or just plain incorrect tire pressure that the tech will notice on the post-alignment test drive. I was complaining about sticky steering on the 1990 Honda, the alignment was indeed off so it was corrected but the tech still thought something was wrong when he test drove it afterwards, so helooked again and found a broken pin in a cross-arm. I forget the details but he was double-checking to make sure the issue wasresolved for me.

My 2004 EPhatch had poor handling, the tech test-drove it, agreed, checked the alignment which was 100% to OEM specs, then checked tire pressure. One wheel was low and there was uneven wear due to late tire rotation. (Pressure was set with uneven heating from the sun.) I don't think there are "different standards in Canada" since these were three different dealers. Anyway, if the tech test drives the car and finds something other than the requested alignment still causing a problem then that's more labour income for him/her. And a test drive is additional labour included in the cost of the alignment, why is that bad for the customer??

 

wow, dident know low tire pressure could do damge like that. well thank you for the info BustedSony. like i said, it feels alright and drove stright. i dident mind if they test drove it (sears dose it too) i just dident like the fact that he shifted at 6g the whole time =/. only i should be able to beat my baby like that...even though i have only shifted that high like 3 times in a year..lol

 

Yes I did see your comment about the high shifting. Hey, if you have a good engine it just gets up there before the unfamiliar driver knows what hit him...[sm=gears.gif]

My only complaint about the EPhatch was ALL about the tires. They hadn't been rotated in 30,000 miles by the previous owner, then they were switched front to back when I got the car, meaning the tires at the front now had wear at a slant (from the rear wheel camber) and not quite even left to right at that. So with what was effectively unmatched offsets the car had bad torque steer, it was all over the place as the acceleration varied. After 2000 Km the problem has almost gone, and I'm going to get new performance tires anyway once thesnow finally gets good and lost. (the car still has the awful OEM Michelin Pilot all-seasons.) And the uneven tire pressure didn't help. So yes, it seems to matter..[sm=chattypair.gif]

 

haha. well ill be sure to watch my tire pressure more often. thanks =)

 

Schwabbies ftw!

Just had mine done two days ago. They did a fantastic job.

 

If you want to be sure your carwas aligned at Adirondack Tire...go to NTB, Sears, Goodyear, Firestone, Tires Plus, etc. they ALL do "free alignment checks" to see if one is needed, the reason being that 80%+ of cars on the road DO need one and they are hoping that your car needs one and they will get the sale. After the check, they will give you a printout and (hopefully) will say the alignment is within spec. If they prove to you by the printout that it is out of spec...then go back to Adirondack tire and demand your money back. Then get it alignedwhere they did the check.
Note for lowered vehicles-
1. Lowering a car will give you negative camber (tire leans in at the top), which isn't adjustable on Hondas without a camber kit and/or aftermarket adjustable ball joints. Toe is the only adjustable angle on a Honda and is done by lengthening/shortening the tie-rods.
2. Most shops won't align a lowered vehicle due to the fact that the car's low ground clearancealways scrapes on the rack (they don't want to pay for your lip spoiler and/or bumper)