need alignment

[Bllzll]

i just got my new suspension installed so i obviously need an alignment asap since my car was non sport before... my audi dealership quoted me $180 for it! is that a normal price or is that crazy expensive??

also is it ok to take it to like a tires plus or somewhere else like that.. or is an alignment one of those things thats worth paying the premium price to have it done at the dealership?

[toxxin]

thats crazy expensive. take it to a local tire shop. they use to charge me $80 for my old truck lowered on 22s at a local tire shop but $180 is nuts imo.

[Grishbok]

depends, do your research. If you drive VERY aggressive, you may want to concider getting it corner balanced. If you have your alignment done by an amateur, youll end up with a crooked steering wheel and paying for it later down the road.

Wait until the suspension settles down, or youll have to align it twice.
Identify your driving style and wether you want corner balancing or not.
Call different shops in your area and ask around.
If you want it on the cheap and dont care, National Tire Battery

[b6onboost]

Audi dealers around DC (not cheap) only charge $109 for full alignment. $180 is a rip off. Skill is hit or miss, the Audi tech could be an idiot and the Tires Plus guy could have more experience with properly aligning lowered cars.

But on average, you know the Audi techs align many more Audis than any independent shop. Some of those indepenet shops charge a lot but generally will realign the car for free over a 3 year period after the initial one. (They assume most people won't come back, but an enthusiast could take advantage of an offer like that)

[AudiWxGuy]

As far as the steering goes now, the car probably will still drive straight down the road with your hand off the wheel. But the tilt of the tires could be off, causing uneven wear.
The suspension is settled once you drive the car like 10 feet. (According to STaSIS) I took mine to a local alignment shop 10,000 miles ago and the tire wear has been fine. Car drives straight down the road.

[Papachristou]

get it aligned, i didnt and it ate my tires quickly...

FYI, my audi dealer charges $99 for a four wheel alignment and i have gotten them both times on "sale" for $79.99

also last time that included adjusting my new stern ajustable upper control arms at no additional cost

[Bmeister]

Get it aligned soon, and make sure to find a place with 4-wheel laser alignment which should run $100 to $125 and take all of 20min. Try to find out who does the race cars in your area as they'll have the expertise in dealing with a lowered non-stock suspension.

[Sharkfin]

Go back to the dealer and tell them dealers across the country charge $130. That's what I got mine done for in two different states.

[Brent27]

Goodyear tire only charges like 80 bucks, 180 is an insane amount unless its a lifetime alignment.

[Bllzll]

awesome thanks everyone... looks like im going to shop it around a bit and call audi again and ask those bastards why they are charging more than most dealerships..

+rep for everyone that helped! unless iv already repped you and it says i cant anymore, lol

[NYSpeedRacer]

I got the lifetime alignment at Firestone for $139 and it's the best investment I made so far, especially true since my car is riding on PSS9s.

[Bllzll]

Get it aligned soon, and make sure to find a place with 4-wheel laser alignment which should run $100 to $125 and take all of 20min. Try to find out who does the race cars in your area as they'll have the expertise in dealing with a lowered non-stock suspension.

is a 4-wheel laster alignment a common thing for most places to have?? or am i going to call around a few places to find this? like would a tires plus type place have that type of machine??

[q-car]

Laser alignment is pretty standard these days, doubt you'll find anything else unless you go somewhere really backwoods, which I wouldn't advise. I took my car to a performance tire/wheel shop in atlanta and had it done for $95. They really knew their stuff, which gave me peace of mind. A couple regular places wouldn't touch my car, mainly b/c it was lowered. One shop told me they didn't have the 'specs in their computer' which is total horseshit.

[fromGMCtoAUDI]

I took mine to a tire shop that charged $60 for an amateur job. They even had the laser thing and my steering has been off center ever since. Now I'm gonna pay more to do it at Audi:(

[Sharkfin]

Laser alignment is pretty standard these days, doubt you'll find anything else unless you go somewhere really backwoods, which I wouldn't advise. I took my car to a performance tire/wheel shop in atlanta and had it done for $95. They really knew their stuff, which gave me peace of mind. A couple regular places wouldn't touch my car, mainly b/c it was lowered. One shop told me they didn't have the 'specs in their computer' which is total horseshit.

Actually it is not the easiest procedure with a lowered car and quattro (as is mine). I went to 12 consecutive shops in Pittsburgh, PA and each one told me flat out that they could not do it because of those factors. I then called the dealer and they said sure and did a great job for $130. As for the specs, its true that most of those commercialized shops just look at the specs and don't have the knowledge to be able to get it aligned if the car is customized. Plus I think the subframe has to be disconnected for a quattro car to be aligned.

I'm glad I got it done right at the dealer, even if I paid $30 bucks more.

[Bllzll]

so this local place that i know does good stuff is asking $130..

a local firestone is asking $70... i obviously want to just take it to firestone but now im really worried that im going to get some bull shit job there. and of course i can ask if they know what they are doing but im sure they are just going to tell me what i want to hear regardless of if they can do it properly or not...

any thoughts on this? im thinking i might just take it into firestone and talk to the guy and see how confident he sounds..

also could i ask for a printout of the specs after the alignment is complete? i personally wouldnt have any idea what it means but maybe knowing that they have to give me the specs will ensure they do an accurate job... any thoughts on this too?

thanks for the help people

[Grishbok]

I think the main thing to consider here, is if you were standing over the shoulder of the firestone guy for 70$ watching him, would you be able to tell what he was doing different than the 130$ guy or a 250$ guy? If not, then it doesn't make a difference does it? If it matters to you, research the entirety of the process and learn how a proper job is done for what you need it for (corner balance or not etc). Then youll be able to know what you get and make the right choice!

In all honesty for regular driving, firestone guy would probably do a pretty good job. but you never know.

[eskimopunk]

i got an alignment for $110 a few months ago... and it was ok but not that great - they charged my for being lowered AND for having rims?? i was like wtf but ok.

then i went to goodyear when i got my shocks and got the lifetime for $180 and they did a pretty shit job. The next day i got new tires then got the alignment at a different goodyear and they did a great job and actually put the time in.

Just depends where you go, it's all luck imo.

[NYSpeedRacer]

Speaking of alignment specs, What are you specs? or recommended specs for dropped cars?

[Papachristou]

Actually it is not the easiest procedure with a lowered car and quattro (as is mine). I went to 12 consecutive shops in Pittsburgh, PA and each one told me flat out that they could not do it because of those factors. I then called the dealer and they said sure and did a great job for $130. As for the specs, its true that most of those commercialized shops just look at the specs and don't have the knowledge to be able to get it aligned if the car is customized. Plus I think the subframe has to be disconnected for a quattro car to be aligned.

I'm glad I got it done right at the dealer, even if I paid $30 bucks more.

same with me.. audi still cant get it to drive perfectly straight but the specs show spot on so what else?

[Bmeister]

a local firestone is asking $70... i obviously want to just take it to firestone but now im really worried that im going to get some bull shit job there. and of course i can ask if they know what they are doing but im sure they are just going to tell me what i want to hear regardless of if they can do it properly or not...

any thoughts on this? im thinking i might just take it into firestone and talk to the guy and see how confident he sounds..

also could i ask for a printout of the specs after the alignment is complete?

FWIW, I was recommended to see a "good alignment shop" by a regular track racer I know. It turned out to be a Firestone facility with a newer 4-wheel laser alignment rack setup. The person I was told to see was the one who did alignments for track-specific race cars as well as heavily lowered street cars and was very thorough from road test to visual inspection to torquing things after adjusting (I watched).

When complete, they provided a pre- and post-alignment computer layout showing the settings (if I can find it I'll post it) for my A4. It cost $100 and $120 (total was $220) for the 2 cars as I did the S55 at the same time...not sure which was which charge. So, what I'm trying to say is don't be put off if it's a Firestone facility; just make sure whomever does the work has a laser-dedicated alignment rack and understands that you are lowered.

[Bllzll]

sounds good. i think im going to go to firestone and talk to them a bit and see how i feel. im also going to ask for a pre and post spec sheet to look at afterwards. i will personally have no idea what any of it means, but hpoefully knowing that he has to give me a spec sheet will make him take his time and do it properly...

when i picked up my car after the suspension install, i was talking to the guy about alignment and he told me he knew of people that would hang on the cars just to get the machine in the greeen so they could be finished with it.. after hearing that story i want to be very careful about it... hence this thread

i think i should be fine though as long as i make it clear that i expect a good job

FWIW, I was recommended to see a "good alignment shop" by a regular track racer I know. It turned out to be a Firestone facility with a newer 4-wheel laser alignment rack setup. The person I was told to see was the one who did alignments for track-specific race cars as well as heavily lowered street cars and was very thorough from road test to visual inspection to torquing things after adjusting (I watched).

When complete, they provided a pre- and post-alignment computer layout showing the settings (if I can find it I'll post it) for my A4. It cost $100 and $120 (total was $220) for the 2 cars as I did the S55 at the same time...not sure which was which charge. So, what I'm trying to say is don't be put off if it's a Firestone facility; just make sure whomever does the work has a laser-dedicated alignment rack and understands that you are lowered.

[Sharkfin]

sounds good. i think im going to go to firestone and talk to them a bit and see how i feel. im also going to ask for a pre and post spec sheet to look at afterwards. i will personally have no idea what any of it means, but hpoefully knowing that he has to give me a spec sheet will make him take his time and do it properly...

when i picked up my car after the suspension install, i was talking to the guy about alignment and he told me he knew of people that would hang on the cars just to get the machine in the greeen so they could be finished with it.. after hearing that story i want to be very careful about it... hence this thread

i think i should be fine though as long as i make it clear that i expect a good job

sounds like a good plan but you are correct. Most don't know what to do to get your car to preform right they just try to get as many in the "green" as possible.

[eclpsgsx97]

I took my car a couple weeks ago to get aligned at a highly recommended European car specialist, and it cost me $130. For some reason there wasn't enough adjustment on the rear toe to get within spec. Anybody ever have this problem? I'm on bilstein sports and h&r sport springs.

[q-car]

ECL, I didn't have any issues getting the rear toe back in spec. However, I do have some neg camber in the front. That can't be corrected without a camber kit I don't believe. It isn't probably enough to really matter, my car isn't slammed. It's on Stasis touring.

[Qsline]

Just to add my .02

When shopping around, don't go with the cheapest guy, try to find a recommended shop - 85-90% of shops don't know how to properly aling audis.

I've had 4 alignments and 2 torn tires thanks to terrible alignment done by shops that had no clue what they were doing.

One shop left my rear camber @ -2.5 and said it was as positive as it gets... Second opinion shop confirmed.... Credit card disputed pending.

Just don't go with the cheapest options, with these cars u really get what you paid for.

[autoverruckt]

I lucked out at my neighborhood Firestone. The guy has been doing alignments for 15+ years, knows that I track, and let's me watch over his shoulder - I also have been using them since 1998. I did the $140 lifetime and its so worth it. They do an extra good job with my cars because I buy pizzas for the whole crew after I get an alignment. To me its worth it cuz the dealer charges $140 for a single. Since I tip them, I can usually just call the day of. I get an alignment every 3-4 months or every 3k miles.

I have alignment specs in my photo gallery. My tech has no issues aligning my car and he has CO's on his car so we shoot the shit all the time.

But I will say that its hit and miss with any large chain facility. Gotta ask around. Local autoxers or track guys will be able to point you in the right direction too.

[eclpsgsx97]

ECL, I didn't have any issues getting the rear toe back in spec. However, I do have some neg camber in the front. That can't be corrected without a camber kit I don't believe. It isn't probably enough to really matter, my car isn't slammed. It's on Stasis touring.

You're right, there is no camber adjustment for the fronts without a kit/adjustable upper control arms. At first they didn't want to do the alignment due to this, but I told them I'd feel much better if the rest of the adjustments could be done to spec. So they did the rest of the adjustments and the front camber is just outside of spec. Toe will have a greater impact on tire wear than camber anyway, and that's a reason I'd like to know if anyone else had toe adjustment problems in the rear.

Are there adjustment bolts available with greater range of adjustability for rear toe?

[festerfm]

i had mine done at a dealer in northeast pa and it was about $120 for all 4 wheels. none of the indy shops around here would touch it. making excuses like "u'r car needs a vag-com to allign because of the adaptive cruise control".. i figured that if they didnt want to make money doing an allignment i'm not going to force it because i want it done right. so i just went to the dealer and i got my tire wear issue taken care of.. i'm only on stock sport suspension but 18's..

[Sharkfin]

Even though I got it done well at my dealership, they said the camber can't easily be adjusted and I think I'm at -1.2-1.5 all around

[Ben Franklin]

i work at south hills audi near pittsburgh and i would do it, but the older guys at or shop always tell our service writers " ahh its lowered, we can't align it"

so they will either tell you they cant do it or give you an outrageous price

also when a quattro is lowered theres only so much adjustment to be made, you pretty much try to set everything to "0"

[Phrost]

I got a full alignment from my Audi dealer for about $75-80 I think. It wasn't over $80.

[Sharkfin]

i work at south hills audi near pittsburgh and i would do it, but the older guys at or shop always tell our service writers " ahh its lowered, we can't align it"

so they will either tell you they cant do it or give you an outrageous price

also when a quattro is lowered theres only so much adjustment to be made, you pretty much try to set everything to "0"

so your finally posting patrick, sweeettt
I texted you btw...