Alignment options, Can I do it myself?

[Rodsrsr]

Curious as to why people are hesitant to just have it aligned at a shop that deals with Porsches. Corner balancing aside, it cant be that costly for a simple 4 wheel alignment, and unless you're tracking the car or making suspension changes, I don't see alignments as something that's done regularly.

[froggert]

Originally Posted by smadsen

Do you put 200 lbs. of redi-crete in the driver's seat before you corner balance?

I used cinder blocks. Cheap, easy to handle and didn't have to worry about making a mess.

[rwest]

Originally Posted by Rodsrsr

Curious as to why people are hesitant to just have it aligned at a shop that deals with Porsches. Corner balancing aside, it cant be that costly for a simple 4 wheel alignment, and unless you're tracking the car or making suspension changes, I don't see alignments as something that's done regularly.

I paid around $700 for a local reputable shop to do mine. First round they slammed it so low I couldn’t fit my hand between the tire and fender even after I told them I set the height were I wanted it- they should have only had to do minor height adjustments to corner balance on one or two wheels, when I returned for them to correct it, the car pulled pretty good to the right- they told me it was for safety, yea right, I cut my losses and learned another life lesson.

[stownsen914]

For some it’s about the experience of doing it themselves. If it were all about convenience and what easiest or most efficient, I guess we’d all be driving Toyotas instead of classic Porsches

[smadsen]

My '71 Ford Econoline has never been aligned. 295,000 miles & 54 years. Camber & caster were dialed in at the factory courtesy of twin I-beam front suspension. Any adjustment requires a big torch and a big lever. Bumpsteer... yeah, there's plenty. But not in the rear. Camber, toe, caster in the rear covered by the Dana solid rear axle. Corner balance, yeah that's where the permanent sandbags come in. A lot of them make the rear drum brakes work better too....once.

[jjeffries]

These are not my photos, I think from a shop in NY. To me they show the ultimate equipment:

- nice Hunter tables, presumably all leveled.
- hub stands, SO much easier to make the adjustments without the wheels/tires in place
- the hub stands are on scales
- Smart Strings

Obviously expensive when all added together. And in terms of what a good shop charges, when done properly, with corner balance and all the adjustments done right (not a “toe and go”) the time involved in not insignificant.

Does a street driven car need that? Probably not.

I made my own Smart Strings-knock off (not as nice as the plywood version on the previous page though … well done on that!), using fishing line rather than string, my own homemade tables, borrowed digital scales and a purchased camber gauge. I was really into it, would have been bucks I even if I’d only charged myself say $40/HR. Did I a good job? It goes straight, wheel is level, tires wearing evenly, but without getting it verified by a pro shop, or having someone more expert than me drive it, I’ll never know … ignorance being bliss, etc.

John

[HarryD]

FWIW I have been told by several persons intimately familiar with our cars that even a street driven car noticeably benefits from a proper corner balance.

I have also been told that the Porsche factory corner balanced every car before leaving the factory.

YMMV

[PeteKz]

To RODSRSR original question: Because very few shops do it correctly, as comments above indicate.

Once you get a correct alignment, it says that way for a long time, unless you hit a curb or pothole really hard.

[Duc Hunter]

I’m a little confused why people don’t go to a decent shop that has a Hunter machine, and at least know the specifications I want the car to set to. That’s how I get mine done and the shop I go to doesn’t even need to know the old Porsche 911. I can tell them which pieces to adjust on the car to set camber, caster, etc. I also know to start with the rear of the car, and once that’s dialed in then move to the front. I typically pay way less than $300, and it might take an hour. And usually the guys in the shop are very appreciative that they get to work on such a cool old car.

As a street driver, even if you’re canyon carving, that should be plenty. If I want to corner balance, I can corner balance the car before I take it to the alignment shop. That’ll help me set the ride height and get the corner weights pretty damn close. Again for a car that street driven 99% of the time I think that’s more than sufficient? More than that, and I think we’re just picking the fly **** out of the pepper, as we say here in the south.