Local Mechanic's Aligner Machine 'Insists'On Spec Settings

After a busy winter and the associated pot holes afterward,
I decided to have my car's alignment checked at a shop I
have used in the past, on my current car and on previous ones.

The guy is no 'McDonalds' aligner(just "get em in the green"),
and accommodates specific customer needs, as long as not
too 'out there'.

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

My request was simple: 0.03° of front toe-in on a 2010 Honda
Accord that specifies 0° front toe, but a range of 0.08° in
or out. Another aligner I have used says he does race setups and can accommodate
custom settings.

So what's up with the first gy?

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On 06/11/2021 03:18 AM, Chris K-Man wrote:

Local Mechanic's Aligner Machine 'Insists'On Spec Settings

After a busy winter and the associated pot holes afterward,
I decided to have my car's alignment checked at a shop I
have used in the past, on my current car and on previous ones.

The guy is no 'McDonalds' aligner(just "get em in the green"),
and accommodates specific customer needs, as long as not
too 'out there'.

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

My request was simple: 0.03° of front toe-in on a 2010 Honda
Accord that specifies 0° front toe, but a range of 0.08° in
or out. Another aligner I have used says he does race setups and can accommodate
custom settings.

So what's up with the first gy?

My guess: he relies on the machine. The second guy knows how to do it
by hand.

A local 'race prep' guy said he could align our 1970 Dodge pickup, which
needed it badly. He didn't do it right and we could see scuffing on the
new tires. He might have even made it worse. I took it to another guy
who did it by hand with hand tools and it was like getting a new
steering system.

He was surprised when I called them 'water pump pliers'. He didn't know anybody else who called Channellocks that. I wish I knew why I learned
that name for them.

It was really hard to find people who would even claim to be able to
align our old truck. Those were the only two within 20 miles.

--
Cheers, Bev
Hmph. I used to have snow tires. Never again. They melted in the
spring. I won't even start going on about my wood stove.
-- websurf1

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Chris K-Man wrote:

Local Mechanic's Aligner Machine 'Insists'On Spec Settings

After a busy winter and the associated pot holes afterward,
I decided to have my car's alignment checked at a shop I
have used in the past, on my current car and on previous ones.

The guy is no 'McDonalds' aligner(just "get em in the green"),
and accommodates specific customer needs, as long as not
too 'out there'.

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

My request was simple: 0.03° of front toe-in on a 2010 Honda
Accord that specifies 0° front toe, but a range of 0.08° in
or out. Another aligner I have used says he does race setups and can accommodate
custom settings.

So what's up with the first gy?

If it's a newer machine, some are really locked in to the settings. It's possible to override it on most of them but if the shop has it locked so
billy bob can't totally screw up by going way out of spec it can be a
real pain to unlock them.


--
Steve W.

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On Friday, June 11, 2021 at 1:34:59 PM UTC-4, Steve W. wrote:

Chris K-Man wrote:

Local Mechanic's Aligner Machine 'Insists'On Spec Settings

After a busy winter and the associated pot holes afterward,
I decided to have my car's alignment checked at a shop I
have used in the past, on my current car and on previous ones.

The guy is no 'McDonalds' aligner(just "get em in the green"),
and accommodates specific customer needs, as long as not
too 'out there'.

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

My request was simple: 0.03° of front toe-in on a 2010 Honda
Accord that specifies 0° front toe, but a range of 0.08° in
or out. Another aligner I have used says he does race setups and can accommodate
custom settings.

So what's up with the first gy?

If it's a newer machine, some are really locked in to the settings. It's possible to override it on most of them but if the shop has it locked so billy bob can't totally screw up by going way out of spec it can be a
real pain to unlock them.

--
Steve W.

________

That's a possibility.

And again the odd thing about it is that guy #1 was
able to dial in the negative thrust angle I requested(my
Accord has a leftward drift, more noticeable on highways)
that cannot be explained by my alignment results, nor by
any bent parts, dragging brakes, unequal tire pressures, etc.

So the negative thrust angle counters that, and I'm not always
having to nudge the steering wheel rightward to stay out of the
lane to my left!

Now all I need is a touch - juat a bit - of front Toe-in, but still within Honda Specs. Alignment guy #2 says "no problem".

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Chris K-Man <thekmanrocks@gmail.com> wrote:

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the=20
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he=20
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next=20
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

He doesn't know how to use his machine.

He needs to go through the procedure that the machine says, but then
after setting the toe with the machine, go back and reset the toe by
hand without telling the machine, then let the machine go through the
rest of the procedure.

It's a pain in the neck but that's how it goes when you're using a
system with a user interface designed for idiots.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 2:25:42 PM UTC-4, Scott Dorsey wrote:

Chris K-Man <thekma...@gmail.com> wrote:

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the=20
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he=20
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next=20
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

He doesn't know how to use his machine.

He needs to go through the procedure that the machine says, but then
after setting the toe with the machine, go back and reset the toe by
hand without telling the machine, then let the machine go through the
rest of the procedure.

It's a pain in the neck but that's how it goes when you're using a
system with a user interface designed for idiots.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

_______

But that same rig allowed him to dial in the thrust
angle I asked him to. So why toe in that I wanted?

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On Saturday, June 12, 2021 at 2:25:42 PM UTC-4, Scott Dorsey wrote:

Chris K-Man <thekma...@gmail.com> wrote:

But two weeks ago was different: While he did maintain the=20
negative thrust angle I asked him to achieve last year, he=20
claims his Hunter rig would 'not let him proceed to the next=20
step of the alignment if he did not get the toe spot on'

He doesn't know how to use his machine.

He needs to go through the procedure that the machine says, but then
after setting the toe with the machine, go back and reset the toe by
hand without telling the machine, then let the machine go through the
rest of the procedure.

It's a pain in the neck but that's how it goes when you're using a
system with a user interface designed for idiots.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

_______

But that same rig allowed him to dial in the thrust angle
I requested. Why not front the toe-in I also asked for?

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