re: alignments and the freinds who love them

[Phil and Judy Rose <pjrose@servtech.com>]

>Just to start a little different thread I thought I might open a discussion
>regarding alignments.  I was experiencing some understeer in the turbo over
>the last month and decided to get it aligned today.  WOW what a difference.
>The car is so much more balanced and has MUCH more overall grip.  I had 1
>degree of negative camber put in and that makes sense why, but what about
>the other settings? I have been on this list almost 4 years and I have yet
>to hear an in depth discussion regarding alignment specs and using them to
>maximize performance/balance.

This question makes me think in terms of its converse: If proper alignment
can result in much more balance and overall grip, then what about the
_dangers_ of improper alignment...?

How potentially dangerous can a quattro's handling become if the alignment
is done to the *wrong* specs? About 18 months ago, after putting new Comp
T/A VR4 tires on the new-to-me '91 200q, I took it in to an "old-time"
alignment specialty shop, which had been recommended by an Audi/VW
(independent) mechanic in the area. The older gentleman who did the work
had seen many, many Audis. He was informed that the car was a '91 200
quattro and he appeared familiar with the "routine". But at the end of the
1-hr job (which I observed),  as I went to pay the bill ($80), I asked if
he had a computer print-out of the alignment specs for me. He said "Darn,
you shoulda' asked a couple of seconds ago, because I just cleared the
computer memory. Sorry, blah, blah..." So I paid and drove off. Some days
later, I glanced at my alignment payment receipt, and I saw the notation, "
'92 Audi".  And I began to wonder...was it aligned to the correct specs?

Before I could get around to going back to ask some questions about the
alignment specs, I had my ill-fated encounter with the wet sand on the
curve over Barto Hill; my car was ditched (and  a total loss). The twitchy
handling that led to the accident was as startling then as it is a mystery
(to me, at least) today. When I posted on the qlist about the car's weird,
unrecoverable oversteering, we got into the dreaded t*rsen bite thread, and
I've never pursued the question of what role improper alignment might have
had in my experience.

Can anyone offer a well-informed opinion as to whether alignment of a '91
200q to the wrong specs (what specs, who knows?   '92 100q? the S4?) is
likely to induce significant (and disasterously negative) alteration in its
handling. I'm sure to be seen as grasping at straws here, but I think it's
an important issue to try to clarify. Alignment is casually regarded by
many as an issue of merely tire-wear and straightahead tracking. That's
obviously wrong, but _how_ wrong is it?

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         *  Phil & Judy Rose           Rochester, NY  *
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