RE: Alignment and Quattro (was Alignment 101)

["TM" <mizutanit@mindspring.com>]

Scott, et al.,
This is funny- I had the exact same experience when bringing in my A4 Avant
to the dealership after installing coilovers, dropping the ride height about
1.75" and 17" wheels. The service desk guy said that it can't be done
because
the car is too low. Yeah right. I caught him talking to a shop foreman about
the job, both talking about ways to discourage me from getting the car
aligned.
I insisted that they do it and do it right. All they talked about was how
the
car is going to have negative camber and won't be to spec. Really? No s**t.

After all of this hassle, I now have a properly aligned car with approx. 1.5
deg. of negative camber in all 4 corners. It turns in like a champ and feels
much more stable after the alignment. Before, it was a bit twitchy.

I guess that's what you have to deal with when you talk to super-anal dealer
mechanics.

Taka Mizutani

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-quattro@audifans.com [mailto:owner-quattro@audifans.com]On
Behalf Of QSHIPQ@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 1999 8:59 AM
To: quattro@audifans.com
Subject: RE: Alignment and Quattro (was Alignment 101)


Phil, one note on home brew alignments.  Remember, an alignment machine (all
of them) are nothing more than optical comparitors, and simplify the work
effort and calculations put thru by using string, tape measures and a flat
surface.  I remember trying to get an alignment at a Firestone Dealer after
putting in a full coil over setup.  The settings were so far out, the Hunter
machine rejected the car, because the toe was so far out of range, the
machine couldn't give a reading.  A 'overly confident' service writer tried
to tell me that the alignment couldn't be done. I volunteered string and a
tape measure, and he faltered and said that "we won't do the alignment sir".
Thanks for wasting 1 hour wait time.  I went to another shop, they laughed
at
the thought, especially when they saw ALL new alignment adj parts on the
car.

Scott Justusson