Re: Alignment

[OorQue@aol.com]

>  No, the specification is 'unladen'.  Everything except the spare wheel
>  is removed and the tank is 1/4 full, as specified.

I'm aware of the specifications.  I also know that a car aligned in the 
manner that Audi describes will *not* be properly aligned even if it meets 
Audi's specs with zero tolerance.  The next time your car is on the rack, 
watch what happens to the camber and toe for each wheel when somebody gets in 
the car.  With Audi's method, a 110-pound driver gets one alignment and a 
240-pound driver gets another ... honestly, does this make any sense? 
 
>  I didn't write the specification that calls for rear toe of minus
>  five minutes of arc plus or minus five minutes of arc - Audi did.
>  If you can't achieve that tolerance, your car is out of specification
>  and I'm not surprised at anything it does close to the limit.

And I say that if you had your car aligned using Audi's method (not 
necessarily its alignment specs) then *yours* is out of tolerance, if not on 
the alignment rack then on the road.  I have my Ur-Q setup so it has 1.9 
degrees of negative camber at each front wheel with me in the driver's seat; 
unladen, the camber reads 2.2 degrees on one side and 2.0 degrees on the 
other.  The same situation occurs with the toe settings, too.  

>  Well, you shouldn't have done _that_, either.  The book clearly calls
>  for a minimum of 1000kms for the new struts to settle before alignment
>  is attempted.

Personally, I can't imagine doing any major suspension work without 
re-aligning the car immediately afterwards.  I'll check it again after a few 
weeks and adjust it as necessary.  And, of course, since I do it at home 
myself, it's not a big deal to do so.      
 
>  It's not a question of "finding a shop that will put the time in".
>  Audi's specifications are just that, and are not negotiable.  If the
>  shop can't achieve them, go somewhere else.

Well, good luck ... even the Audi dealer in town will spend only enough time 
working on cars to get them within tolerances and not necessarily bang-on on 
spec.  If you want it aligned to any tighter tolerances than that, then 
you'll need to take it to a speciality racecar shop and guess how they're 
going to do it?  :^)

JG