Wheel Alignment.

You don't know me.
Your initial questions gave you away.

The worst alignment I ever had was with a BMW 7 Series with full laser equipment, weights to simulate passengers and full tank.
Afterwards the car was all over the place.
One bad doesn't mean all bad. Stealerships are supposed to steal, but sometimes you get lucky. Nothing to stop you going to a small laser shop that's down the road. They might not be perfect, nor add simulation weights, nor care about your tank, but passable.
 
Save time and learn something else. This one is a cul-de-sac. But play with it if you want to. The reason laser is used indicates how much precision is needed.
 
I use one of these, and have been very pleased with it:


It paid for itself in the first year I had it.

However, it does have a number of limitations. It can only measure total toe, so it's fine for front wheels, but can't really be used for rear wheels. It's also quite labour-intensive to set up each time. Typically, I will check, make an adjustment, driver the car round the block, coming to a gentle stop rolling forward and with minimal braking, and then set up again and re-measure. I might have to do that 2 or three times before I get it right, so it takes a good while. Also, make sure it is set up with the laser on the side of the car that is specified in the instructions. If you put it on the other side, it works, but you need to reverse the scales (i.e. toe-in becomes toe-out and vice versa)! Obviously, level ground is important too.
In general, I don't trust run-of-the-mill laser alignment places. Some will be fine, but others, not so much. Places that set up racing cars are more expensive, but generally know how to use the equipment a bit better.
 
How much does the flat ground cost? It grows on trees? However bad the shop, their "ground" is flat.

Mine came free with my house...

In fact, I was lucky enough to find some in my garage too, when I looked!

Funny enough, I did once visit a vehicle converter who complained that the camber was out on pretty much every new Toyota he received from the factory. Thinking this a bit odd, I asked him whether they were always out by the same amount and on the same side. He said they were. He then proceeded to show me his latest, all-singing-all-dancing laser alignment kit on his ramp.

The ramp was (as near as I could tell with a straight edge and a hand-held inclinometer), about half a degree out, side-to side! :rolleyes:

For tracking, however, the ground doesn't have to be super-flat or level. Sure, I wouldn't try it in a cobbled yard, but for tracking, pretty much anything that *looks* flat and level, will be good enough.
 
Ride height at each corner modifies the toe. I reckon your car needs a shop alignment.
LOL! Have you looked at how much the toe changes with ride height?! Unless your front suspension was designed with horrendous bump-steer characteristics, you'll be fine - even an inch either side won't make any appreciable difference.
 
Well, I am not so sure about that.


Can we trust all professionals to do it correctly?
I do not wish to besmirch any professionals on here who might be excellent - but I have been around a long time.
DIY alignment is not only possible but preferable in my opinion (tyre places often only adjust one side). To re-centre my steering wheel, if it's never been removed, both wheels should be "steered" in the same direction that the steering wheel is biased towards. What I mean by this is if the wheel is canted slightly right and the rack is in front of the axle, I would lengthen the right trackrod and shorten the left. This sounds at odds but by doing so, the steering wheel effectively needs to be moved to the left to offset the change.
I've also used a drive-over tracking device for years, the sort with little rollers and a pointer, I have a laser one too but in all honesty, the drive over one is actually much better/quicker and more accurate.
 
even an inch either side won't make any appreciable difference.
Go to the shop. Come back with the report. Then, I will believe you. All cars comes with terrible bump steer, and god-like bump-steer in a single package. All it takes is a good alignment. A passable alignment is also acceptable to keep it cheap.
 
DIY alignment is not only possible but preferable in my opinion (tyre places often only adjust one side). To re-centre my steering wheel, if it's never been removed, both wheels should be "steered" in the same direction that the steering wheel is biased towards. What I mean by this is if the wheel is canted slightly right and the rack is in front of the axle, I would lengthen the right trackrod and shorten the left. This sounds at odds but by doing so, the steering wheel effectively needs to be moved to the left to offset the change.
I've also used a drive-over tracking device for years, the sort with little rollers and a pointer, I have a laser one too but in all honesty, the drive over one is actually much better/quicker and more accurate.
I agree with the other stuff (although not many cars have the rack ahead of the axle these days), but I find the drive-over ones aren't very repeatable - especially when you get sportier setups with wide tyres and a fair bit of negative camber.
 
Go to the shop. Come back with the report. Then, I will believe you. All cars comes with terrible bump steer, and god-like bump-steer in a single package. All it takes is a good alignment. A passable alignment is also acceptable to keep it cheap.

Humour me... What do you understand the term "bump-steer" to actually mean?
 
Bump steer would be bump doing the steering. What do you see it as the meaning?

Bump steer is when the toe changes as a result of vertical wheel movement. It's a function of the suspension and steering geometry, so a car can't have "terrible bump steer, and god-like bump-steer in a single package". That's just rubbish, I'm afraid. A car (unless you crash it, of course) will have the same bump-steer characteristics as when it left the factory, for the whole of its life.

On front suspension, it is typically caused by the track rod end tracing a different path to the axle centre, as the suspension moves up and down. So, in a double-wishbone setup, for example, the centre of the stub axle will describe an arc between full rebound and full bump. If the steering rack has been correctly designed and positioned, the track rod will describe the same arc, as closely as possible. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to get zero bump-steer, because the track rod describes part of a circle as it moves (the centre being at the centre of the inner balljoint, and the circumference being traced by the centre of the track rod end). But the wishbones, being of unequal length, won't describe a circle. The trick, therefore, is to try and get the best possible match between the two arcs, between mid-laden and full bump. It matters less as you get further into rebound, because the tyre isn't contributing much grip in that condition.

Other suspension arrangements will have their own bump-steer characteristics. So, for example, a live axle on leaf springs, will steer very slightly, as the spring lengthens and shortens between full rebound, mid-laden and full bump. Semi-trailing arms will bump-steer, by their nature - and at the rear of the car, the manufacturer might make it deliberately so, in order to get the handling characteristics he's looking for.
The point, however, is that these are all inherent in the design of the car. There's nothing you can do with initial toe settings that will make any appreciable difference to the bump-steer characteristics. Moving the steering rack up and down slightly, is about the only practicable thing you can do. Some mounting arrangements lend themselves to that, better than others. I've never come across a car that has had bump-steer so bad, that an inch of suspension travel either side of mid-laden, has made a noticeable difference to how the car feels.
 
It's a function of the suspension and steering geometry

A car (unless you crash it, of course) will have the same bump-steer characteristics as when it left the factory, for the whole of its life.

You have dug your own hole. Now, how do you climb out of it? The geometry changes from wear and tear. It changes from variations in replacement parts. It changes when people play thread counts on the tie rods. It changes from your gradually getting fat from talking on the internet too much.
 
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