DIY Laser Wheel Alignment...

I see that Gunson have recently introduced a DIY laser wheel alignment tool, extending their existing range of wheel alignment tools for the DIY motor mechanic. They have even created a video to show prospective purchasers how to use their range of wheel alignment tools. It all looks so easy...



The laser wheel alignment gadget looks fabulous in the sterile conditions shown in the video, I would love one. Those wheel plates look essential too. I would have to order some of those at the same time.

Now that's not so much because of the savings on future garage bills, it would actually take me quite a long time to recover the cost of those two gadgets. I'd like to have them because if I'd done the job myself I would know that it had been done correctly. You see I have yet to take a car to a garage (or any fast-fit tyre shop) and feel confident that the wheel alignment job has been done properly. The steering wheel subsequently being in an off-centre position when travelling straight ahead is usually a good clue that it hasn't. So too is getting more steering lock in one direction than the other. The motor trade clearly has the advantage over the customer. It is not really possible for us to oversee what they are doing, certainly not in sufficient detail, so we have to trust them. If they say they've done it right we've usually got to take their word for it. 10,000 miles later, when your expensive tyres have scrubbed out prematurely again, it is far too late to complain. Even if you did, you won't get anywhere, because all they'll say is that the car has subsequently been kerbed...

So if some decent DIY equipment is now available, I would prefer to take the measurements myself. I wouldn't be under pressure of time, as happens in the garage environment. It would be OK for me to mess around all day on Sunday if necessary, checking, adjusting, re-adjusting and double-checking until thoroughly satisfied. Until I know that the wheel alignment is spot-on.

But there is a problem.

The only flat level surface I've got to work on is inside my garage.

And because it is a single garage, it is not wide enough to allow the laser-tracking equipment to be set up correctly.

Gunson have come up with a good product here, well designed and simple to use, but for many DIY'ers, forced to work on their cars in the real world rather than in a workshop or double garage, it will be thoroughly impractical.

And I really don't think I'd be too popular trying to set the wheel alignment on the Worzel-mobile in Sainsbury's car-park on a Sunday morning.

Ah well, its back to the local garage I suppose...

Update 21/3/12: Well I had the tracking checked at a GOOD local garage. Initially I was satisfied as I was able to look under the car and see the readings myself. All looked fine, set to 2mm toe-out. The mechanic seemed to know what he was doing. No problem I thought.

On driving I found that the error in the steering wheel was slightly worse than before, which was disappointing. Having looked at the system the garage was using, I suspect the steering wheel wasn't locked in the central position when the adjustment was made. A simple but basic mistake.

Worse, on double-checking my Haynes manual and the interweb I found that the tracking on my Xsara should actually have been set to 1.5mm toe-in (+/- 1mm).

I put it right myself in the end. I'd noted that one turn of the track rod equated to a 1.5mm adjustment, so I lengthened them by a combined total of 1.5 turns, adjusting one side more than the other to straighten the steering wheel. In theory I now have 0.25mm of Toe-in.

The steering wheel is perfectly straight now and best of all, the steering is much lighter than it was. That's a really good sign that the tracking is correct and I have found the sweet spot where there's little or no tyre scrub.

Getting the tracking professionally adjusted helped because I now knew what the mechanic had set it to, I had seen the measurements and had a known starting point, but I still had to fine-tune the adjustment myself.

Why can't garages get this right, reliably so, every time, without fail...?