Thanks for all the recommendations but in the end I used none of them. Well that's not strictly true, I did look into all of them and here's what I found.
Searching for the right placeFirstly I tried Jimbos recommendation of Absolute Alignment. Their web site looked fantastic and appeared to have all the equipment. This is because they are the main supplier of all alignment equipment to garages around the country.
However calling them was good as they were able to give me the low down on the following company’s that you guys told me about.
He told me that although Pro Tyres have good equipment but their fitters can be hit or miss. Not the kind of recommendation I was looking for and certainly not worth the risk of handing my hard earned over to.
Micheldever Tyres weren't very helpful and when I was asking if they could do the work the guy on the phone didn't sound like he was 100% sure what he was talking about.
I might have given them a go if the guy had passed me onto someone who did sound like they knew what needed to be done but he didn't so I moved on.
Wal_S, thanks for the recommendation but I'd already had the work done by the time you posted.
The recommendationAbsolute Alignment did recommend a fitter in Worthing, Dean and the company he worked at was
Discount Tyre Direct. When I called I asked to speak to Dean who was happy to answer all my questions and give me more info than I knew what to do with,
this filled me with loads of confidence so I got myself booked in the next day.
The jobThe job was a new set of Toyos on the front (I supplied), camber set to -1° and the tracking.
First let me say that I can't recommend the tyre fitting. After the job had been finished I checked my wheels to find they had scuffed one of my wheels
(not too bad, it looks more like they pinched the paint and I'm hoping I might be able to rub it down and touch up the lacquer). I pointed it out to them but after speaking to the tyre fitter it was going to be his word against mine.
They recommended that next time I get my tyres fitted I point out the condition of my wheels and maybe take photos.
So the car gets handed over to Dean. Firstly he takes the coupé down the road and back again (I assume this is to settle the tyres on the rims?). He put's it on the lift and complements the coupé interior (this is a man with a Cerbera).
After hanging his gear on my wheels and showing me what I'm currently running (-1.26°L & _1.35°R) he confirms that I want -1°. After a lot of fine tuning he gets it to the target and works on the toe sticking that dead centre.
Chatting to Dean after the job I ask him how often I need to check the tracking and camber (as the questions been brought up here before). He said that the tracking should be checked every 6 months or at least each time the tyres are changed (this is normally free to check) but said the camber shouldn't need checking. However he did say that he would check everyone of his customers cars if asked and probably (if already aligned there) tweak it for free if required.
The total for these jobs came to £119. A little more than I was expecting but I'm confident that I'm now getting the best out of my current suspension set up.
Regarding the wheel damage...
I wouldn't let this put me off going there again,
knuckle dragging tyre fitters are everywhere, I'll just point out the condition of my wheels next time. Lesson learnt!
Sorry for the length but I'm at work and have nothing better to do today.
