Camber set up, Portsmouth recommendations.

Hi guys.

I need to get the camber adjusted on my coupé. I've got the Eibach bolts fitted but want to find a good local shop to get all the geometry, camber and toe (things I know nothing about) set up.

Any recommendation in the Portsmouth are would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Chris.

Absolute Alignment
106, Beta Rd, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 8PQ

Tel: 07764 939313

From Yell.com

I was recommended Protyre in Fareham. Never used them myself (decided against the camber bolts) but they came highly recommended from some of the local chaps on Migweb.

Micheldever tyres.

Dave at Tyre Stocks in Gosport, he used to be boss of Protyre and has done tyres for 25 plus years really knows his stuff. It is an old school place without a shiny waiting room but is worth the trawl down the A32.
My Coupe (and wifes car) wouldn't go anywhere else.

Protyre in Fareham can be hit and miss depending on who does it, have had my alignment messed up by them in the past

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 place

Firstly 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 recommendation

Absolute 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 job

The 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.

Brilliant helpful write up 007.

Got to do some searching of my own now to get my camber bolts fitted and set up correctly.

By the way have you had a good drive yet to feel the benefits, and if yes, is it noticeably better?

Thanks Technics.

I have, it's unbelievably better and makes up for the uncomfortable Eibach ride. The only reason I didn't say so in my post was because my old tyres were well beyond shagged and have needed changing since I got the suspension mods fitted (there are reasons why I left it late but that's another story). So I can't really make a comparison on -1.3° to -1°, however I can say that all the work combined is much sharper than standard. But we all knew that anyway.

FYI from my alignment sheet

Specified range for the 20vt coupé are...

Camber -1°10' to -0°10' front
Camber -1°30' to -0°30' rear

Toe 0°04' to 0°13' front
Toe -0°06' to 0°11' rear


#This is different to what we have listed in the useful 20vt info in the FAQ forum.

Good news

Told you the hub wasn't bent! Bubble camber gauges are great if the car is dead level but you simply can't beat the correct gear for setting it all up.