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Alignment shops

GolfRRRR1

Go Kart Champion
Location
Michigan
Where do you all go when you get your alignment done? Firestone? If so do you get the lifetime alignment pkg?
Go to a local shop?
Just say f'it?
I just did some suspension work and will need an alignment. My hesitation is I mostly go to a ma & pop place and they don't have the best equipment
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
You sure don't want to say F it if you don't want to buy new tires regularly.
 

MrFancypants

Autocross Champion
Location
Ho,e
Car(s)
GTI
I got a crappy toe and go for $200 at a VW dealership; would not recommend. My base expectation was that they set the toe and equalized the camber at the rear, like the level of quality that should come with a $200 price.
 

Visceral

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Northbrook, IL
Agree with the above comment about finding a race shop. I'm lucky in that I have access to one that is a stone throw away and couldn't be happier with the results and even discussions they have with me about how the car is sitting and if anything is worth tinkering with. They charge me $100 (Northbrook, IL for reference) and its money well spent.
 

bfury5

Autocross Champion
Location
CT
I happened to stumble across a local "quick change oil" shop, that also does brake work and alignments. The shop was pretty new and I saw they had a brand new Hunter alignment rack, so I stopped in and talked to the tech who was knowledgeable (and happens to race his CTS-V). Long story short I've been back there for 5 alignments in the last 3 months (updating alignment settings), so don't discount those places until you take a closer look.

Drive around some local shops and talk to them, if you know what sort of alignment you want that definitely helps.
 

gti330ex

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Chicagoland
Agree with the above comment about finding a race shop. I'm lucky in that I have access to one that is a stone throw away and couldn't be happier with the results and even discussions they have with me about how the car is sitting and if anything is worth tinkering with. They charge me $100 (Northbrook, IL for reference) and its money well spent.

That's good to hear. What shop is this? I'm seeing Thalmann Alignment in the area having some good reviews on google. I'll need to find one soon. I went to Cassidy and they said they wouldn't touch the subframe for front camber.

Jay - anyone you recommend in the area?

There was a performance shop (forgot the name) that someone on mk6 recommended yrs ago near Northbrook, when i inquired on availability they were booked for 3 months out.
 

jay745

What Would Glenn Danzig Do
Location
Slightly Outside Chicago
Car(s)
Mk6 racecar, Tacoma
That's good to hear. What shop is this? I'm seeing Thalmann Alignment in the area having some good reviews on google. I'll need to find one soon. I went to Cassidy and they said they wouldn't touch the subframe for front camber.

Jay - anyone you recommend in the area?

There was a performance shop (forgot the name) that someone on mk6 recommended yrs ago near Northbrook, when i inquired on availability they were booked for 3 months out.
Thalmans is great if you can get in, when I tried having them do mine they said they were booked weeks in advance. Granted that was last year before the virus. I had a shop called Race Consulting Agency do the alignment and corner balance, they were in Elk Grove but I think moved up north closer to wisconsin somewhere.
 

pseudorealityx

Go Kart Champion
Location
Decatur, GA
Car(s)
2017 GTI SE
A good alignment shop is totally worth it's weight in gold. I just got home about an hour ago from having an alignment, where I was sitting in the car to account for the weight, and we talked about various options.
 

KevinC

Autocross Champion
Location
The land of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday
Car(s)
'19 Golf R, '21 M2c
My hesitation is I mostly go to a ma & pop place and they don't have the best equipment

The best 2-3 guys I've ever used were old school with "outdated" equipment. The key is who is using it - do they know how to use it, and do they give a rat's ass when performing the alignment and take the time to do it right.

I had a Scirocco 16V for a decade. At one point it was badly out of alignment and I took it to a local tire shop to be re-aligned. The guy actually took it for a test drive afterwards, which I thought was odd. He comes back 3 minutes later and puts it right back up on the rack. Uh oh. They give it back to me saying it still pulls, the steering wheel is still off-center, but it's the best we can do - something ain't right. So I get a recommendation for a local frame & alignment shop with a crusty old-school dude who also had a lot of experience with lowered/performance suspensions. I get the thing back, steering wheel dead-nuts on center, zero pull, perfect alignment. No mention of anything being wrong mechanically. Cost less than the tire shop.

Moral of the story - find a shop with excellent references/reviews. And don't worry if it's some old codger with ancient equipment - might actually be a good sign.
 

GolfRRRR1

Go Kart Champion
Location
Michigan
Thanks everyone, I went with a regional brand store and actually the alignment guy did very well. I was worried about my car not being respected, etc and they took great care of me, will definitely go back.
 

Visceral

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Northbrook, IL
That's good to hear. What shop is this? I'm seeing Thalmann Alignment in the area having some good reviews on google. I'll need to find one soon. I went to Cassidy and they said they wouldn't touch the subframe for front camber.

Jay - anyone you recommend in the area?

There was a performance shop (forgot the name) that someone on mk6 recommended yrs ago near Northbrook, when i inquired on availability they were booked for 3 months out.
Yep, Thalmanns... shop is hard to find but basically behind the Jeep dealership, turn in right right before the viaduct. Call first, they tend to be booked up a couple days in advance.
 

GolfRRRR1

Go Kart Champion
Location
Michigan
Here are my results:
F45D00C9-AD0A-4879-AD3C-5A0ECEBFAD4E_1_201_a.jpeg
 

odessa.filez

Autocross Newbie
Location
Roswell, GA
Car(s)
2016 GSW 1.8tsi auto
I set my front toe myself with longacre toe plates. A hiper wheel and tire shop in Tampa sets the rear according to my spec of -2 camber, 0 toe.
 
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