Clear up alignment question for me

[the_welfare_wagon]

So did my rack and control arms today. My truck is NOT lifted in the front all. I just have larger tires (255/85s)

Brought my truck to Firestone to get an alignment, guy tells me that it won’t be totally in spec cause of the lift. I tell him it has no lift and it’s just bigger tires. He says doesn’t matter and that it will affect the alignment and starts going on about center of gravity and what not.

I told him that I could put 50” tires on that thing right now and it would not change the alignment whatsoever.

I’ve never heard of JUST tires affecting an alignment and I can’t understand how it would as it changes nothing suspension wise

Am I wrong here or is this guy just giving me spiel cause he sees bigger off-road tires and is trying to cover his ass?


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[GhostRing]

I would do a string alignment in your driveway and find another shop to finish the job competently.

 

[Devbot]

Just take it to another shop. They're full of it. Getting a good alignment is about as random as finding a good woman.
I went to two alignments after a lift and got my alignment at almost 4 degrees of caster both times, with print-outs of the specs. Third alignment at a different shop they only set it at 2-something degrees and straight up argued with me anything above 3 degrees is not physically possible... then proceeded to go back out there and set me at 3.5 degrees with like 0.0-0.2 degrees of caster and toe... The number of clueless techs out there is staggering, but that's just par for the course of a dying trade; when experienced and competent work dries up you're only left with a few options, and none of them are good for anyone :shrug: That's how my entire industry currently is
There are tricks you can do to narrow in your alignment at home; like the string method, using a rangefinder between the tires to find toe angle, etc.

 

[the_welfare_wagon]

Just take it to another shop. They're full of it. Getting a good alignment is about as random as finding a good woman.
I went to two alignments after a lift and got my alignment at almost 4 degrees of caster both times, with print-outs of the specs. Third alignment at a different shop they only set it at 2-something degrees and straight up argued with me anything above 3 degrees is not physically possible... then proceeded to go back out there and set me at 3.5 degrees with like 0.0-0.2 degrees of caster and toe... The number of clueless techs out there is staggering, but that's just par for the course of a dying trade; when experienced and competent work dries up you're only left with a few options, and none of them are good for anyone :shrug: That's how my entire industry currently is
There are tricks you can do to narrow in your alignment at home; like the string method, using a rangefinder between the tires to find toe angle, etc.

Guy told me that he would bet his whole life savings that it wouldn’t be in spec. Alignment sheet came back and boom what do you know, totally within spec, told him “guess your broke now”

Crazy how he was so confident with what he was saying made me doubt what I knew to be 100% true

Shit like this is why I hate having anyone other than me touch my car. It’s always the people at the desks that have limited second hand knowledge that flap their gums the most [emoji1751]


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[Rushthezeppelin]

This is one of many reasons I've seriously thought about getting one of those home alignment kits that are a few hundred bucks. Might not be as fine detail as the fancy computers but it will pay for itself rather quickly and you don't have to deal with this crapshot of finding someone who knows what they are doing...

 

[Jakeepoo3]

Guy told me that he would bet his whole life savings that it wouldn’t be in spec. Alignment sheet came back and boom what do you know, totally within spec, told him “guess your broke now”

Crazy how he was so confident with what he was saying made me doubt what I knew to be 100% true

Shit like this is why I hate having anyone other than me touch my car. It’s always the people at the desks that have limited second hand knowledge that flap their gums the most [emoji1751]


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That's right I would never let a mechanic touch my truck. I do my own alignment. All you need is a string, square, level, and flat spot. Check tire pressure before. A lot of alignment or tire shops will do a free alignment check for you. That's the only thing I will let them do to verify I have accurately aligned it myself. Money

 

[Devbot]

This is one of many reasons I've seriously thought about getting one of those home alignment kits that are a few hundred bucks. Might not be as fine detail as the fancy computers but it will pay for itself rather quickly and you don't have to deal with this crapshot of finding someone who knows what they are doing...

I say give it a whirl. Worst case scenario it doesn't work out and you sell it on facebook marketplace

 

[mtbtim]

You just need to find a better alignment shop. That guy is full of shit by saying the size of the tires will affect the alignment. I take my rigs to a Firestone in my area, but there's a guy that's been working there for over 10 years that's very good and he does all my alignments. It's luck of the draw with Firestone shops. I think they probably usually have a high turnover rate and nobody that's any good stays for very long. There's got to be a good alignment shop around you, even if it means driving to a nearby town.

If a good tech is having a hard time bringing your alignment within spec, there's a good chance one or more of your cam adjusters is frozen inside the bushing sleeve. It's very common, especially for those that live in the rust belts of the country.

I'm all about DIY Auto Mechanics, but doing my own alignment is not something I'm going to do. You're going to get a better result from an alignment tech using their fancy and very expensive alignment rack and machine.

 

[the_welfare_wagon]

You just need to find a better alignment shop. That guy is full of shit by saying the size of the tires will affect the alignment. I take my rigs to a Firestone in my area, but there's a guy that's been working there for over 10 years that's very good and he does all my alignments. It's luck of the draw with Firestone shops. I think they probably usually have a high turnover rate and nobody that's any good stays for very long. There's got to be a good alignment shop around you, even if it means driving to a nearby town.

If a good tech is having a hard time bringing your alignment within spec, there's a good chance one or more of your cam adjusters is frozen inside the bushing sleeve. It's very common, especially for those that live in the rust belts of the country.

I'm all about DIY Auto Mechanics, but doing my own alignment is not something I'm going to do. You're going to get a better result from an alignment tech using their fancy and very expensive alignment rack and machine.

Absolutely agree with you. No way I or anyone can judge .05 degrees of toe as accurately as a machine.

The guy I was referring to who said all that was a desk guy. The alignment tech was a different guy which is why I let him do it and he only took about 15 mins to get it all in spec so he knew what he was doing.

Btw your videos on doing the rack and control arms helped a lot. If I lived in Cali I’d definitely buy you a 6 pack for all the times your videos helped [emoji482]


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[Jakeepoo3]

Absolutely agree with you. No way I or anyone can judge .05 degrees of toe as accurately as a machine.

The guy I was referring to who said all that was a desk guy. The alignment tech was a different guy which is why I let him do it and he only took about 15 mins to get it all in spec so he knew what he was doing.

Btw your videos on doing the rack and control arms helped a lot. If I lived in Cali I’d definitely buy you a 6 pack for all the times your videos helped [emoji482]


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Now that you're well educated on the subject you can go into the alignment shop knowing what is going on. Don't go to a shop that won't let you in the back to observe.

 

[the_welfare_wagon]

Now that you're well educated on the subject you can go into the alignment shop knowing what is going on. Don't go to a shop that won't let you in the back to observe.

Oh absolutely. I usually do my own alignments on my buddy’s machine so I know exactly how they work but he wasn’t available that weekend so I went to Firestone. I usually do all my work myself. I don’t trust anyone to touch my car other than me or if my father offers to help


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[mtbtim]

Absolutely agree with you. No way I or anyone can judge .05 degrees of toe as accurately as a machine.

The guy I was referring to who said all that was a desk guy. The alignment tech was a different guy which is why I let him do it and he only took about 15 mins to get it all in spec so he knew what he was doing.

Btw your videos on doing the rack and control arms helped a lot. If I lived in Cali I’d definitely buy you a 6 pack for all the times your videos helped [emoji482]


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[shadow247]

So did my rack and control arms today. My truck is NOT lifted in the front all. I just have larger tires (255/85s)

Brought my truck to Firestone to get an alignment, guy tells me that it won’t be totally in spec cause of the lift. I tell him it has no lift and it’s just bigger tires. He says doesn’t matter and that it will affect the alignment and starts going on about center of gravity and what not.

I told him that I could put 50” tires on that thing right now and it would not change the alignment whatsoever.

I’ve never heard of JUST tires affecting an alignment and I can’t understand how it would as it changes nothing suspension wise

Am I wrong here or is this guy just giving me spiel cause he sees bigger off-road tires and is trying to cover his ass?


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Firestone Sucks. They have their heads so far up their own rears, they can see their own tonsils...

I would seek out a Toyota Specific shop in your area. I would never let Firestone touch my vehicle after hearing those ridiculous statement.