BuyPirelli Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Hi all, (I appreciate there is a similar thread which is stickied at the top of this forum but I wanted to raise this issue separately.) I had the subframe off my Mondeo ST220 but I aligned it the best I could using white marker pen for when I put it back, as expected though it wasn't perfect and so my steering wheel had to be slightly to the left in order to drive straight ahead. I then had the car aligned at my regular place (Hunter DSP 600 4) as I've never had any real issues with them before. Unfortunately my steering wheel is now significantly over to the right, and is worse than when it went in. So, a few questions... 1. Is this is just shoddy workmanship? I'm guessing despite the Hunter saying all ok, the steering wheel wasn't straight when the alignment was made. 2. Tony, if you have a Hunter machine, can you see if there is a difference in alignment specification between the regular Mk3 Mondeo and the ST220? Previously my car was aligned under '3.0 Sedan', but this time it’s just down as a 07 Mondeo. Looking through my records the 3.0 has more negative camber on the front. Lastly, do you have any ammunition for me to use against the garage? To be honest there customer service and alignment knowledge isn't great, I’m booked in for them to check it but I have a feeling they’ll try and blame it on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 If the steering position is off then there's no blame on you so let's be sure about that your not on the defence. The visible geo report looks fine but it has insufficient information to conclude your complaint. Lets assume the steering angle censor is not mislead and correctly calibrated? Lets also assume your complaint only appeared after the subframe removal. Ok i need the set-back positions and by triangulation the wheel-base measurement. The Hunter offers several trains of information, those you see are the easiest to read and understand albeit the technician or customer, more complicated information tends to be ignored, but i need it. I recommend this... 1: Go back confidently since you have a real complaint. In the event they start talking bollocks call me> 07984427383 and i will correct their error. 2: Insist the set-back/ wheel-base is included in the measurements, this evolves by a simple icon click on the machine so hardly end of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyPirelli Posted March 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Hi Tony, Thanks for the response. Steering angle sensor: Is this on the hunter? Are we assuming its correctly calibrated? Yes this only occured after I had disturbed the subframe, but it was only out by a margin (as the Hunter correctly picked out, as seen in the first picture). I'll ask for the set-back positions and wheel-base measurement by triangulation. Though I have to ask, what are they? Thanks kindly for your offer of support. I'll be returning 9am on Saturday, so if I do need your help expect a call around about then. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyPirelli Posted March 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Morning all, I took the car back today and as you can see from the photo below the alignment was out, with the steering to the right. It was like this immediately since driving out of the garage when it was done original. I'm happy to report now that the steering is now perfect, I love it! So two questions.... 1. I'm going to swap back to my summer tyres today, will this affect my alignment? 2. How could my alignment have been so wrong in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Replacing/ moving tyres will not affect the alignment since this is done at the chassis, in truth we don't even need the wheel on the car during the calibration. The positions changed because by design the manufacturer know they would? It's for this reason adjusters were installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyPirelli Posted March 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Hi Tony, Don't tyres have a memory though, in terms of how they wear? Could a tyre not have sufficient run out in order to require the driver to input steering angle in order to drive straight? My last point, I meant how could the Hunter say the cars alignment was correct when it wasn't? Operator error? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Hi Tony,Don't tyres have a memory though, in terms of how they wear? Could a tyre not have sufficient run out in order to require the driver to input steering angle in order to drive straight? My last point, I meant how could the Hunter say the cars alignment was correct when it wasn't? Operator error? Good point Tyres do have a contact memory, so your summer tyres should go back to their initial positions. It was operator error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyPirelli Posted March 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Great thanks for the support Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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