Car too low to get an alignment? What shops do low car alignments?

[GinNBoost]

I'm havign the hardest time trying to get an alignment for my car. I've been to two Goodyears, Sears and a couple of other neighborhood shops and where ever I go I get the "your car is too low, it won't clear the jack" bid. How the hell am I supposed to get an alignment? My car isn't even that low to begin with and it's really frustrating because my tires are getting worn from this. 2gBs are way low to begin with stock, and we all lower our cars so I know I'm not the only one whose encountered this problem. But please help me, what am I supposed to do?

 

[goalieman24]

how much is it lowered?? Mine got dropped 1.75" and BARELY made it up Sears ramps

 

[Spidey]

Try an independant shop, none of the chains would touch my car either, and even the independant shop would give "no warranty because my car is a lowrider."

 

[GinNBoost]

All I have are Eibach Prokits, so that would be what? 1.5 inch drop? I even recall one STS place telling me that they couldnt do my alignment because I had "pipes hanging down."

 

[turboawd95]

STS in metuchen advised me to take off the front bumper. take off most the bumper @ home and bring it back. should go up their ramps easy.

 

[jtmcinder]

It's not just a question of getting up the ramps. The two most popular systems - Beam and Hunter - both use arm-mounted lasers on the front heads. A car that is 1.5" down isn't a problem, but a car on Sportlines, for example, often needs to have the front fascia removed.

- Jtoby

 

[95gster]

STS in metuchen advised me to take off the front bumper. take off most the bumper @ home and bring it back. should go up their ramps easy.

yea thats what I did just take off your bumper and you should be set.......

 

[kevingst]

Nope, even with just prokits the hunter racks can't check for caster. They can do everything else (with a little coaxing- we even had to use a tape measure for a couple things) but they can't check for caster....which really only confuses the computer and makes it not wanna cooperate with some of the other stuff. But the new Hunter racks use a bunch of mirrors mounted all over the place so it eliminates all of the clearance problems. Oh, and for getting on the rack... just get used to carrying some 2"x8" boards with ya when you go to get an alignment done.

 

[igs]

Install AIR JACKS.

 

[Toshiro]

The place I went said in their ad, "We do lowered cars." The first place I went, my car couldn't make it on the ramp, then I called a ton of other places and they said they don't align lowered cars.

 

[Smoothie97]

Yeah I hate my lowered car. It impedes the places I could go shop, eat, play. And there wasn't one single shop besides a performance shop that could accomodate the lowness of my car. Lowered car is just not practical for daily driving. I got so frustrated that I am having my shop raise me back up. After my initial alignment after the spring install, I just barely crawled my way up onto the super steep ramps of the alignment machine and barely came down without bending up my Apex. Good luck finding that alignment shop!

 

[BLUDVL6]

I had my car lowered on ratty ass coilovers for a while and I managed to get it aligned at Tire kingdom. The people there were total goons, but a buddy told me to ask if they had a 'flat rack' and sure enough they directed me to another store of theirs about an hour across town. If you can't find a place like that, just keep calling private shops. you'll eventually find someone.

 

[Smoothie97]

I just got back from Firestone. There alignment machine is pretty sweet. It's super flat and any lowered car should be able to get on it. I did a lifetime (unlimited alignments for the life of the car) for $140. Good deal. From going lowered to now back to stock height, my toe was off by 4 deg!!

 

[cuttheduck]

I just got back from Firestone. There alignment machine is pretty sweet. It's super flat and any lowered car should be able to get on it. I did a lifetime (unlimited alignments for the life of the car) for $140. Good deal. From going lowered to now back to stock height, my toe was off by 4 deg!!

help me out then,, CAN you get your REAR alignment into spec in regards to toe??
I know the AWD guys can but according to chiltons the FWD guys cant change toe. Sounds like you had no problem, so is your rear in spec? Thanks!

 

[Prodigy]

0k you can try to take off the bumper or you can find a hand alignment shop...The main one in cali is Baer...Not the rotor company

 

[Smoothie97]

I went from lowered on Tokico springs to raised to stock springs. The Firestone guy did fix my front toe (off by 2.16" and 2.11) and my rear toe (off by 0.37" and 0.62"). Firestone gives you a nice print out with tons of information including Before, After, and the Range required to be in spec.

The lifetime warranty is nation-wide too and applies to the car. Therefore, you can switch tires/wheels unlimited times and keep getting an alignment. They do not write down the type or wheel nor tire in the work order.

Also, Firestone lets you call in ahead of time to make an appointment. I had an hour wait (didn't make appointment) and they took an hour to fix get my car back to spec.

 

[jtmcinder]

The Firestone guy did fix my front toe (off by 2.16" and 2.11)....

I'm trying to picture what a car with more than 4" of total front toe would actually look like. Thanks for the giggle.

- Jtoby

 

[Smoothie97]

It was the scariest feeling in my life. I had to drive about 1 mile just on a 30 mph road (but everyone goes like 45). Going straight was no problem. But if I were to hit uneven pavement, a bump, or a pothole. The entire car would immediately turn right or left (as if I had spun the steering wheel two revolutions). Going straight...if I turned the steering wheel over 1/4 revolution, the car would immediately "become posssessed" and turn automatically all the way.

I even turned down the boost control to the lowest setting possible because I was paranoid. I've never gripped my steering wheel so tight nor drive so slow (~25 mph with emergency lights on) ever in my life.

Oh and back to the Firestone alignment machine, I recall the two ramps to be about three feet long and at an incline of about 20 degrees. That's nothing. I've battled many a shopping mall entrances/exits far greater than that in my days. I've tackled these massive 50 degree inclines going at a very short angles all the time. Now that I'm back to stock, I still drive like I'm lowered...habit...

On a tangent, don't you hate this? I'm trying to enter the entrance lot at my short angle (taking up ALL the entranceway) and of course stupid SUV just HAS to pull up to try to exit. I HATE it when another car is trying to exit and I'm coming in!!! They taking up valuable entering space. If there is nobody behind me while entering an entrance, I just let the exiter leave first and proceed to take up every square inch of that entrance ha ha.

 

[99redgst]

The hunter 611 machine is the one that uses reflective pads that mount on the wheels, it can do any car no matter how low. As far as getting the car on the rack, I have Tokico 5way shocks with H&R race spings(2" drop) and I could get on the rack at the Just Tires I worked at. The rack was not very low either, just take it nice and slow. Unless you were stupid enough to put a body kit on :thumbdown then you will probably have to take the bumper off(I would suggest putting the stock one back on).

 

[NDgsx]

Yeah look for a shop with a new hunter optical rack, their sensors don't use a laser beam across the car, so they can do ANY car.
Are there no serious motorsport shops in other parts of the country? I have 4 different shops that will do any alignment I specify and can do any car no matter the ride height.

 

[mitsuclipsegsx]

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/...=premium&perfcat=perf&perfcat=track&x=89&y=14

i am getting the one that lowers it 1.7 in front and back, will i have probems getting it up on a lift?

 

[wret]

My mechanic specializes in building and prepping race cars. I had an alignment today and I asked him if he had any trouble with lowered cars. He cocked his head sideways and said no. He said they use longer ramps, sometimes suplimented with 2x4's, and sometimes has to take the stops of his rack. Where there's a will there's a way, I guess.

 

[rjdavis21]

go somewher with what they call a "pit" where u just drive over a hole and they can do the alignment...i went to a small place around here with one and they had no problem do it. just cost 137.00 to fix the extremely crooked wheels haha