4 Wheel Alignment- scam or necessary?

[Mustang5L5]

Doesn't the 4-wheel align the front wheels in relation to the rear thrust wheels?? That way you can see if everything is all in spec??


If you align your front wheels and your rear is off slightly, it won't drive right i would think. ??

 

[03ghoststang]

an alignment angle you can check for the rear wheels is the thrust (no adjusment can be made for solid axle) .....if its out of spec your vehicle will dog track and your steering wheel can be off center

 

[fast97gt]

you actually can add camber to the rear of a solid axle. they do it in NASCAR.

thtas only because the rear end is built like that, it also has toe in/out adjustments. our street rear ends are a complete 180 degree different that of the nascar regulated peices, around $15,000 difference i imagine

 

[fast97gt]

ive worked as a mech. for a couple years, now ive gone back to installing auto glass for a living, but any ways, i know that the rear wheels are used as reference, but from what i can tell the rear end on my 97gt with the stock wheels looks like its an inch or two narrower than the front axle set up. why is this saleengt2001, and if thats the case how can it be used as a referenc?

 

[Disturbed One]

an alignment angle you can check for the rear wheels is the thrust (no adjusment can be made for solid axle) .....if its out of spec your vehicle will dog track and your steering wheel can be off center

On a solid rear axle vehicle there is no adjustments on the rear that can be made. When they take the measurements of the vehicle when doing a 4 wheel alignment they are checking the thrust angle of the rear. If the thrust angle of the rear axle is say out of normal spec they can tell something is bent/broken. Also if if the thrust angle is off center to the left or right then the alignment needs to be set in relation to the rear thrust angle. If the Front wheels are just set without any consideration for the thrust angle then you could look at dog tracking or unstable handling at a given speed.

 

[SaleenGT2001]

On a solid rear axle vehicle there is no adjustments on the rear that can be made. When they take the measurements of the vehicle when doing a 4 wheel alignment they are checking the thrust angle of the rear. If the thrust angle of the rear axle is say out of normal spec they can tell something is bent/broken. Also if if the thrust angle is off center to the left or right then the alignment needs to be set in relation to the rear thrust angle. If the Front wheels are just set without any consideration for the thrust angle then you could look at dog tracking or unstable handling at a given speed.

what he said!

 

[03ghoststang]

On a solid rear axle vehicle there is no adjustments on the rear that can be made. When they take the measurements of the vehicle when doing a 4 wheel alignment they are checking the thrust angle of the rear. If the thrust angle of the rear axle is say out of normal spec they can tell something is bent/broken. Also if if the thrust angle is off center to the left or right then the alignment needs to be set in relation to the rear thrust angle. If the Front wheels are just set without any consideration for the thrust angle then you could look at dog tracking or unstable handling at a given speed.

yes i know that...cause i get cars that have had alignments done in other shops and we end up adjusting them..... but we let the customer know why it did it in the first place