Can somebody explain to me what the difference is between wheel tracking and wheel alignment, or are they infact the same thing?
Additionally does a wheel alignment procedure include realigning the steering wheel with the road wheels, or is that another procedure again?
I recently had a pair of new tyres fitted to my Focus to replace those on the front, then had the front and rear wheels switched to put the fresh rubber at the back, and didn't get the tracking etc checked at the same time. Subsequently my steering wheel is slightly misaligned with the road wheels, something that really annoys me!
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Its the same thing Phil, when tracking is done equal adjustments should be done on the track rod ends to keep the steering wheel in the same position. However many garages don't bother especially when only a small adjustment is made and consequently you have a misaligned wheel even though the tracking may be correct.
A few garages have a tracking machine which solves this by locking the steering wheel in position before tracking is done and should result in an aligned steering wheel.
I use ATS which in some of their branches they have this supertracker but not all. This checks the alignement across 4 wheels and costs about £25.00
However switching wheels as you have done can once again misalign your wheel even though the tracking is still correct.
I imagine this is because of uneven wear on the tyres which you are switching to the front.
alvin
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Alvin
I fully agree with your comments about keeping tracking adjustments even to maintain steering wheel alignment. I've had cars checked on the ATS system and it seem to work quite well.
Whilst 'wheel alignment' and 'tracking' are used synonymously, in fact tracking is only one element of wheel alignment. There is also castor, camber etc. on both front and rear wheels. Depending upon the car some or all of these are adjustable by various means. In some cases a full alignment check of all the settings is needed to cure a problem - often called a 4 wheel alignment. I've had a car where a tracking check could not cure a significant front tyre wear problem - one that the car came out of the factory with! A full alignment check was needed to determine the actual cause, and even the Main Dealer didn't have the kit to do it.
In most cases, though, only the tracking needs adjustment, and that's why it is the most common type of check.
Regards
John S
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New tyres should be at the front;all your steering and acceleration and most of your braking is on the front wheels(Focus is FWD).
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No no no no no no! This has been discussed MANY times in the back room. Whether FWD or RWD, best tyres go on the back for various reasons. A search on tyres in the back room will throw them all up.
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As will all the reasons for preferring to have the best tyres on the front, or rotating them!! :-)
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No no no no no!
I don't agree with 'always' placing new tyres on the front, whatever the general feeling, or garage advice:
My Vectra GSi Estate has steeply cambered rear wheels, which help give tremendous grip, because the outside wheel is pushed flat on to the road surface under hard cornering, rather than having the inside shoulder levered away from the road as would happen with a more 'upright' setup.
The downside of this is that if I put the rear tyres on the front, after they have been on the back for more than a few hundred miles, the handling goes all to pot.
Horses for courses. ;-)
/Steve
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The last post should have said 'back' in the first sentence.
/Steve
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My Vectra GSi Estate has steeply cambered rear wheels.....
Just being nosey, is the camber standard or have you had it set?
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Out of the box GSi Estate settings.
Rear wheel camber is visibly more than on my brothers 1.8 Vectra Estate of the same vintage (March 2000 'W'), and the back of the car is far more composed under hard cornering than the pre facelift SRi V6 I drove beforehand.
Given that the GSi is ('was', now!) actually a new SRi off the production line that gets converted by MSD, and it is unlikely that these changes include new rear suspension pickup points or trailing arms, my guess is that the increased camber comes as a positive side effect of the much lowered ride height over a cooking Vectra.
In short, it stops, goes, grips, and changes direction on demand like no front wheel drive, nigh on 200 BHP, estate has any right to! I love it. :-)
From a previous post, some may remember extreme tyre wear that I reported, whereby the inside edges of the rear tyres are worn out after 16,000 miles, whereas the outside shoulders still have 6mm tread on them. This is now established as the downside of the camber setup, and I've found other Vectra GSi Estate threads on the web reporting the same symptoms. For some reason, Avon ZZs appear much more prone to this that the OE Yokos.
/Steve
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Well thanks all for your answers and experiences.
Incidentally I put the best rubber at the back after getting caught out in my old Fiesta taking a slow damp bend and to my complete surprise ending up facing the wrong direction.
I haven't noticed any negative effects on the handling since swapping the wheels, the tread depth on the worn tyres that are now on the front still appears even.
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For a brief description of the terms relating to vehicle suspension and steering angles & settings see ...
www.allwheelalignment.com/alignment.htm
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Also see www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html and click on the wheel and tyre bible.
Re best tyres front/back debate, I had an A40 with michelin X on the front and high profile cross plies on the back. You could \"drift\" round every corner at anything above 30 MPH. Fantastic fun. I kept it like that for years. (yes I know it\'s illegal and unsafe, I\'m talking young fun, years ago)
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The Michelin X was a very long lasting tyre. Why? Because the car spent so much time on its roof.
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www.chemix-autocentres.co.uk/technical.htm has some good info.
but When should wheel alignment be done/checked?
Should it be done based on mileage, time, when new tyres are fitted, or when you notice a wear problem?
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Pete, When you notice something wrong or after you hit a kerb/pothole with a front wheel.
Dizzy, Beautiful roof. You should try it. Great practice if you suddenly oversteer in later life. Cheaper than a skid pan anyway.
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Hmmm...
An update.
Some of you may recall this from a previous thread some months ago, but it is also relevant to this one.
My beloved Vectra GSi Estate has developed a pull to the left over the last few thousand miles.
I've not hit any kerbs (or driven up them slowly), no major pot holes, or anything else untoward, and after changing to a brand new set of tyres all round, the pull remained unchanged: It was as identical after fitting them, as it was beforehand on the old tyres, and as it is now with a few thousand miles under them.
I went to a specialist laser wheel alignment pit today, who confirmed, and showed me, that the alignment and camber angles are absolutley to Vx spec, on all four corners.
Prodding, pulling, carefully looking, and torquing all suspension components over a period of an hour, with the car hoisted up to make this easier, also showed nothing obviously loose, bent, or tired (should that be tyred?!) in the bush department.
I know that 215x45x17 tyres are going to tend to be road surface sensitive, but the pull will even climb camber from the other side of the road.
As I started, hmmmmm, what on earth can it be?!
/Steve
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"A full alignment check was needed to determine the actual cause, and even the Main Dealer didn't have the kit to do it."
That's the trouble - most dealerships don't even have any basic four wheel alignment gear or if they do, they haven't a clue how to use it, as Bob (Who was the only one trained to use it) left the company 3 months ago.......
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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