Alignment shop in Tampa

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Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Indian srt-4 » Wed Jan 07, 2015 10:47 pm

Hey guys,

Where are you guys getting your car aligned? Further, what should I align my car to? I drive a 2005 dodge neon srt-4.


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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby aw614 » Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:07 pm

I had speed syndicate align mine back in July, I recommend them especially if you are on coilovers and want to get it corner balanced, they've worked on many different setups so they'd probably a general idea on what should work on your srt-4.
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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Tim_M » Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:58 am

I've had good luck with Vortex...I do NOT recommend Cars and Concepts-several bad experiences I've had.
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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby rrath » Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:02 am

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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Loren » Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:23 am

I do mine in my garage at home.

For most FWD cars, the only adjustment is a slight amount of camber (more if you grind the lower strut bolt holes, or fit "crash bolts") and toe. Both very easy to do.

If your car is stock, your goal is pretty much all the negative camber you can get and zero toe. Maybe a touch of toe out.

Be aware of classing limitations. Both ours and SCCA. Especially before you go changing or modifying parts.
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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby jesup16 » Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:53 pm

My car goes to Speed Syndicate. Only because I'm too lazy to do it at home.

If you are the kind who likes to tinker, learning to do it at home is a good idea. Also, you could invest in a camber gauge and toe-plates to make life a little easier.
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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Indian srt-4 » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:14 pm

Tim_M wrote:I've had good luck with Vortex...I do NOT recommend Cars and Concepts-several bad experiences I've had.
My car's current alignment was done by them... Let's say I'm not going back as well


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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Indian srt-4 » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:15 pm

rrath wrote:http://advanceperformance.com is where I go.
I'm
Actually going here tomorrow.



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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby twistedwankel » Mon Jan 12, 2015 8:34 pm

Don't you just love it when you pay for a simple two wheel "special" alignment and the steering wheel ends up crooked which it wasn't before.... :bangwall: Seems like I always have to make a second trip and then go to a second place with a free alignment check to see if the paper they gave me is even close to what it says. :blackeye: I try to avoid wheel alignments once the car handles well as my autocross cars are usually dedicated to that purpose only.

Most of the FWD drivers I've known who were excellent did a "Loren" on their back at the event while changing tires and changed the toe to radical ONLY for their runs then put it back to painted marks for drive home. ONLY once did a guy forget to tighten the jam nuts and he was scary all over the place before he figured it out - a rookie mistake by a pro.
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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Loren » Mon Jan 12, 2015 9:50 pm

The guy I bought my first Miata from used to do that. He didn't even get on his back. Just cranked the wheel all the way to one side, adjusted one tie-rod a full turn, and adjusted it back to the mark at the end of the day.

His steering wheel was a little off-center while autocrossing, but who cares? He had like a 1/4" of toe out when he was competing and zero toe for the street. Great compromise!

I'm too lazy to do all that, myself. I'm more the "set it and forget it" type.
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Re: Alignment shop in Tampa

Postby Solar » Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:22 am

The hundreds of alignments I did I always re center the steering wheel after each adjustment, then rechecked the alignment, never had a crooked wheel. And that was back in the day using a old hunter system with analog meters and wheel adapters that you had to set the runout manually.
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