As observed at RW meet yesterday my offside front tyre has about 4 mm on the inside and virtually none on the outside.Alignment?Anyone know anywhere near Peterborough where I could get alignment done? I assume it would mean 4 wheel alignment.How much would you expect to pay for alignment.
Thanks.
Yours in ignorance.

 

Centre Gravity is probably the closest to you.
A 4 wheel alignment is normally called a Geo – short of geometry

Geo costs around £150-200, possibly +vat and sundries.

But, there are a load of bolts that need adjusting for the geo.
These are infamous for rusting solid and getting stuck, most people will get them greased to stop them ever sticking again.

Expect to pay between £400 and £1000 for getting the bolts unstuck depending on how many are stuck.
Mine is the same age as yours, I think it cost me about £650.

There's a big section in the FAQ about Geo and suspension that's an interesting read.

 

*gulp*
Thanks.

 

... and replace the tyres before you have the geo set...

The geo will help...

 

Pricey but well worth it Alan

 

WIM is around £90 for a check - around £350 per corner if anything needs replacing...

 

I've just had a new tyre put on.I would have had to wait til next week to have a Bridgestone 050 put on( to match the rears and the other front tyre) so they have put on a Bridgestone ER300.The guy assured me this would be ok. Is he correct?
Yours in ignorance.
Also,when I questioned the outer wall being almost zero and the inside being about 3 mm he said it was due to roundabouts, not alignment.The other front wheel doesn't show such unevenness in wear.
But...I've booked a healthcheck, not for myself,but the car, at Centre Gravity in a couple of weeks.
Thanks.

 

Totally not correct to have an ER300 on with an RE050. The Potenza is a much higher performance tyre, ER300 is a touring tyre that would be more suited to a BMW estate or similar.

Even if they were fitted in a pair I would still recommend taking them off but certainly if you have two different tyres on an axle.

The person you bought the tyre from will no doubt try and tell you the opposite, in which case get him to call Bridgestone Technical for the correct advice (which will be the same as above)

Edit: The Bridgestone telephone number is (0)1926 48 85 00 if you need it.

 

So would you go back and ask them to take it off?I've driven from the garage to home,3 miles.

 

instead of blowing soo much money on geo that imo is overkill for your actual issue, then i'd start with the 2 most common issues:

- Tyre pressures (very unlikely if it's just the outside edge though)
- Tracking; any tyre place should be able todo this. around £20 to get it checked & changed.

a full geo check is worth it, but is overkill for your specific issue. at worst then the tyre place will say it's not the tracking and you'll have to get the full geo done. at best, then you'll have saved £100's off the full geo cost.


tracking = only 1 adjustment of the geometry job. basically it ensures the tyres are pointing in the correct direction. sounds to me like you've got too much toe-in.