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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Wheel alignment ZTT

I had a 4 wheel laser alignment done on my 04 ZTT (Facelift model) at 10700 miles when I was charged £131.60 Inc tax.

A couple of months ago I hit a deep pothole with my front nearside wheel and now at 27000 miles, the tyre on that wheel has started to show wear on the outside edge. The same garage advises that I need another 4 wheel laser alignment. Surely only the front wheels are likely to have been affected?

Has any one a view on this, and can anyone recommend where I could get the realignment done more cheaply in Central Scotland?

Andy
Andrew Dear

To fully check the alignment of the front they have to be compared with the back. I'm no expert but if you do fronts only they can probably only check toe, maybe camber. If toe has changed it would affect both wheels equally. If caster has changed that normally makes it pull to one side or the other where it didn't before. If camber has changed significantly, i.e. from a bent bottom wishbone that could cause wear on one edge of one tyre. I've not done it but it seems to me if you put a spirit level against the wheel rim using spacers (not the tyre which bulges at the bottom of course) on a flat and level surface wheels on the ground you can compare side to side by seeing how much the bubble moves out of its 'level' marks. That is after spinning the wheels and looking for any run-out i.e. buckling.
Paul Hunt

Thanks for the info Paul. There may be a very slight pull to the left but hardly noticeable.

How about the charge for alignment. Do you think £131 is about right for this job? Anyone?

Andy
Andrew Dear

You have to take natural camber of the road into account, i.e. in an RHD a camber to the left will pull the car to the left slightly on a 2-lane, less so in the middle lane of a 3-lane motorway, for example.

Not had one done for a long long time, but it does sound steep. How long does it take?

Another thing you can do is roll the car back and fore with the wheels in a straight line to settle things then pull string tight past the front and rear wheel at hub height and measure the distances from the string to the rim. Position the string so the distances are the same at each back wheel, then see if there are any differences with the fronts. That is basically what the laser system does, albeit slightly more accurately :o)
Paul Hunt

Thanks again Paul. No exact idea how long it took as I left the car all day. However, the print-out was timed at 15:38 and the car was ready and waiting when I collected it at around 17:00, so an hour and twenty minutes approx.

As you say, the string idea is a bit approximate especially as the tyres project beyond the rims.

In the absence of any recommendations I shall phone round and see if I can get a better price.

Andy
Andrew Dear

Andy

I'm confused about this 4-wheel alignment lark on the ZT-T. I had mine done recently after fitting a new set of tyres but the garage said that only the front wheels could be adjusted, so that's what we did - cost about $50 Aus. Mind you, I asked because one only back tyre had worn more than the other, so I thought maybe it needed a tweak of some sort. I'm now watching that tyre closely...
Malcolm Robertson

Hi Malcolm,

4-wheel adjustment is definitely possible on the ZT-T. I have the print-out from my initial "Full Unilux" done about 17,000 miles ago and it shows before and after values for Camber, Toe and Geometrical driving thrust on the rear axle. All were altered after the adjustment.

The front axle has additionally Caster and King Pin Inclination adjustment, but these hardly changed.

Incidentally I did find a much better price at a local place called Pro-Grip which comes highly recommended by the Subaru fraternity! The car is booked in for Thursday estimated cost for full 4-wheel laser alignment is £54. Parity between the GB pound and Australian dollar?

Andy
Andrew Dear

I went to an organisation called Chemix in Wednesfield. They charged £57 and cured my tyre wear with a four wheel alignment. They have other outlets in the West Midlands. They were recommended to me and I wasn't disappointed.

The rear wheels are adjusted relative to the front so don't waste your time on a two wheel alignment.

Andy
andy

This thread was discussed between 24/01/2009 and 31/01/2009

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