I've had two alignments done at my dealer so far, the latest after the S-Tune install. Within two thousand miles, I completely destroyed a set of front tires. Because I had a print out of my alignment specs I had thought that there had to be other problems in the suspension that were causing my accelerated tire wear. Today I found out that simply wasn't the case.

After hearing many rave reviews for a local alignment shop, Michael-Dallas and I took our cars in to get them properly set up. At Dallas Frame & Alignment, they don't even have a fancy laser-guided alignment machine, instead relying on bubble guides and a bunch of calculations. Amateur and pro racers all over DFW count on this shop to set up their cars properly and now I know why.

The spec for front toe calls for 0-2MM, or .00-.08". My print out from my last "fancy" alignment shows that I had .03 in the left and .04 on the right. When the DF&A took a measurement this morning my toe was actually set at 3/4" or just about 19MM!!! Wow! That's just ****ing great! So glad my dealer's alignment machine is properly calibrated.

Thanks to DF&A setting-up the Z to where it should be and making it handle like never before. I'm not even going to attempt to go after the dealer for new tires because I just don't want to waste the energy.

 

Where are they located, and how much did it cost?

 

Dallas Frame and Alignment
2514 Fabens Rd
Dallas, TX 75229
972-241-2361

 

Perhaps we should know which dealership this was....?

 

i use df&a also... top notch!

 

Glad you solved your $$$ problem Droid! Dealers scare me.

 

Yeah, Brad--which dealer was this? I had my alignment done a couple of months ago for feathering and I know we know some of the same SMs.

 

Same one, kiddo. BN of L. The only reason I keep going is because of my technician.

 

brad loves getting head from toothless hillbilly mechanics

 

Consider your FMIC punctured.

 

Stop that--you're making me miss hanging out with you two. lol

I'll be keeping a very close eye on my tires now, and if anything's not kosher, I'll be heading up to this shop. I've been going nuts holding off on my wheels, trying to make sure I don't eat up the good tires I'd buy.

 

Ouch!!

 

Droid,

How are the tires wearing now? I am thinking of getting the S-Tune and want to know if this fixes the feathering.

 

Bump

 

Hmm (*ponders driving 335 miles for his alignment and S-Tune install next week*).
Not sure I trust anyone in this town to do a "proper" alignment?!?

 

I hear you.

 

Mark,

I've got just about 1K miles on the new tires and they are PERFECT. If there's anyone on this site who knows what to look for, it's me having gone through 5 sets since I've owned the car.

The tread block shoulders are perfectly squared on all four tires. I'm not wearing out the center rib on the rears like I had on all previous sets of tires. That wear was a function of the neg camber and extreme toe-in combo (19MM) on the rears. It IS NOT due to overinflation because I played with the PSI on two sets trying to alleviate the wear, dropping the rears to as low as 30 PSI cold. Didn't help. Apparently the rear toe-in was NEVER correct from day one because I wore out my 040s in the same manner in only 7K miles.

I'm VERY happy now, but look what it cost me. I don't feel comfortable telling anyone it would work for them unless they did everything I did. $2K for suspension and intall and $3K for the bigger wheels and tires. I don't think it's a coincidence that the S-Tune instructions recommend the 18x8.5s and 18x9.5s with 245/40 and 275/40. The car handles better than ever and I've tried several tire/wheel combos.

 

Thanks! If anyone can comment on this issue it is you. I have been told the S-Tune is a fix and other than replacing the crappy OEM shocks & springs there should be no difference in tire wear. I am wondering if the S-Tune alignment settings are slightly different from the stock settings. Is the bounce gone?

 

I lived in Fayetteville for 24 years and I would not let anyone there work on my Max or Z.... Superior stinks, and there are no good shops, no alignment places would work on my Max becuase it was too low with Eibachs, but my Z is a lot lower with the S-tunes.

 

Still happy with the S-Tune as far as tire feathering & the bounce are concerned?