Craig and List
I have had my Westy for 50000 miles and have worn out three sets of tires
because the folks at the places that I took it for tires and alignment had
no clue as to how to do the alignment. (or the appropriate tire pressures
for that matter.) I finally found a place here in Durham called the Digital
Chassis, a doctor friend of mine recommended them because they were able to
make his 911 Porsche right (I did say doctor friend, didn't I) The situation
was that this guy specializes in German cars and mostly rear engine German
cars. The difference was astounding, at least so far in the way the bus
drives and with no signs of wear so far on the front tires. He worried about
things like castor and camber, and the fact that the bushings on the strut
supports that adjust this are 20+ years old and need replacing, not just
adjusting. And in the end, he adjusted the toe, set the camber and caster as
something that would be ok, adjusted the rear end, told me what to buy,
including tie rod ends, and said come back when I have get things replace,
or he would be glad to do it for me. His bill was less that an alignment at
Goodyear when they are having a sale.

My point is that it is very hard to find an appropriate front end shop, but
you really need to hunt around until you find one that knows what they are
doing. My experiences are that the folks at Firestone and Goodyear do not
fit this bill.

Good luck, drive well.

Jim Henry
Durham, NC
84 Westy

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]
> On Behalf Of Craig Morton
> Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 12:25 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Alignment Specifications
>
>     I need a frontend alignment on my '85 2WD Westy with '87
> Westy front springs.
>   The local alignment shop has specifications that are
> somewhat different than those found in the Bentley. Does
> anyone have significant experience with front alignment and
> can suggest what settings work best?
>
>   TIA
>
> Craig
>
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