Alignment advice air suspension

[bolidemichael]

I recently had a four wheel alignment on a hunter system. The owner/operator knows my car and has been adjusting the alignment for the last few years, sometimes getting i'm aligned first time and at others, taking two or three attempts, with the common issues being pulling to the left or the steering wheel not being centred.

When we removed the Falken summer tyres last year, three of them (not the n/s/r) were so badly worn in the inner edge that we binned them and performed and alignment.



The winter tyres didn't subsequently exhibit the same wear.

So in August, we set the alignment according to the lower (non-raised) setting of the air suspension, as this is what I use on motorways. Tyre pressures 30F 38R.

On this occasion, the alignment was good and the car was tracking fine (apologies if I am confusing alignment and tracking terminology), but the steering wheel was pointing to 90mph (about 1 o'clock).



I revisited him today having booked it in with the issue. The air suspension was set low and the tyres pressures 29F 30R.



Note that the front camber settings have altered in the 1200odd miles that have been covered in the interim. I don't know if this is significant.

However, the steering wheel is now pointing to the LEFT in a straight line at 70mph (11 o'clock) and the car is noticeably pulling to the left.




He wasn't happy to hear from me again and is of the belief that there are underlying issues with the levelling of the ride height of the air suspension.

He pointed to a machine that raises the vehicle in order to check the alignment at different heights and costs around £800 from MB..(?)

Is this really a process that requires (more) special equipment, or has my man displayed the limit of his abilities (and patience)?

Could it be that twice, he hasn't set the steering wheel straight, prior to adjusting the tie-rods?

There aren't any underlying issues with suspension components afaik, with now advisories at the MOT and the lower ball joints recently replaced.

Also, is it reasonable to pay for each re-visit of the alignment? Hitherto, he hasn't charged me but is wishing to draw a line and do so in future.

 

[whitenemesis]

I only ever had my CLS55 done at the dealership, each time they checked the ride height at each corner and front to rear, adjusting where required and re-setting the zero point, all using STAR. I never had any pull to the left and the steering wheel was dead straight. Tyre wear was even across all tyres. AKAIK the alignment must be done at the normal ride height, not Sport I or II
And yes I had to pay each time.

 

[bolidemichael]

I only ever had my CLS55 done at the dealership, each time they checked the ride height at each corner and front to rear, adjusting where required and re-setting the zero point, all using STAR. I never had any pull to the left and the steering wheel was dead straight. Tyre wear was even across all tyres. AKAIK the alignment must be done at the normal ride height, not Sport I or II
And yes I had to pay each time.

There are two distinct settings here:

- Ride Height (two settings)
- air spring firmness (three settings)

You refer to the latter and I refer to the former. Fwiw, mine has always been set on comfort... but I didn't this that this setting mattered - I hadn't considered it.

How much did your alignment at MB cost?

 

[whitenemesis]

Ride height changes with firmness setting, at least on the AMG. Although it's more to do with reactivity response.
IIRC they charged £120, that was 4-5yrs ago

 

[Doodle]

The process WN describes is the same as performed on the A8. I took my VCDS rig with me to the tyre shop and set the car up for them before they carried out the adjustments.

 

[bolidemichael]

Thanks Doodle. What is a VCDS rig?

 

[Doodle]

Effectively the STAR equivalent in the VAG world, but at an affordable price.

 

[E55BOF]

There are two distinct settings here: - ride height [and] air spring firmness. You refer to the latter and I refer to the former. Fwiw, mine has always been set on comfort... but I didn't this that this setting mattered - I hadn't considered it.

The car lowers itself 15mm either when you exceed 85 mph, or when you select one of the Sports damper settings (p. 234 of the Owner's Manual), but unless you spend all your time at over 85mph, or have the damping permanently in a Sports mode, having the alignment done in Comfort mode seems logical to me too.

 

[Maz27]

I have a W211 E55 which has air suspension from factory, does that mean I the suspension level parameters have to be reset before alignment? I have lowering links on mine as well

Thanks in advance

 

[bolidemichael]

I have a W211 E55 which has air suspension from factory, does that mean I the suspension level parameters have to be reset before alignment? I have lowering links on mine as well

Thanks in advance

No, you should ensure that the suspension isn't raised when the alignment is being done -- however, you might require and eccentric bolt if the castor requires further adjustment than is available to them (and they might not be aware of the option).

I personally don't know about lowering links, but it sound to me that it'll alter the geometry. You may well require the eccentric bolt in order to assist the tyres in standing up straight to prevent inner wear. Be aware that air springs sag with age, too.

 

[Maz27]

No, you should ensure that the suspension isn't raised when the alignment is being done -- however, you might require and eccentric bolt if the castor requires further adjustment than is available to them (and they might not be aware of the option).

I personally don't know about lowering links, but it sound to me that it'll alter the geometry. You may well require the eccentric bolt in order to assist the tyres in standing up straight to prevent inner wear. Be aware that air springs sag with age, too.

Thanks bud. I’ll have a word with a local alignment specialist to see if they can do the alignment correctly for me.

Cheers
Maz

 

[John]

When I had my E55K a few years back, I asked MSLP if they could lower the car on Star whilst I was having other work done.

They tried but it wasn't possible on mine but they did state the height parameters were set all over the shop and they reset them to the standard ride height.

Something to bear in mind...

 

[bolidemichael]

My indy seems to have lowered the suspension unintentionally, after having installed the replacement rear air springs, so there must be a way to do it. The S211 with full airmatic operates the same across all models.

 

[bolidemichael]

As it's a thread that I started, I should update that I recently drove to Europe for the first time and found that the set up from WiM was very neutral and suited for continental driving. This isn't really a surprise, as I didn't ask them to set it up for UK roads specifically, otherwise the Castor (stagger) between the front wheels would've been greater and inducing a greater pull to the right.