Does anyone know somewhere within spitting distance of Mid Herts (all of Hertfordshire, Luton, North London etc) where they do a 4-wheel alignment and really know what they are doing??
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I have a nasty twitch from the rear of my 1997 E320. Everything has been checked several times (bushings, tyres, tyre pressures, alignment etc) by main delaers, the place I got it from, and another garage, but no joy. I have changed all 4 shock absorbers which has improved matters generally (57K miles), but not this specific problem.
What I think is happening is this:
E320 W210 Avantgarde saloon - "sports" suspension.
Before I bought the car I test drove it and it was pulling to the left (not much, but enough to be irritating). I asked for and got a 4-wheel alignment. When I picked it up it was still pulling to the left but I let it go. However, after then driving it some more, I found a nasty twitch from the rear end on hitting a pothole or differenign L-R surfaces. After some time of observing, I think it is excessive toe-in at the rear.
When I first drove it, it didn't do this (as far as I can tell), but the "after" alignment figs show it had gone from a slight rear toe-out to a total rear toe-in of 0°17' (17 minutes).
What I think happens is that with its wide and almost low-profile tyres it normally sticks to the road very well. When both rears are stuck equally to the road, the toe-in is not a problem, but if one of them gets unstuck - such as losing traction over a pothole (tends not to occur with a bump) or with a slippery surface one side only, then the remaining tyre pushes the rear towards the wheel that has unstuck itself, until it regains grip and all is well again.
At other times the car feels as if it is rear-steering
My calcs show that for a roughly 20" wheel, 0°17' of total toe is around 3 mm track difference between front and back of the tyres. It's worse in a way in that the toe is 15' one side and 2' the other.
The place I got it from says the toe-in at the rear should be 10 to 30', but for a rear I can't believe this - the car is so tight at the back with very meaty suspension arms I would have thought 0°0' woukd be closer to the truth.
So if I can find a good performance tracking shop to re-check it, I hope I can get somewhere.
Micheldever has been mentioned, but a trip to Winchester for a 3-week appointment seems a trek!
TIA
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I have a nasty twitch from the rear of my 1997 E320. Everything has been checked several times (bushings, tyres, tyre pressures, alignment etc) by main delaers, the place I got it from, and another garage, but no joy. I have changed all 4 shock absorbers which has improved matters generally (57K miles), but not this specific problem.
What I think is happening is this:
E320 W210 Avantgarde saloon - "sports" suspension.
Before I bought the car I test drove it and it was pulling to the left (not much, but enough to be irritating). I asked for and got a 4-wheel alignment. When I picked it up it was still pulling to the left but I let it go. However, after then driving it some more, I found a nasty twitch from the rear end on hitting a pothole or differenign L-R surfaces. After some time of observing, I think it is excessive toe-in at the rear.
When I first drove it, it didn't do this (as far as I can tell), but the "after" alignment figs show it had gone from a slight rear toe-out to a total rear toe-in of 0°17' (17 minutes).
What I think happens is that with its wide and almost low-profile tyres it normally sticks to the road very well. When both rears are stuck equally to the road, the toe-in is not a problem, but if one of them gets unstuck - such as losing traction over a pothole (tends not to occur with a bump) or with a slippery surface one side only, then the remaining tyre pushes the rear towards the wheel that has unstuck itself, until it regains grip and all is well again.
At other times the car feels as if it is rear-steering
My calcs show that for a roughly 20" wheel, 0°17' of total toe is around 3 mm track difference between front and back of the tyres. It's worse in a way in that the toe is 15' one side and 2' the other.
The place I got it from says the toe-in at the rear should be 10 to 30', but for a rear I can't believe this - the car is so tight at the back with very meaty suspension arms I would have thought 0°0' woukd be closer to the truth.
So if I can find a good performance tracking shop to re-check it, I hope I can get somewhere.
Micheldever has been mentioned, but a trip to Winchester for a 3-week appointment seems a trek!
TIA
