A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Well, I had the dealer install my free new front tires after 15K miles, including the free alignment. However, I now notice that the steering wheel is slightly off its mark when traveling straight down the highway. It is shifted about 1/4" to the left when going straight. I told the dealer and he is going to look at it. This is why I hate to take my car to the dealer, even for free stuff! I assume they did not center the wheel exactly when doing the alignment.
A:
Same here. But its like that from the factory. About a 1/4 inch to the left. Just had window replaced and told them to check the alignment. They told me it was aligned perfectly and sometimes the steering wheels on the z are not perfectly straight. It drives fine and doesnt pull either way......so who knows.
------------------
04.5 DB Performance
Typhoon Intake
Injen SES Straight Tip Exhaust
Blue Z-Xtreme Grounding Kit
Kenwood MP3 Player
EBC V4 Greenstuff Pads
Clear Lens
Carbon Fiber Piller Covers
20% Tint
5 Coats of Zaino
......
'01 Yamaha R6
A:
wrong , daddy, when the car is properly aligned the steering wheel will be perfectly straight on a level surface. they are not like that from the factory. and that tired old "they all do that" doesnt cut it.
A:
nothing to do with it? where did you go to greasemonkey school dude?
A:
Where did I go to school? Where did you go to school? Are you trying to tell me that you can not have a car that tracks straight without the steering wheel being straight? If that's the case then I have broken the laws of physics quite a few times. Because I have done alignments on cars that track straight to only find on my test drive that I have to bring it back in and center the steering wheel.
You might try and call Hunter (the manufacturer of our alignment machine) and tell them to delete the step where you center the steering wheel. Because as YOU know, if the wheels are properly aligned then the steering wheel is automatically centered.
A:
If you are saying that the steering wheel being centered is a proper part of a the process. That is correct. But as you stated in your post, "a properly aligned car.... If the job is done by a person who cares about the job the customer is paying for. Yes, the steering wheel should be centered as part of the job. But it doesn't matter where the steering wheel is, the car can still track straight.
A:
so you agree then ;) no car leaves my shop with a crooked steering wheel. the point i'm making is that these guys are being pawned off with less than correct workmanship and are being told that its ok because they all do that or they come that way from the factory which i hope we both realize is bs. btw of course i'm correct. and i dont have a 48k hunter.
A:
This steering wheel alignment is vital with Nissan since the factory manual states that the wheel has to be in the straight ahead position since the power steering will react to the wheel being off center when tracking down the road straight. Chezam is right on target with this one and with someone that cares about the job they will do it right. Align, then test drive and then tweek the steering wheel as required to get the wheel to be straight and centered...
A:
Ok Chezam. We are in step now. We do agree. Just took us a couple posts to realize that. Steering wheel doesn't matter. But when someone comes in for an alignment they expect the steering wheel to be straight. As it should be. Pride in your work is what it comes down to. If your steering wheel is off-center then the tech just sucks and/or is lazy.
Sorry for getting so defensive. And the 48k included the drive on scissor lift and set up.