Rob O

I'll be down from Austin for warranty work in a couple weeks and scheduled to have a four-wheel alignment as well. The service advisor (Ken), knowing my car is lowered, said he wasn't sure my car would make it onto their rack due to it's stance. He said "they'd try", but he was pretty sure they couldn't do it. Why?

My car was initially aligned by an Audi dealer (Prestige in Denver/Lakewood) after the suspension was first installed and know for fact that Scottsdale Audi (Phoenix) can accomodate lowered cars. Does the alignment equipment vary by dealer? Again ... why?

hwj

Rob, Ken is probably recalling how hard it was for them to get my car up onto their rack. It took nearly six techs monitoring it, using boards as shims, to try to prevent any scrapage.

It's quite possible that Mike (the service manager) took a stance that they aren't happy about aligning lowered cars. They're probably worried about damaging them.

Rob O

With only a couple thousand miles (from my recent trip) on my new tires they are showing clear signs of wear ... and I want to get it corrected.

I bet they don't make an effort beyond pulling the car up to the rack to check for clearence. I may have to prod them.

What other options do I have locally?????

hwj

Northwest Imports. Jimmy used them a lot for work (including alignments) on his (dearly departed) <i>ur</i>S4.

Rob O

Thanks ... you think they are properly equipped for aligning quattro?

hwj

The <i>ur</i>S4 was quattro, and they didn't seem to have a problem.

The only special issue with aligning B5 cars is to remind the tech to make sure the "upper toe" is also adjusted.

Other than that, all they can do for you is correct the toe in front and back, fix the rear camber, and try to equalize the negative camber in front.

Front camber can't be adjusted, only equalized side-to-side.

Rob O

Looks, based on wear pattern, my main issue is toe-in ... I'll try them if RE can't do it.