Who is "THE" alignment man on the east side?

Back during the ice storms, I hit a curb with all four wheels. I was planning to replace my shocks anyway, so I went ahead and did that this past weekend. I then sent it to my local yokel alignment shop, but he couldn't get the right rear wheel to come back to spec. This is surprising since "the little incident" ruined the right front tire but no other damage was apparent. Anyway, I really didn't get a good feeling from this guy. He seemed very confused when I wanted a custom alignment, not to factory specs and then could offer no suggestions on finding the problem. Oh, and his printer was broken, so I don't even have a good idea where I am at. I had my wife take a pic of the screen so I have an idea where the rear wheels are now, put I would have rather had the print-out, with the before and after comparisons.

So, I am going to try to figure out what is damaged, fix it, and then try again on the alignment. I think I will also replace my alignment bolts while I am at it.

I used Firestone, in Terrell, the last time I had it done, but they were not real enthusiastic either. I thought Track Dog did this but, evidently, they farm their work out to the Mazda dealership. So, who are you guys, on this side of the world, using?

I was hoping to make my first AutoX event, of the year, at ER, this weekend, but I guess that is out!

Thanks,

Chris

Go to Cobb. They can do it on short notice and will do it exactly as you want. Also, it is not tough to bend suspension parts on Miatas. If you damaged a tire, its likely you need new eccentric bolts, or worse.

All 4 wheels off the same curb? May have a tweaked tie-rod.

Yeah, actually ran over the curb with all 4 and ended up in a field. Shouldn't have been having so much fun on the ice! I am sure my dad is looking down laughing at me for being such a dumb a$$!!

I don't think its a tie rod, since everything came back to spec, except the toe, on the right rear. All suggestions are welcome though.

Thanks for the help guys.

I put the 2 drivers side wheels squarely in to a wall and ended up replacing the front inner tie rod, the rear subframe, upper and lower rear control arms. I would have never know one of the control arms was bent ever so slightly if I hadn't have removed it and held it up against a known good one, and the rear sub-frame showed no visible damage but was proven bent with this tool.

Thanks Titus. For $20 that is probably a must have.

I have new eccentric bolts on the way. They were on my to do list anyway, so I may as well eliminate that possibility first.

After this weekend, I will probably be in the market for some more suspension parts. I just hope the damage isn't too hard to figure out and not too extensive!

It looks like you are not TOO far from me (I am about 20 minutes north of I-30 Rockwall). If you don't want to wait on shipping, I will sell you mine for $15, as I hope to never need it again LOL.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by OZMDD

Go to Cobb. They can do it on short notice and will do it exactly as you want...

---

I'll never bring another car to Cobb for alignment. They screwed up three alignments in a row, and two others before that. On one they adjusted the strut bolts, putting the wheels tight against the strut body, which ruined two wheels and tires. When we confronted them about the last instance they claimed the car was "bent", which was bullshit. The pickup points and suspension components were all correct. They just don't know how to align cars. Maybe it's just Jaime there. But Chris has backed him up, so I don't think they have a clue.

Check the long bolt on the rear lower control arm to see if it is bent. I bent mine slamming into a curb. Ended up having to cut it in pieces to get it out.

Will do motorollow. Thanks everyone for the advise and suggestions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by modernbeat

I'll never bring another car to Cobb for alignment. They screwed up three alignments in a row, and two others before that. On one they adjusted the strut bolts, putting the wheels tight against the strut body, which ruined two wheels and tires. When we confronted them about the last instance they claimed the car was "bent", which was bullshit. The pickup points and suspension components were all correct. They just don't know how to align cars. Maybe it's just Jaime there. But Chris has backed him up, so I don't think they have a clue.

---

Lol at 5 bad alignments. How does that definition of insanity go again? :clap:

I took mine to Hiley Mazda in Hurst to do mine last year after full suspension and wheels/tires. I was there picking up parts from Shannon and he had good things to say about the alignment tech. At the time I just gave him the recommended specs from FM and been like that since for last 30k miles. My .2cents

I am going to give Bobby Garrett Frame & Alignment a shot on Saturday, will report back. He has been doing them for a long time and some of my shops use him for collision work.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Labora

I am going to give Bobby Garrett Frame & Alignment a shot on Saturday, will report back. He has been doing them for a long time and some of my shops use him for collision work.

---

Bobby Garrett is the MAN! I take everything to him, he is one of the only alignment guys who gets into the car and drives in afterwords to make sure the changes didnt result in any strange pulling or lane drifting. I cant recommend him highly enough, in fact I take all my cars to him ive even sent my mother to him. The prices are more than fair (I can think of more that one time he didnt even charge me when he couldnt get the alignment specs I wanted) and if you get past his gruff exterior hes a really nice honest guy.

Plus when my miata was last in one piece it handled the best when he did the alignment and fixed alot of the issues I had with the cornering dynamics.

Thanks Guys,

I am really interested in hearing more about Bobby Garrett. Being able to get something done on Saturday is especially appealing. I hate having to take a vacation day for something like that.

motorollow, I may be interested in your offer. Sending PM

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by riverman1

motorollow, I may be interested in your offer. Sending PM

---

Did you mean me?

I have been getting aligned by Bobby Garrett for 25 years.
He knows how to old school align, not just set it in the green.

2202 Manana
Suite 212
Dallas
214-716-0575

New one for me, thanks! Gonna check him out.

I also use Bobby. He's done every car I've brought him, from modified Miatas, to lifted 4x4 trucks, to straight axle hot rods.

I didn't suggest him because he's not "east side". But frankly, he's worth the trip. And you can look at previous alignment threads and see he has been recommended.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SixAce

Lol at 5 bad alignments. How does that definition of insanity go again? :clap:

---

Five out of about ten. And personally, I would have skipped them after two. But either their availability, or customer request got the rest of the cars sent to them.

He's east side for me ;)

Well Bobby Garret did a 4 wheel alignment and new cam bolts on my car Saturday. Steering wheel is strait, the car does not pull and it goes strait. He also did a fairly aggressive (for the street) alignment and the car picked up mid corner grip and is less twitchy on corner entry than it has previously been.

I did a autox Sunday and am very pleased with the results, I will be back for sure.

Thanks Labora. What did he charge for the alignment?

100$ But, I gave him a little extra because my car was a major pain to get on the rack since it is so low plus he put aside some bigger $$ jobs to get me in.

Thanks, sounds like he really is "the man"