Alignment Shop

[Wizbangdoodle]

I can see there's a lot of activity in the Northwest section. /sarcasm

I'm heading off to paint next week and would like to have somewhere lined up to do the alignment once I get it back. Anybody know of a local (western Washington) alignment shop that knows how to do an alignment on these cars? Thanks

[ProfessorB]

I'm ithe Southeast but can share my experience. I've got a Mark II. When I got it I could barely keep it between the lines above 50...it was incredibly "twitchy". I posted on here about it and got a lot of comments saying "you just need to learn how to drive a Cobra...blah, blah, blah". I was frustrated by these comments.....the handling on this car (I bought a completeld Cobra because it was a LOT cheaper) was RIDICULOUSLY bad. I did my own research, I studied front end theory, I watched Youtube videos. Then I went out and bought all the alignment tools, including a camber/caster gauge and turn plates. I diiscovered that the camber was less than 4 degrees (NOT good). I had to change the upper control arms in the process, but I was able to more than double the camber and the handling was TRANSFORMED. The point of this being that I began with NO understanding of front end geometry....was able to educate myself about it....and bought all the tools needed for a little more than the price of an alignment at my local shop. - I still have these tools and am able to check, and adjust if necessary, my front end any time I want. It took me a half a day because I work slowly but I believe I did a BETTER job than some employee at a front end shop would do because...well...it's MY Cobra. Do it yourself.

[F500guy]

Well, not sure where in western Washington, but in Portland Garth at A-N-T Tires can do it, close to I5, about just south of Washington border.

[PNWTim]

I can see there's a lot of activity in the Northwest section. /sarcasm

I'm heading off to paint next week and would like to have somewhere lined up to do the alignment once I get it back. Anybody know of a local (western Washington) alignment shop that knows how to do an alignment on these cars? Thanks

You might want to try and reach out to these folks. I am not sure if you have the IRS on your car but most Porsches require 4 wheel alignment and they can be pretty particular.

https://pnwr.org/content.aspx?page_id=0&club_id=502548

[Wizbangdoodle]

I bought an alignment tool to get it in the ballpark. I had considered getting all the stuff myself and doing it, but wanted to check and see if there was "the shop" everyone uses.

The Porsche route might be a good idea, thanks. And if I have to trailer it down to Portland, that's ok too.

I'm located about 10 minutes from the Microsoft campus, so let's call it Redmond.

[Jphoenix]

These guys can do it: https://www.raceronrails.com Located at Pacific Raceways.

[JeffP]

I bought one of these for less than the cost of an alignment and it works really well. Very impressed with the accuracy.

https://gyraline.com/products/the-case?variant=49331780583704

[PNWTim]

I bought one of these for less than the cost of an alignment and it works really well. Very impressed with the accuracy.

https://gyraline.com/products/the-case?variant=49331780583704

Curious if you have or use turn plates when you adjust for caster?

[Wizbangdoodle]

Curious if you have or use turn plates when you adjust for caster?

You'd almost have to, wouldn't you? I mean, to get it accurate.

Jphoenix, great info. I had no idea they were there. I'll be calling them Monday.

[Wizbangdoodle]

Just an update to my alignment question.

I went to a place in Totem Lake/Kirkland called MShop. Fantastic place and the 2 guys that run it are very thorough. I'm very pleased with the service.

[Barwickad]

I took mine to Les Schwab. They did a 4 wheel alignment and charged me about $150 bucks. I had to provide them the FFR alignment specs so they could key them in manually. Other than that it was easy, took about hour and the car drives dead straight. Probably would have taken less time but the tech spent more time asking about the car than actually setting the alignment.

[Wizbangdoodle]

I just couldn't bring myself to take it to my local Les Schwab. They can mount tires, but I don't trust them to align this car. You must have an experienced guy down there.

[acmikee]

spend the xtra money and have it corner weighted at the same time

[Wizbangdoodle]

spend the xtra money and have it corner weighted at the same time

That was part of the service. It's the reason I chose this shop. When I made the appointment, they said they strongly suggest doing just that. They set ride height, weighed each corner and performed a front and rear alignment. I was also able to get my tires through them at a slight discount over what I could find online. So, they mounted and balanced 4 tires as well as the other services already mentioned. It was a great service at a great price.