I was going to take my GTA to Sears for a front end alignment. They have a computerized machine and charge $54.99, and I have been happy with their alignments on my Caprice in the past. Then I saw that Midas and Mieneke Muffler do alignments too. Don't know how much they are. Anyone have his car aligned at a muffler place? Any good ?
Thanks

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88 GTA 5.7 TPI Charcoal Grey Bone Stock except for loose muffler which makes it a bit louder than normal.

 

ANY place can do a good alignment. It's 99% the care and skill of the guy running the rack. Tell them you want a before and after alignment printout and that you want the alignment set to the DEAD MIDDLE of the specs and DEAD EVEN SIDE TO SIDE, not just "in spec." "In Spec" is a pretty wide range on a lot of cars. Wide enough that things can still be pretty far out of whack when you get it back.

Also, tell them to put the steering wheel on center BEFORE they start touching the front end. That way you won't just be in alignment but have the wheel on center as well!

 

Damon hit the nail on the head when he said that what matters is the guy running the rack, not the brand name on the sign.

I would add, that the factory specs for these cars (or almost any other for that matter) aren't necessarily the best setting for performance, or tire wear, or gas mileage, or driver "feel". They're a compromise based on all of those things. You may or may not like the choices the factory made. If you can find someone who knows and understands these particular cars, and can talk to him directly about how you want your car set up, you can almost always get a whole lot more satisfactory job than someone setting it however perfectly to the factory specs.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

I need an alignment done on my T/A. Any recomendations on shops in San Diego RB??

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85T/A 305/QJ work in progress.

 

well, one fine example of that question is the muffler shop i worked for. a buddy of mine bought it so i went to work for him and when i did my first alignment there and hooked up the machine which was suprisingly dusty, the head mechanic asked me what i was doing. he then informed he they do alignments by looking down the side of the car and see if it looks straight. this is a tuffy auto center. where i work once again (once for over a year and came back almost four years ago) is a chevy dealer which runs about the same price for an alignment and it's done right. so, take that as you may.