Handling Issues After Having Tracking Set Up...

[SweetBadger 94]

After fitting a xsara vts rack I got the tracking done at our local Kwik Fit (try to avoid using them if possible but in this instance it was convenient), just been for a drive and it seems to pull left and right following the camber of the roads and gets unsettled easily over rough road surfaces, more torque steer too...

 

It corners well, and if anything seems to under-steer less than it did before I fitted the rack / had the tracking done, however I'm not really happy with this setup for what is primarily road car.

 

I'm running 309 bottom arms, with 1.6 gti hubs driveshafts so the front end is wider than standard - not sure how their equipment works, anyone know if it will compensate for these changes? If not, and they've set it up for a standard 205 then I guess that could lead to it being set up incorrectly... Having said that I've had the tracking set up before with the 309 bottom arms and not had this issue.

 

Going to see how it handles in the dry, but have a feeling I'm going to have to take it back to them... Looking forward to that one, bloody Kwik Fit!

[Cameron 16]

Having wider track etc won't make any difference to how they track it. I'd take it back to them and tell them you're not happy with it, they could well have messed it up. If it turns out fine then maybe you have issues elsewhere - balljoints / bushes etc.

[tomcolinjones 26]

After fitting a xsara vts rack I got the tracking done at our local Kwik Fit (try to avoid using them if possible but in this instance it was convenient), just been for a drive and it seems to pull left and right following the camber of the roads and gets unsettled easily over rough road surfaces, more torque steer too...

 

It corners well, and if anything seems to under-steer less than it did before I fitted the rack / had the tracking done, however I'm not really happy with this setup for what is primarily road car.

 

I'm running 309 bottom arms, with 1.6 gti hubs driveshafts so the front end is wider than standard - not sure how their equipment works, anyone know if it will compensate for these changes? If not, and they've set it up for a standard 205 then I guess that could lead to it being set up incorrectly... Having said that I've had the tracking set up before with the 309 bottom arms and not had this issue.

 

Going to see how it handles in the dry, but have a feeling I'm going to have to take it back to them... Looking forward to that one, bloody Kwik Fit!

 

i have read on here that the ideal toe in/out is paralell, for a 205 on any setup for road use. the extra camber from the 309 bones shouldnt make any difference to there tracking gauges, dunlop gauges anyhow.

you could check it yourself with a tape measure between each wheel rim. (not hugely accurate but you could find out if it is miles in/out)

[Cameron 16]

Tracking is a personal preference thing really, some like toe in, some like toe out. There's no ideal value as such.

[tomcolinjones 26]

Tracking is a personal preference thing really, some like toe in, some like toe out. There's no ideal value as such.

 

there is an ideal range on autodata that kwikfit would have used as a reference that is around paralell, i understand that its each to there own where suspension and steering setups are concerend, i was meerly passing on knowledge i had gathered from this forum and what the factory recomendations are for the tracking of the standard car. so 'sweetbadger' could possibly check his tracking to see if it is noticebly one way or the other. he is clearly not happy with the setup as it is.

[SweetBadger 94]

Thanks for the info guys; Will have a check with a tape measure to make sure nothing's hugely out and to give me an idea on how it's set up now, and will head back to Kwik fit to get it checked / corrected.

 

Every front suspension component has been renewed recently and it drove fine with the previous rack, so I can only put the change in characteristics down to the tracking (in fact it seemed more stable with the tracking set up on the xsara rack as it came off Alastair's 205!)

[j_turnell 136 3 Cars]

Sounds like you've got too much toe out from your description, on our database at work it suggests parallel to 10mins toe in. Personally i've set mine to 3-4mins toe out as i always find toe in drives horrible on a 205, did mine the other week and had no problems, be interesting to know what spec they used, i'd def take it back to get checked out.

[Alastairh 47]

Take it back, it handled very well before being removed.

 

Al

[Cameron 16]

Thanks for the info guys; Will have a check with a tape measure to make sure nothing's hugely out and to give me an idea on how it's set up now, and will head back to Kwik fit to get it checked / corrected.

 

 

Don't waste your time with a tape measure, you'll never be able to measure it accurately enough. Just take it straight back to Kwik Fit when you get the chance.

Edited February 20, 2011 by Cameron

[kyepan 291]

i've run your setup with neutral toe and it did the same thing, check the sticky on how not to modify your suspension at the top of this section.

 

Mine now runs 0.6 deg toe in, which i believe is standard, i also have 309 bones.

[SweetBadger 94]

i've run your setup with neutral toe and it did the same thing, check the sticky on how not to modify your suspension at the top of this section.

 

Mine now runs 0.6 deg toe in, which i believe is standard, i also have 309 bones.

 

Cheers for the info, took it back to Kwik fit and the guy there was actually quite helpful, he checked it and said it was set up as it should be...

 

However I asked him what the standard toe settings were, and he couldn't find them on the Kwik Fit wall chart so I gave him the figures quoted on the main site - 1.0 ± 1.0 mm

 

He then confirmed that that's how it's set up: +1mm on one wheel -1mm on the other (can't remember which side was +/-) which apparently equalled toe in?

 

Anyway, surprisingly even though he said it had been set up correctly, I was offered a full refund!? Not going to say no to that! But still not convinced it was set up correctly - any views on the above?

 

So going to see how it drives over the next week and then take it to another tracking place to get it checked out when I get a mo...

[Cameron 16]

Err.. what!?

 

He set it up as -1mm (1mm toe in) on one wheel, and +1mm (1mm toe-out) on the other? So he's basically set it up as parallel. Fail?

[kyepan 291]

as i said you want - 0.5 on each wheel which equals -1 total wheel pointy in angle thing.

 

as cam says, -1 +1 = 0 wheel pointy angle.

 

Find somewhere to do it properly and don't leave till they can show you -0.5 on both wheels. or near as damn it.

[SweetBadger 94]

Ha ha! Incredible! So it was set up parallel the first time, then the guy who checked it second time must have had the wheel slightly to the left (giving +1 on the passenger side & - 1 on the drivers side).

 

I assumed that the guy at least knew what toe-in / toe-out was! So this led me to believe that the +1 passenger side equalled toe-in, and -1 drivers side also equalled toe-in (i.e. assumed that +1 & +1 would have been parallel)

 

Glad I got the refund! I'll try find somewhere that knows what they're doing and get it set up as kyepan suggests, cheers.

Edited February 23, 2011 by SweetBadger

[swordfish210 20]

If you fancy a road trip to my place i will quite happily do it for you, bit of a trek though.

[Cameron 16]

Yeah, this guy is clearly a f***ing idiot. For a start, anyone who has ever tracked a car knows that minus numbers equal toe-in. Secondly, he clearly has no idea what a tolerance is, seeing as -1mm +/-1mm means the range is 0mm or -2mm.

 

Agreed on taking it to someone else, and well done for getting your money back!

Edited February 23, 2011 by Cameron

[Batfink 201]

It is Kwik Fit. They tend to employ all the village idiots..

[Cameron 16]

I remember arguing with one of them for about 10 mins over whether it was safe to track my car using the string box method. He was convinced (or at least trying to covince me) that my car would be undriveable!

[Super Josh 4]

I had exactly the same experience with Sh!t-fit, arguing that +1 and -1 equalled parallel tracking. They must train them all the same.

 

 

 

Josh