Date:         Tue, 17 Jul 2018 23:32:27 -0400
Reply-To:     Gabriel Hourtouat <ghourtouat@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Gabriel Hourtouat <ghourtouat@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: tire pressures and alignments
In-Reply-To:  <CAHTkEuK0HfX7wZJo53qe7c5sx4p312CchwhDbm8bp8EFXnQApA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

Wheel alignment conducted at a shop -- so under-whelming...

Maybe I am overly enthusiastic about my van or something like that; but I
feel when I get an alignment done, I deserve a description of how it went:
in what condition was the alignment found, in what condition was it left.
Some numbers, a report.  Something!

Zilch.  Impassive faces.  blank stares.

And after asking many questions that didn't get answered, I finally got:
"there was only one adjustment I couldn't make -- rear right wheel --
totally seized up."

In the end, I didn't believe anything that they told me.   It just seemed
like lip service.


Do some shops provide a report of "as found" and "as corrected",
specifications, measurements, etc?




On Tue, Jul 17, 2018 at 5:48 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

> I weigh my van when I see a scale.
>
> My travel weight is around 4800 lbs for the winter long trips
>  I'd do alignment with your normal load.   I just do my own alignment
> after considering the wear on my old tires.. I have a lot of experience
> after racing though.
>
> On Tue, Jul 17, 2018, 7:55 AM Gabriel Hourtouat <ghourtouat@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Dennis's comment seems to line up well with my door placard specs (39
>> front
>> 48 rear) so that's comforting.
>>
>> The shop is conveniently around the corner so I will do an empty-vehicle
>> alignment and then ask them to check it loaded.
>>
>> Has anyone ever tried driving through the truck weigh stations on the
>> highway to check axel weights?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 17, 2018 at 9:21 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > The best alignments will be with the van loaded close to how it is
>> > normally used. Some of the alignment systems have software that adjusts
>> the
>> > settings based on measured height as the alignment angels do change
>> based
>> > on that. As for tire inflation the door placard is a start but should be
>> > confirmed with the tire load/pressure chart. On some years the placard
>> > listed pressure is too low in my opinion. For that type of tire 35 psi
>> is
>> > lower limit listed on the load inflation charts. The load rating of
>> 1,874
>> > pounds, (not Kilos) is achieved at the max inflation of 65 psi. At 35
>> psi
>> > you are probably down to 65% of that or 1,218 pounds or 2,436 for the
>> axle.
>> > Still not sufficient to meet the axle rating but it may be sufficient
>> for
>> > actual load. I tend to err on the side of caution and based on feel
>> > (subjective) I usually recommend at least 40-42 psi up front 48+ for the
>> > rear.
>> >
>> >
>> > Dennis
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------
>> > *From:* Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com> on behalf of
>> > Gabriel Hourtouat <ghourtouat@GMAIL.COM>
>> > *Sent:* Monday, July 16, 2018 6:28 PM
>> > *To:* vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> > *Subject:* tire pressures and alignments
>> >
>> > Should wheel alignments be done with an unladen van?
>> >
>> > (Or should I load it up with some concrete blocks, etc, to simulate the
>> > kind of load that the van will carry on road trips?)
>> >
>> > Any special considerations for an alignment?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > New tires: Continental Vanco Four Season 185R14C rated D (load range
>> 102 /
>> > 100 Q) are rated for 1874 kg at 65psi.
>> >
>> > What pressure would you run them?
>> >
>> >
>> > (I have gone to: 45 front, 49 rear, psi.)
>> > (The shop inflated them to: 34, 36, 40 and 42.  Or, random, in other
>> > words.)
>> >
>> > Any advice welcome.
>> >
>> > cheers,
>> > gab
>> > 86 Westy 2.1 WBX
>> >
>>
>