Quick-fit say they cannot do Merc tracking

[philepo]

Is this right that only Mercedes can do the tracking?

Just had 2 tyres on front as inside shoulders badly worn so maybe toe out wrong?

Also, was pulling to left, but now with new tyres it no longer pulls???

Is merc tracking expensive, can someone else do it?

Advice greatly appreciated.

 

[grahamcol]

Hi,
Merc tracking needs to be done by someone really good such as a main dealer (expensive), Merc indie or someone really good such as a company called Wheels in Motion. I wouldn't go near kwit fit for that, especially with a Merc. It could be that your inside edge wear is camber related, in whcih case you may need the special Merc camber bolts fitted to correct. Also, just as likely is some wear in one or more bushes which can also cause this. Good luck

 

[rf065]

Look up the Wheels in Motion site, I'm sure they can recommend someone if you are not near them.

Russ

 

[television]

I agree with the above post, especially when it comes to camber settings

 

[philepo]

anyone know somewhere near York for tracking?

Thanks for that.

The car is a c200 1999 s202 model. Is it prone to tyre where due to busges going? It passed the MOT so can't be that worn surely?

Just got quote from ind garage of £85+VAT+extras if need be. Sounds steep but is it?

Has anyone else suffered adverse tyre where like this?

 

[television]

The wear takes place often due to worn suspension parts that allow the wheels to sit at the incorrect angles

 

[grahamcol]

Phil,
No, that price sounds OK if its from a decent Merc indie. My C200 1996 model doesn't have uneven wear on the tyres but my C280 2000 model (both 202's) does a bit. The indie I went to told me that the bushes etc were fine and the alignment was also OK so I didn't really get to know why the C280 tyres wear unevenly. However, I do know this can be caused by incorrect camber angle and / or bush wear so I suggest you do get it checked out. At that price it could save you money in the long run. Good luck

 

[john1]

I had my tracking done by mb in chesterfield it cost £261

 

[Ghost CLS]

They are out there, just not that easy to find.

The steering on my CLK 320 (W208) felt slow, not enough self-centring & also pulled slightly to the left. The tyre fitters next to where I work tried to do the tracking but couldn't cure it (so didn't charge anything) but recommended another local fitters.

They use a four wheel alignment computer jig made by “Hunter” which provides you with a before & after wheel line up chart.

All done in 45 minutes & cost £47 plus 2 x new adjustment bolts.

Apparently they carry out work for most of the local Porsche, Mercedes, BMW dealerships etc. at the same cost. When you get the “Wheel Geometry” bill from these dealerships it’s gone up to £250

Just to make sure everything was in order went for a quick blast down to the South Coast & back. Well it was nice weather last weekend, & an excuse will do!

 

[television]

They are out there, just not that easy to find.

Very true,,its a matter of going around the tyres places and seeing what they have. Pleased that your car drives fine now.

We had so many cars down here in Lyme Regis last weekend that the whole town ground to a halt, the Police could do nothing and they left it to sort itself out

 

[Rory]

but recommended another local fitters.

That's a very good price for full alignment and fitting the adjuster bolts - I'm sure other members would appreciate knowing the name and location of the firm.

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
I had mine done on a Hunter machine IIRC, this machine can check the alignment of the rear wheels (as most merc's you can adjust the rear settings too), as far as I,m aware the front can only be done if the rear is correct as most machines set the front up using the rear as a datum, so just because a company is equipped with a machine that hangs a rig on the rear wheels this does,nt mean there doing a 4 wheel alignment as the rig only casts a datum for the front.
If I remember correctly the Hunter cannot do vehicles with ESP not sure why but I did get them to do my AMG despite this but I disconnected the battery once on the machine and reconnected it after adjustment so then to now clear the ESP warning light go from lock to lock to recalibrate the steering wheel centre position.
I believe the "Tyreland" chain are equipped with the Hunter machine.

 

[Jay Gee]

Just a quick non-technical comment if I may.Four new tyres at ATS,tracking checked and adjusted with a 4 wheel laser thingy.20k later,tyre wear seems to be very uniform across the tread.Perhaps I was lucky?

 

[EGBM]

Phil (OP) - same here with the CLS and tyres worn extremely unevenly, got it sorted at a chassis alignment specialist inc camber adjustment bolts. Wear looks nice and even now.

So yeah, keep QuickSh t away from it is my advice!

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

Mercedes use a 'Beissbarth' machine equipped with laser heads which fit into the 5 small holes on the wheels in between the bolt holes, and obviously the correct software for the entire range. You also need a levelled 4 poster ramp for the machine to calculate everything properly or the set back compensation (front to rear axle measurements) will be out and the readings wont compensate for the ill ramp.

 

[niterider]

I still haven't got my light problem sorted but I took the ML to intercounty the other night as I was talking to the night foreman when I took a company Actros in for serviceing and he ran the computer over my ML and it came up witha load of stored faults, as we were chatting he suddenly asked if I had had the tracking done? yes says I but not by Merc dealer but aBMW speacialist and he explained hoe the Mercs have a set up and if this is not done 100% this could also bring this light on. Any way he knows the foreman in the local workshop who has said he is going to have a look at it on a Saturday morning soon. So heres hoping it might just need the tracking done . Apparently NOT haveing the tracking done by some one who knows what they are doing ie and if there are any indie mechs maybe they can verify this....... there are two markers on one on the bottom of the colum and another one at the bottom on the rack part now if they are not both alligned then the wheels brought in to the correct adjustment evenly whilst being held out by a stretcher type tool then you will not get a correct allignment as I said or rather tried to explain I took mine to a BMW speacialist and it's not been right since so in my mind then maybe Mercs are to expensive after all.
Excuse the long wind explaination maybe some one could expalin it better.

Dave ( Niterider )

 

[Hertfordshire Merx]

If the steering wheel is not dtraight and the car is equipped with ESP, the steering angle sensor will read that the wheel is out according to the wheel speeds being relatively equal as they will be rotating at the same speed and not cornering like the ESP control unit thinks the steering angle sensor is...

 

[philepo]

the garage was http://www.hatfields.co.uk/york

In the end I went to Gordons tyres in Wakefield http://www.gordonstyres.co.uk/pages/gordons_branches.htm who do 4 wheel alignment for 25 quid! (as long as camber doesn't need adjusting - on mine it was tracking only apparently)

 

[124coupe]

Just a quick tip even for Hunter-equipped garages.

Make sure they use the correct full 5 digit VIN when they look your car up - e.g. for me, (WDB)124052 - as the correct settings vary quite a lot by individual model. The software drills down from make to model to sub-model.

I just had my Coupe set up by ETB in Stratford-Upon-Avon after replacing the front springs - £58 for all 4 wheels on their Hunter. (the Coupe has all the required bolts already). Front only is about £25.

ETB has a second screen in reception so you can watch as they make the changes.