Firestone alignment?

[BigBart33]

Hey all,

I used to get my cars aligned anywhere because I never had performance cars and I was happy as long as the car was tracking straight. However, I'm obviously a bit more concerned about my FK8 and would like to make sure it's always aligned to factory spec. As such I've been taking my Type R to the dealer when I need an alignment, but I like Firestone's lifetime alignment offering. Have any of you been taking your Type Rs to Firestone for alignments? Any issues?

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[remc86007]

I bought the lifetime alignment through them. I've only used it once so far, but I will be using it again soon. I think it's highly dependent on the actual shop. I felt comfortable getting the lifetime thing because the guys at the shop were friendly and let me watch them do it.

 

[suhhh]

Got their lifetime alignment last week, first time around they didn't align it correctly and my car was still pulling.

Came back the following Saturday had an appointment at 12, I didn't get my car aligned until 2:30. Talked with the guy getting aligned before me who had a Range Rover Sport, he was telling me how he just got brand new tires on it and they convinced him to get an alignment and the car was driving worse than before it was aligned, which is why he was on the rack for 2.5 hours because after aligning it 3 times they couldn't get it right.

Needless to say, after getting it aligned again after him they couldn't get it right and my car still pulls left. Went back and demanded a refund, said I'm not paying for a lifetime alignment if you guys can't get it right the first two times. Got my money back and going to a tuner shop saturday to align it.

 

[Caestus]

Got their lifetime alignment last week, first time around they didn't align it correctly and my car was still pulling.

Came back the following Saturday had an appointment at 12, I didn't get my car aligned until 2:30. Talked with the guy getting aligned before me who had a Range Rover Sport, he was telling me how he just got brand new tires on it and they convinced him to get an alignment and the car was driving worse than before it was aligned, which is why he was on the rack for 2.5 hours because after aligning it 3 times they couldn't get it right.

Needless to say, after getting it aligned again after him they couldn't get it right and my car still pulls left. Went back and demanded a refund, said I'm not paying for a lifetime alignment if you guys can't get it right the first two times. Got my money back and going to a tuner shop saturday to align it.

So surprisingly I learned a few things in my short tenure as a store manager for a tire and wheel shop (10 months during the pandemic) it felt like a safe job. I have since moved on to bigger and better things..

Tire runout is a real thing. Your car can be perfectly aligned, perfectly balanced, and pull left or right. It's because the tire runout will pull the car. If you swap your tires from left to right, it will usually correct this issue.

I have also learned there are some completely awful alignment techs out there... so it could still be that haha.... But yeah... I had brand new Michelin PS4S and my car would pull. It was just tire runout.

Get your tires balanced on a super quality machine and it will make a big difference.

 

[FK8_Track_Pig]

Depends on the person that's doing the alignment. I had a lifetime alignment at Firestone on my Prelude and the first two times they left me with a messed up alignment, went back a third time and left with a perfect alignment. Every time I got my car aligned I'd request him and had zero issues. So its a hit or miss.

 

[WF19]

I bought their lifetime alignment precisely because I was doing suspension work on my Sonata, which I mentioned at the time. After replacing another component, I went back for the alignment and they said it wouldn't be covered because they didn't do the suspension work. I left without paying for another alignment, made some adjustments to the tie rod ends and never did go back. The pandemic hit and I sold the car, but needless to say they're going to look for reasons not to honor your "lifetime" alignment.

 

[m_kluch]

Went there with my Integra one time after replacing a rear lower control arm and rear sway bar. I wanted a four wheel alignment. All four corners had adjustability for toe and camber with aftermarket parts. After an hour of waiting the guy called me up to the counter and said that it was all done and that they were only able to do the front toe because I had aftermarket suspension parts on it and they dont touch aftermarket parts....he still charged me for the four wheel alignment. Never going back there and would not recommend them to anyone.

 

[shadow]

I have no faith in most commercial alignments, so I took the DIY path. I got the Smartstrings alignment kit and did it myself.

https://www.smartracingproducts.com/smartstrings

So far I've done my '99 Civic, '11 STI, '15 Civic & '16 Civic. The most difficult part is the repetitive lifting and lowering of the car for the adjustments.

All adjustments went well and the cars track straight.

 

[FK8_Track_Pig]

I have no faith in most commercial alignments, so I took the DIY path. I got the Smartstrings alignment kit and did it myself.

https://www.smartracingproducts.com/smartstrings

So far I've done my '99 Civic, '11 STI, '15 Civic & '16 Civic. The most difficult part is the repetitive lifting and lowering of the car for the adjustments.

All adjustments went well and the cars track straight.

That's what I've been doing ever since coming to Germany. BG Racing string kit and Lonacre digital camber/caster gauge. I can do all my adjustments without jacking up the car but it's still a tedious process.

 

[timtzotz]

My local stealership has a gadget that estimates your alignment as you pull in. My CTR was used at about 5000 miles when I purchased it. Drove fine but when i pulled in after only adding a couple hundred road miles, the machine indicated a major malalignment. They of course fixed it gratis but 2 questions:

1. Is that quickie drive up device accurate?
2. The repair tech gave me the car back and indicated that the CTR cannot always be perfectly aligned. Huh?

any advice appreciated on either.

 

[BryanCO]

Haven’t used Firestone and unlikely that I ever will.

I found a local alignment shop and have used then multiple times over the years and have always received good service and results.

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