tyres: tracking

I disagree. There will be a difference in turning circle from left to right, and the indicators will self-cancel on one side too soon, whilst may not self-cancel at all on the other side.

Chris

I think if the steering was far enough out to worry you on that basis, it would be pretty noticeable enough without having to do a tracking test!

A steering wheel 5 degrees off centre would be visually obvious enough. Lock to lock is about 1200 degrees. A vanishingly small concern.

But not 'essentially cosmetic' ;-)

Chris

What on earth do you do with your car that requires anywhere near that closely matched turning circle?

I doubt whether the average driver or even an above average one would ever discover the difference in turning circle (if any) of a slightly misaligned steering wheel, but they will very quickly notice the change in the self cancelling of the indicators that even a small offset will cause.

It doesn't seem that Fred was too bothered about the 1.5 degree steering wheel angle that would be needed to centre his wheels.

Some will ensure that the steering wheel is in the neutral position before starting the alignment, then dropping it down onto the plates.

Yep, decent places have a gadget that hooks onto the steering wheel and holds it central.

Chris

By the technician's eye or with a spirit level?

Whatever, I stand my position that tracking is foremost a wheel to wheel measurement. The approach to the customer when hawking for cash should not be "yer offside wheel is wonky" but "the tracking is well within limits but we can centre the steering wheel if you want".

In that case we must agree to disagree.

Usual cause of out of specification tracking these days is hitting the kerb or a pothole. The average driver will only be aware that the steering wheel isn't straight; he/she has no other point of reference.

If it starts off in the wrong place, there is nothing to draw attention to a defect that might damage tyres to the point of them becoming unsafe.

Chris

Sorry for the late replies. Thanks for all the reassurance that they are nothing to worry about.

I know about degrees, minutes, and seconds but can't say that I have ever seen minutes used in real life before.

Would I notice if the wheel was 1.5 degrees off centre? It seems like a very small difference to me. TIA

Since you have to ask, then it obviously doesn't matter. If your spirit level was that far out when putting a shelf on your living room wall it would be enough to notice. But for such a small number we have to trust the technician actually set the steering wheel level using instruments and not by eye.

You were told in your alignment test that one wheel was 11 minutes off centre. What they actually meant was that, with the other wheel centred, you have 11 minutes toe in/out(?) or about 1.2mm on 15 inch wheels - which is how tracking used to be measured.