We are signed up for a full wheel alignment this Friday at a shop in Santa
Rosa having good marks from a couple of netters. We hope to further reduce
road wander, which has already been significantly improved with new shocks
and a Caspro front stabilizer. The front end was serviced and a 6 wheel
alignment performed last year and the system is now pretty tight or "exact",
but it still "exactly" wanders around quite a bit. (I had Gene Fisher
drive it a couple of weeks ago and he emitted a yelp while recovering from a
local bump he had not noticed driving his own coach.) It's pretty clear a
body lean in one direction (say right) will produce a turn to the opposite
(left); the leaning caused by either a bump or deliberate turn (left).
One loose end remains to be resolved before having this shop tackle the
alignment. The rear end sits low as set in last year's alignment. If I
deliberately raise the rear by nearly 2 inches, all chassis measurement
points nicely fall into their respective windows and the body appears level.
In doing so, the air bags appear to be over inflated, the cones noticable
off horizontal. I have G159 LT225/75R16 tires on Alcoa rims, with 80 PSI
cold all around. The top of the tread is typically 28 3/4" off the
pavemen, cold, and measured in the dark. I keep hearing that the 225/75R15
essentially duplicates the original wheel and tire diameter which underlies
the chassis ride height measurement points on the frame. I keep wondering
if my current wheel and tire combination is really smaller than the OEM
configuration, and if not properly taken into account, will cause the height
adjustments (and consequently front end geometry) to be distorted when
forced to match the original height adjustment specs.
Can anyone verify that my 28 3/4" is close enought to the original loaded
tire diameter to pass for the original?
Am I correct in expecting the cones to be essentially vertical when properly
set?
Any suggestions?
TIA
John Bush
75 Palm Beach
Sunol, CA
Rosa having good marks from a couple of netters. We hope to further reduce
road wander, which has already been significantly improved with new shocks
and a Caspro front stabilizer. The front end was serviced and a 6 wheel
alignment performed last year and the system is now pretty tight or "exact",
but it still "exactly" wanders around quite a bit. (I had Gene Fisher
drive it a couple of weeks ago and he emitted a yelp while recovering from a
local bump he had not noticed driving his own coach.) It's pretty clear a
body lean in one direction (say right) will produce a turn to the opposite
(left); the leaning caused by either a bump or deliberate turn (left).
One loose end remains to be resolved before having this shop tackle the
alignment. The rear end sits low as set in last year's alignment. If I
deliberately raise the rear by nearly 2 inches, all chassis measurement
points nicely fall into their respective windows and the body appears level.
In doing so, the air bags appear to be over inflated, the cones noticable
off horizontal. I have G159 LT225/75R16 tires on Alcoa rims, with 80 PSI
cold all around. The top of the tread is typically 28 3/4" off the
pavemen, cold, and measured in the dark. I keep hearing that the 225/75R15
essentially duplicates the original wheel and tire diameter which underlies
the chassis ride height measurement points on the frame. I keep wondering
if my current wheel and tire combination is really smaller than the OEM
configuration, and if not properly taken into account, will cause the height
adjustments (and consequently front end geometry) to be distorted when
forced to match the original height adjustment specs.
Can anyone verify that my 28 3/4" is close enought to the original loaded
tire diameter to pass for the original?
Am I correct in expecting the cones to be essentially vertical when properly
set?
Any suggestions?
TIA
John Bush
75 Palm Beach
Sunol, CA
