4 wheel goemetry around Swindon

[DKL]

Anyone have any recommendations for a good setup place in North Wilts? I need the 944T set up following its new dampers.
Thanks

ETA ok so I can't type straight!

Edited by DKL on Saturday 2nd May 17:04

[blueg33]

A little way from you, but I use the Powerstation in Tewkesbury. Very good and do lots of Race cars

[bluetone]

Yup; Powerstation have a good reputation from what I can glean from t'interweb; not used them myself but plan to when I get my shocks replaced.

[blueg33]

bluetone said:

Yup; Powerstation have a good reputation from what I can glean from t'interweb; not used them myself but plan to when I get my shocks replaced.

They just did full Geometry on my G33, handling is amazing now rather than just good.

[agent006]

blueg33 said:

A little way from you, but I use the Powerstation in Tewkesbury. Very good and do lots of Race cars

Ended up with my audi's steering wheel about 20 degrees off centre after a powerstation alignment. And not exactly cheap either. Maybe they've improved now they've moved.

Protyre in gloucester do a far better job for less money (charge per adjustment, so if nothing's wrong it costs a lot less).

[blueg33]

agent006 said:

blueg33 said:

A little way from you, but I use the Powerstation in Tewkesbury. Very good and do lots of Race cars

Ended up with my audi's steering wheel about 20 degrees off centre after a powerstation alignment. And not exactly cheap either. Maybe they've improved now they've moved.

Protyre in gloucester do a far better job for less money (charge per adjustment, so if nothing's wrong it costs a lot less).

Wasn't cheap, but they spent 3 hours sorting it, steering wheel is centred, car corner weighted too. My car has no quoted standard settings so it does require some experience and expertise to come up with the settings. Many places wouldnt touchthe G33 because its not in their computer

[chim666]

Neil Garner's got to be the closest for you.

[DKL]

chim666 said:

Neil Garner's got to be the closest for you.

Ah forgot about Neil.
Thanks I'll drop them a line.

[agent006]

chim666 said:

Neil Garner's got to be the closest for you.

I would recommend him too, but when i asked he said he would struggle to do a road car alignment as his kit is for race car suspension. That was quite a while ago though so maybe worth asking him anyway. Highly recommended and he did a fantastic job on everything i put his way.

[bluetone]

DKL said:

chim666 said:

Neil Garner's got to be the closest for you.

Ah forgot about Neil.
Thanks I'll drop them a line.

Can you do me a favour and let us know what the outcome is w.r.t. setting-up an MX5 as these guys are pretty close to me, thanks!

[miniman]

bluetone said:

DKL said:

chim666 said:

Neil Garner's got to be the closest for you.

Ah forgot about Neil.
Thanks I'll drop them a line.

Can you do me a favour and let us know what the outcome is w.r.t. setting-up an MX5 as these guys are pretty close to me, thanks!

Neil did my MX5 for me. I fitted the Eibachs and KYB adjustables, he set it up. Honestly the difference between the standard car and now is massive. It handles beautifully, rides well considering how much lower it is, everything is really nicely set up. You only have to go to Neil's workshop to be convinced that you've made the right choice - the place is clean enough to eat your dinner off and packed full of exotica. And his hourly rate is low too.

Edited by miniman on Monday 4th May 09:51

[bluetone]

miniman said:

Neil did my MX5 for me. I fitted the Eibachs and KYB adjustables, he set it up. Honestly the difference between the standard car and now is massive. It handles beautifully, rides well considering how much lower it is, everything is really nicely set up. You only have to go to Neil's workshop to be convinced that you've made the right choice - the place is clean enough to eat your dinner off and packed full of exotica. And his hourly rate is low too.

Good news! If you don't mind me asking, approx how much did the springs/dampers cost? Did you fit them yourself? I need a setup that is compliant enough to handle the odd North Wiltshire pothole without me needing an osteopath but can also be stiffened-up to use on-track occasionally.

Cheers!

Edited by bluetone on Monday 4th May 10:10

[miniman]

Sure, the springs (Eibach) were about £130 for the set and the shocks (KYB AGX adjustable) were about £80 a corner IIRC, both from MX5 Parts. I fitted them myself using a method I found on a US MX5 forum which eliminates the need to break all the ball joints. Not strictly important if you are lowering because you will need it properly set up anyway.

Neil charged about £120 to set it up as I recall.

[adamfogerty]

I think Imperial Tyres are the only 4-wheel alignment place in Swindon:

http://www.imperialtyres.co.uk/

Not used them though, or heard anything about them.

Even though I live in Swindon, I chose to go a little further - http://www.centergravity.co.uk

Adam

[bint]

adamfogerty said:

I think Imperial Tyres are the only 4-wheel alignment place in Swindon:

http://www.imperialtyres.co.uk/

Not used them though, or heard anything about them.

Even though I live in Swindon, I chose to go a little further - http://www.centergravity.co.uk

Adam

We use Imperial for the GT4 (being 4WD n all) and I've used them for my old Celica too - I've always been impressed with their work and they price matched Eagle F1's for me Vs. an internet price!

[joe_90]

+1 For Imperial tyres. Very good family run business.

Always helpful.

[bluetone]

miniman said:

Sure, the springs (Eibach) were about £130 for the set and the shocks (KYB AGX adjustable) were about £80 a corner IIRC, both from MX5 Parts. I fitted them myself using a method I found on a US MX5 forum which eliminates the need to break all the ball joints. Not strictly important if you are lowering because you will need it properly set up anyway.

Neil charged about £120 to set it up as I recall.

Hi James,

Is this the method you used?
http://www.miata.net/garage/shock_install.html

If not, can you direct me to the url you found? Also, would be nice to know how long this took you; my car is a daily driver so I need to complete any work over a weekend (and hope the results are drivable afterwards LOL). How was the handling on yours after your shock-swap but prior to setup by Neil? Scarey?

Cheers,
Ian

[miniman]

bluetone said:

Hi James,

Is this the method you used?
http://www.miata.net/garage/shock_install.html

If not, can you direct me to the url you found? Also, would be nice to know how long this took you; my car is a daily driver so I need to complete any work over a weekend (and hope the results are drivable afterwards LOL). How was the handling on yours after your shock-swap but prior to setup by Neil? Scarey?

Cheers,
Ian

Hi Ian,

That's not the method I used, but it looks pretty close - the one I used required spring compressors and to be honest I would recommend using them anyway as there is so much energy in those springs it seems a bit risky undoing bolts without keeping them restrained. The first corner took about 2 hours, then 2 more hours for the other 3 once I'd got the hang of it. It was quite drivable afterwards but massively improved by the proper setup.

[caiss4]

joe_90 said:

+1 For Imperial tyres. Very good family run business.

Always helpful.

+2. Bought all my tyres for a good number of years from Imperial as their prices were always the best without undue haggling. Did a 4 wheel alignment of the S4 a couple of years back as the front tyres were wearing prematurely. The incredibly small adjustment that was made added 3000 miles to the front tyre life.