[Sam_335i]

Took my car to a place in Ellicott City on a recommendation of a friend. However, the alignment machine would not fit over my 19 inch VMR 701's. The guy was really nice about it and tried to stretch the machine with no luck.

So....I just need a basic alignment. I am only dropped on Eibach Pro Kit springs so its not slammed to the ground. AT Speed quoted me awhile back something like $220 for a "race" alignment. I don't need all of that and that price is crazy high. Plus I am not taking the car to the track anyways.

So people help me out with an alignment place that:

a. Won't damaged my car and wheels like Mr Tire did when I got my run flats replaced on my factory sport package rims.

b. Won't charge me an arm and leg for a basic alignment.

-Rob

[bimdaddy]

Rob,
Just go to Russel and they will do your alignment right. They charged me around 170, and was able to put my car back to within BMW specs. They aligned my car with my 19s. I wouldn't skimp on a few bucks at some tire shop and have them f#$% up your car, bro. FYI, you can also have them align with your 189s on and then put your 19s on when you get home. Reason is the factory 189s have oem holes for them to mount the alignment device. Aftermarket rims do not have these holes, so they clamp the device to the outer lip of your rims. Call up Russel and ask for CCA discount.

[Sniz]

I can agree w that. I also recommended Atspeed but they are not cheap, but it will be done right.

go to russell or tischer and get it done right.

[Sam_335i]

Tischer $220

CCA does not apply.

Next.

[pseto]

go to the main NCC website and in the middle of the right hand side, there's a list of sponsors. start dialing and tell us what you find

[333sp]

Originally Posted by Sniz

I can agree w that. I also recommended Atspeed but they are not cheap, but it will be done right.

go to russell or tischer and get it done right.

I wouldn't let At Speed clean my windows.... their rack is a piece of junk and they don't know how to use it... unless they have someone new I don't know about

Any place with a Hunter Hawk-Eye or Bleisbarth rack with dedicated alignment tech familiar with European cars shouldn't f it up... esp. if you're just looking for spec.

Rob I know where you live.... even tough I doubt you know who this is... actually NTW/NTB in Columbia over near the Post Office on Oak Hall lane used to have a good tech AND British American Auto off Berger across Snowden from bowling alley have a Hawk-Eye and a guy who knows what he is doing.
He does all our stuff when customer doesn't want to pay for us to string it up proper.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by 333sp

I wouldn't let At Speed clean my windows.... their rack is a piece of junk and they don't know how to use it... unless they have someone new I don't know about

Any place with a Hunter Hawk-Eye or Bleisbarth rack with dedicated alignment tech familiar with European cars shouldn't f it up... esp. if you're just looking for spec.

Rob I know where you live.... even tough I doubt you know who this is... actually NTW/NTB in Columbia over near the Post Office on Oak Hall lane used to have a good tech AND British American Auto off Berger across Snowden from bowling alley have a Hawk-Eye and a guy who knows what he is doing.
He does all our stuff when customer doesn't want to pay for us to string it up proper.

good recommendations there. I've never had an alignment done at atspeed......would expect they could do it right.

[333sp]

Originally Posted by Sniz

good recommendations there. I've never had an alignment done at atspeed......would expect they could do it right.

At Speed - all I can say is things aren't always what they seem.... don't get me started.

It USED to be a real factory sponsored race team with real engineer level techs. Back then the "owner" Bob wasn't even allowed to talk to them or they would all quit b/c he was such an annoying a-hole who tried to act like Roger Penske but in reality was more like a circus chimp who was a total embarrassment at the track.

Once Volvo NA realized a lot of the money was "unaccounted for" shall we say, they pulled the plug, all the real techs immediately left and went back to the likes of Champion/Audi Sport NA LMP1 team, Dyson Porsche Spyder LMP2 team, etc. and Bob tried to re-invent himself as a street tuner shop with a building daddy bought him and some boners he got from Lincoln Tech (actually most of them fired from TPC / Mike Levitas) and he has all this old race stuff laying around and some fancy track Porsches and a rig his daddy bought him or that belong to "At Speed investors" bilked into giving him money... a bunch of supposedly unpaid for and past due Dinan inventory... has a car show and a lot of people come around and go "ooooohhhhh a real race shop"... things aren't always what they seem.

Want to see real race shop in driving distance? Go see TPC on rt.1.... they will look at you like you just came off a spaceship from mars is you aren't ready to write five figure check for something...and the place is dirty as hell.... fabrication sediment thick enough to kick with your foot... will ruin a paint job in a day if left in there uncovered...but they aren't about paint and don't care... they will tell you if you care about your piant you're in the wrong place... if you want to get the best lap time you can.. get out your check book and they will deliver.

Or..... go see Ivan at IMA in Chantilly.... just as if not more capable (no Rolex 24 win under his belt like TPC though). Ivan is a real race shop. He could literally make about any stock not-cast hard part in any BMW excepting prob. block, piston, rods and crank in an afternoon... engine dyno.... computational fluid dynamics... MoTec expert to nth degree... that is a real race shop.

At Speed... enjoy the show... but don't believe the hype.

[1N54E92]

I had mine done at AtSpeed. No complaints. Bob seems nice enough but then again I don't know the details like "333sp" does.

[Sam_335i]

going to try Commercial Tire on rt 1 in Elkridge.

[J330]

Rob the 335 looks real good

[333sp]

Originally Posted by Sam_335i

going to try Commercial Tire on rt 1 in Elkridge.

Don't know about them.... except I know they do a lot of big humongo commercial trucks

[Sam_335i]

Got the alignment this morning (had to burn hours of leave at work). Guy showed me the specs and it rides pretty decent. Let's see how many miles I get out of these tires.

[boom]

Wow 333sp, it seems you've slammed At Speed in just about every mention of them in one day. It sounds to me like this is personal...

[Hyper psi-atic]

Originally Posted by boom

Wow 333sp, it seems you've slammed At Speed in just about every mention of them in one day. It sounds to me like this is personal...

+1....335sp I think we all appreciate the feedback of the shop, but unless you provide actual workmanship testimonies, the background stories about the personalities of the owner isnt easy for someone with no knowledge of the shop to understand or care about.

TPC sounds like a great shop, but for the majority of posters they would care about their paint and care less about paying 5 figures to a shop to get some springs thrown on or an allignment just because the owner won a 24 Rolex?

Nothing here meant to bash you in any way dude...but if you have workmanship evidence of At Speed that may be more helpful, otherwise it really does sound very personal between you and the owner.

[Mei]

If you ever need to find another place, give Ed a call at York Automotive in Mount Airy (301.831.7337) to see if he can handle your setup. It's not that far away from EC. He does great autocross or basic setups and personally road races. I don't remember how much it costs for a custom alignment but it's definitely less than $90.