Good Alignment Shop?

[Eurorcr]

***Edit***

I found an awesome shop that did a great alignment the old fashioned way with strings. This means cars with extra diffusers and aerodynamics can be done. They specialize in chassis setup primarily with highend BMW's, Audi's, Porsche's etc. but are now branching into the Japanese markets. They just purchased a new Civic Si they are turning into a racecar with $$$$ Moton coilovers. They set my car up perfect for the track. See post #20 for more details.

***End Edit***

Anybody know of a place in the Metro Detroit area that has a good reputation on setting up race car's with specific alignment specs?

Thanks!

[06mr2024]

There are a few places listed in this old thread on mievo.net...not sure about race though ...hope it helps..

Link - http://www.mievo.net/talk/showthread...ight=alignment

[Eurorcr]

Thanks so much for that link. I see that Bruce's comes highly recommended. Unfortunately, that was where I had planned on going in the first place but heard they are no longer in business.

Anybody know if this is true or not?

[PPI]

/\ I drove by Bruces and they were closed...
on another note, I have a new tray to test on your car.

[RSboy]

Go to the Belle Tire on gratiot and 10mi. Ask for Matt Hickmott. He was good and took the time to get my car setup right. Might have to get it done again for next track day in spring.

Ask overlord Bob about it, he recommended them.

[PPI]

/\ I might give that place a try as I will need a new alignment.

[EvoGLH]

Call the Belle Tire (586)-779-5400 before you go & make sure that Matt Hickmott is there.

They have a new Mgr. there who can sometimes be a bit of a prick & will try to get the guys to rush jobs: stand your ground, and don't let it happen -- dropping 'hints' that you appreciate them taking the extra care, time & attention that a car like ours requires, and that you'll pass the word on if they make you happy does wonders...

I've tried to train 'em right so they treat you guys well and do a proper job.

They'll even let ya sit in the car while it's aligned - if you're the only/main driver, or are going for a specific setting, that's the proper way to have it done!

* Note: certain chin extensions/spoilers (particularly on lowered cars) can interfere with the alignment rack safety stops, so be warned!
If possible, and with your permission, Belle Tire can/will temporarily remove & remount them afterwards (at no extra cost, as far as I know.)

Remember to tell 'em the 'Smiley' yellow Evo sent ya. (hahaha)

Reminds me: I have 2 cars that need to have alignments 'tweaked' again. Free adjustments & 'corrections' for 3 months, ya know!


If that Bell Tire doesn't give you a warm fuzzy feeling, Slim's is a 1/4 mile south of the Bell Tire, just east of Gratiot.

[Gideon201]

Unless there is something else wrong with my car, I am in need again already. It has only been 2 months since my last alignment. Which I got at Moran Mitsubishi under warranty. A couple of days ago I could let go of the wheel and the car would make a left turn on its own.

[EvoGLH]

Gideon - Moran may realign the Evo again at no cost, as long as it wasn't thrown out by a pothole impact, etc.

Did this develop gradually, or suddenly?


Hopefully it's not a situation I once had:
Arnold Mitsu once aligned my Evo to OEM specs: fine at first, but began pulling to left within a few hundred miles & got worse.
Took it back, and it still didn't feel 'right' even after they'd rechecked & realigned it a couple times, so...

I stopped by the 10mile & Gratiot Belle Tire and had them do a free alignment reading.
I sat in the BT bay watching 'em like a hawk the whole time, and no tools ever came near my Evo: they let me climb into the pit & showed me exactly what they found -- Arnold Mitsu had failed to tighten everything, and had left one strut bolt loose enough to be turned by hand!

[Eurorcr]

/\ I drove by Bruces and they were closed...
on another note, I have a new tray to test on your car.

Give me a call so we can set up a time for the test fit.

Thanks to everybody with Alignment shop reccomendations!

[Gideon201]

Did this develop gradually, or suddenly?

Hopefully it's not a situation I once had:
Arnold Mitsu once aligned my Evo to OEM specs: fine at first, but began pulling to left within a few hundred miles & got worse.
Took it back, and it still didn't feel 'right' even after they'd rechecked & realigned it a couple times, so...

When I got my car back it was better, so I know they did something, however it was horrible work in my opinion. Being that it has only been 2 months, that kind of worries me. I guess I will just check out other places for an inspection to see whats going on. That won't happen for a few weeks though since my car will be at PPI for ports and coats. ^^

[AfireINSIDE]

I went to the belle tire for Matt he did the EXACT specs I wanted spent about 2 hours doing it for no more money, got yelled at too because of it! I will be going their after springs

[johannes]

For an of you guys on the West side, "Muscles" at Belle tire in Novi has done about 10 alignments for me and has gotten pretty familiar with Evos. Nice guy too.

[MitsuJoe]

Any place in michigan with corner scales and the knowledge to setup a race suspension?

[Z_lancerman]

Besides going to Detroit, does anyone know of good shop near Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti? Now that I've got my coilovers on, I need to get it done but I want it done to my specs and get the same kind of treatment some of you have received from Matt at Belle Tire.

[otter]

I just got my alignment done at the Belle Tire on Carpenter. I didn't ask for custom specs, but their service was great. It'd be worth giving them a call and asking if they'd do custom settings.

[SeeNoEvo]

I just wanted to also say that Matt at Belle Tire around 10 and Gratiot does great work. Thanks guys for the recommendation.

Heres a little pic of the Evo with the nice new RT-615's getting straightend up by Matt.

Not too bad for a camera phone pic.

[RSboy]

I just wanted to also say that Matt at Belle Tire around 10 and Gratiot does great work. Thanks guys for the recommendation.

Heres a little pic of the Evo with the nice new RT-615's getting straightend up by Matt.

Not too bad for a camera phone pic.

yeah matt is great! i'll definitely recommend him again and again.

[Bullet]

Any place in michigan with corner scales and the knowledge to setup a race suspension?

I have a buddy who can corner balance with scales. His name is Jason Kolk and he is in the waterford area/metro detroit. if you need his contact info its- baumer02@comcast.net. He is very good and does percise scale/alignment set-up's. He is a Racer/Autocross/Track guy and knows his stuff!

Just tell him Scotty O sent ya!!
Scott

[Eurorcr]

Hey guys, I just wanted to share a very positive experience I had this weekend.

After installing and corer balancing my new TC Kline double adjustable coilover kit for my BMW I needed an alignment with very specific alignment settings that BMW suspension guru TC Kline gave me. Ever since Bruce’s closed I have been looking for a shop that specializes in race cars for corner balancing and alignments. I looked long and hard for a place that did it the old fashion way with hand tools, strings and rulers. For those of you that have been around racing this is the only way to truly get you alignment perfect.

I met these guys who started a shop called VR Performance up near the Kart to Kart facility in Sterling Heights. Their names are Horst and Eric and both of them are mechanical engineers for Chrysler by day and work on race cars on the weekends since they are both not married and have no kids. I also learned that the two of them have completed several One Lap of America’s and are very interested in setting up the chassis of a car (handling, braking) and focus on that rather than focusing on power like every other tuning shop I have ever been two. They carry very expensive aftermarket parts like Moton, Ohlins, Fikse, Alcon, etc. Both of them own E36 and E46 M3’s along with a new Honda Civic Si equipped with $$$$k Moton coilovers. When I got to the shop I did not know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised to find a very clean, professional looking shop equipped with two lifts, every tool imaginable and some very nice cars in the bays. I immediately thought two things: 1. I was no longer worried about some hacks working on my car 2. I am going to pay a boat load of money for this alignment.

Eric (the alignment specialist) made sure to talk to me for about 15 minutes to learn exactly what I was looking for. I was able to observe every tweak Eric made. He measured toe and camber to the millimeter rather than inches like most shops do. The biggest surprise came when they told me how much the cost was. He worked on my car for several hours and only charged my $120 for the whole job. He then asked me to come back after driving around for a week so he could check everything over again.

The end results were amazing. My car handles unbelievable. It is for sure the best handling car I have ever driven, even better than my e36 M3 was and way better than the STI was. My camber plates are symmetrical so I set up the street setting to have a little toe in and 0 camber. I set up the track setting with -3 degrees of camber and a fair amount of toe out. I settled for -1.5 degrees camber out back with a little toe in. The Bottom line is that I am very picky about who works on my car. Eric and Holtz did an excellent job, are very cool guys and I’d definitely recommend them to any of you if you need a good place to help you with suspension set up.

Their contact information is:

VR Peformance
43677 Utica Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48314

586-991-2455

eric@vrperformance.com
www.vrperformance.com

See you guys at the racetracks!

Al



P.S- No I am not getting paid by these guys, I was just that impressed.