$630 for wheel balance & alignment!!!
06-20-2002, 02:24 PM
#16
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Most shops charge basically flat rates for balancing and alignment. $10/wheel is common for balancing and alignments run $100-150. One of the best alignments I had done was at a Les Schwab tire store. The guy spent a lot of time and only charged me $49 because he didn't change anything in the rear.
The worst service I ever had was from Fordahl Motorsports in Bellevue, WA. These guys were supposed to be a quality race shop. They screwed up everything, damaged my brand new wheels and essentially were worthless. I'm thinking of charging it back on my CC since I had to have it all redone by another shop to cure the shaking. They are to be avoided.
The worst service I ever had was from Fordahl Motorsports in Bellevue, WA. These guys were supposed to be a quality race shop. They screwed up everything, damaged my brand new wheels and essentially were worthless. I'm thinking of charging it back on my CC since I had to have it all redone by another shop to cure the shaking. They are to be avoided.
06-20-2002, 02:44 PM
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[quote]Originally posted by tt9714:
<strong>Perhaps we should be talking about TIME rather than MONEY. Specifically, is there an agreement about how much TIME it takes to correctly align a 944 Turbo including rear ride height adjustment with the eccentric?
If we can agree that the time is 3-4 hours, then the cost may vary depending on the labor rate. In my case, with the Chicago dealer at $105/hour the 3-4 hours is $315-$420. If your local labor rate is only $50/hour then that equates to $150-$200 for the job.<hr></blockquote></strong>
re: the rear ride height adjustment - I've only done it a dozen times or so, and I'm in and out under 1/2 hour. When corner balancing the race car, the shop has to adjust every corner - the corner balance is $65 (includes the use of scales), or approximately one-hour of labor. I misspoke earlier - the total for a 4 wheel race alignment with corner-balance is $155... that's $90 for the alignment and wheel spin balance, or approximately 1.5 hours of labor. 944's are considerably easier to align than most of todays cars - especially new Porsches. All of the adjustments are easily reached while on a lift, and only one special tool is needed.
[quote]<strong>As for the balancing, I think that 2 hours is high. 1 hour at the most (15 minutes/wheel) seems reasonable. Keep in mind these are Fuchs alloys so the weights must be attached to the inside of the rim with adhesive (no clip-on weights that you find on 99% of the "other" cars out there).</strong><hr></blockquote>
While it used to be normal for cars to predominantly have steel wheels, the trend is now more favored toward cast wheels - which must be handled the same as our Fuchs, PD's, D90's, etc. Any expereinced wheel-tire tech should be able to mount_and_balance 4 tires in under 1 hour... with balancing taking up ~15-20 minutes. If Porsche dealers are charging more than that, it's because they are Porsche dealers, or simply do_not do it enough to be proficient. The same care must be taken (or at least demanded) at any tire shop to endure the job is done correctly and without harm to the car or wheels. The exception is when looking for an alignment outside the normal factory specs - then, you are taking your chances that the shop really knows what is best, and also really knows how to do it in a timely manner without too much trial and error (for instance, knowing that 1 degree of change on the rear trailing arm with the eccentric is worth ~5mm of actual ride height).
Skip
<strong>Perhaps we should be talking about TIME rather than MONEY. Specifically, is there an agreement about how much TIME it takes to correctly align a 944 Turbo including rear ride height adjustment with the eccentric?
If we can agree that the time is 3-4 hours, then the cost may vary depending on the labor rate. In my case, with the Chicago dealer at $105/hour the 3-4 hours is $315-$420. If your local labor rate is only $50/hour then that equates to $150-$200 for the job.<hr></blockquote></strong>
re: the rear ride height adjustment - I've only done it a dozen times or so, and I'm in and out under 1/2 hour. When corner balancing the race car, the shop has to adjust every corner - the corner balance is $65 (includes the use of scales), or approximately one-hour of labor. I misspoke earlier - the total for a 4 wheel race alignment with corner-balance is $155... that's $90 for the alignment and wheel spin balance, or approximately 1.5 hours of labor. 944's are considerably easier to align than most of todays cars - especially new Porsches. All of the adjustments are easily reached while on a lift, and only one special tool is needed.
[quote]<strong>As for the balancing, I think that 2 hours is high. 1 hour at the most (15 minutes/wheel) seems reasonable. Keep in mind these are Fuchs alloys so the weights must be attached to the inside of the rim with adhesive (no clip-on weights that you find on 99% of the "other" cars out there).</strong><hr></blockquote>
While it used to be normal for cars to predominantly have steel wheels, the trend is now more favored toward cast wheels - which must be handled the same as our Fuchs, PD's, D90's, etc. Any expereinced wheel-tire tech should be able to mount_and_balance 4 tires in under 1 hour... with balancing taking up ~15-20 minutes. If Porsche dealers are charging more than that, it's because they are Porsche dealers, or simply do_not do it enough to be proficient. The same care must be taken (or at least demanded) at any tire shop to endure the job is done correctly and without harm to the car or wheels. The exception is when looking for an alignment outside the normal factory specs - then, you are taking your chances that the shop really knows what is best, and also really knows how to do it in a timely manner without too much trial and error (for instance, knowing that 1 degree of change on the rear trailing arm with the eccentric is worth ~5mm of actual ride height).
Skip
06-20-2002, 04:40 PM
#18
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To do a corner-balancing job, you need to adjust height of just a single corner. So I always get it with my 4-wheel alignment since it only adds about 15-minutes to the procedure. That's provided they have all the scales and tools in order.
06-20-2002, 05:32 PM
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[quote]Originally posted by Danno:
<strong>To do a corner-balancing job, you need to adjust height of just a single corner.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Only if the differential ride-heights are correct going in (and rake) - which mine are frequently not [except right now, since I did it last night
]
Skip
<strong>To do a corner-balancing job, you need to adjust height of just a single corner.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Only if the differential ride-heights are correct going in (and rake) - which mine are frequently not [except right now, since I did it last night
]Skip
06-20-2002, 05:49 PM
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Most dealerships use their service centers to supliment their New/Used car sales. I know that when I used to sell cars and we had a month off that the service dept. labor rates would go up. Dealerships are rip off's.
06-20-2002, 07:17 PM
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I pay 300 for an align and corner balance which seems high after hearing what you guys pay, but I am really happy with the way the tech sets the car up( 2.2 neg. camber all around, all the caster there is, 0 toe) Works well as a compromise for a street track setup. P.S. definitely go somewhere besides the dealer!!
06-20-2002, 08:46 PM
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Did some suspension word and changed the shocks so I had a 4 wheel allignment last week-1 hour in the car and $88. $10 per wheel for the balance-then again the nearest Porshe dealer is over 2 hours away so maybe the word on milking for Porches hasn't made it to northern Maine. 
06-20-2002, 09:25 PM
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Guys, thanks for all of the feedback. Today I contacted an independent shop that does European imports at the recommendation of a fellow PCA Club Member.
Their quote:
4 wheel spin balance = $60
Adjust rear ride height w/eccentric = $60
4 wheel alignment w/computer = $180
TOTAL = $300 (or $330 less than the dealer)
This seems about right considering the labor rates in my area, so I am planning to go with them. I just found out some of my parts are backordered. Why does it always seem like the ~first~ part needed for a job (e.g. A-arm caster blocks) are the ~last~ to arrive?
Patiently waiting,
MDW
Their quote:
4 wheel spin balance = $60
Adjust rear ride height w/eccentric = $60
4 wheel alignment w/computer = $180
TOTAL = $300 (or $330 less than the dealer)
This seems about right considering the labor rates in my area, so I am planning to go with them. I just found out some of my parts are backordered. Why does it always seem like the ~first~ part needed for a job (e.g. A-arm caster blocks) are the ~last~ to arrive?
Patiently waiting,
MDW
03-18-2003, 05:49 AM
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I had been given a similar price for an alignment and balance at one of the local Porsche dealers when I bought my 944 last spring. Mind you, they they justified it this way - the alignment is done on their new high tech "laser" alignment system, and the balancing is also a high tech dynamic balance with the wheels left ON-The-car to simulate the actual road conditions and will also account for other variables like brake rotors etc. etc. they stressed it was not just the typical balancing you can get anywhere for $10/wheel. I passed on the balancing, but did get them to do the alignment.
Dan
Dan
03-18-2003, 05:53 AM
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</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by jim968:
<strong> $89.00 for front-end only... "It's an exotic car!" I laughed, said that McPherson struts weren't _that_ exotic, & walked out... it was on my '88 944 na!
Jim, "When it becomes a crime to love, you should consider dating outside the family."</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">LOL good one.!
<strong> $89.00 for front-end only... "It's an exotic car!" I laughed, said that McPherson struts weren't _that_ exotic, & walked out... it was on my '88 944 na!
Jim, "When it becomes a crime to love, you should consider dating outside the family."</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">LOL good one.!
03-18-2003, 12:45 PM
#30
Three Wheelin'
Geez.....wow....got my suspension updated to late offset end of last week and dropped it off for an alignment yesterday at a place I used to work that is owned by Johnny Miller who races Trans Am and several of his mechanics have worked on the race cars he had over the years. Very knowledgeable and I paid $59 for my 4-wheel alignment..... Had the wheels balanced and checked my valve stems since they are bolt in and one was loose when I bought the car 2 months ago, $20 total.
