Halfords Wheel Alignment Ok?

[Dodgey]

No, green . The Blue and white one, number 94? went like S*** off a shovel ! - just rewatch the video. Is that you?

Regarding legality, I know, but I'm trying to get a feel for if mine is handling as they should. I really have no idea.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Dodgey

[Matt Seabrook]

No not me it's a mate of mine and someone I used to dice with when I was racing. When I packed up sprinting we would be nip and tuck on the times. I think the last time we raced together he was 2/10's of a second quicker than me on a 110 second run. So not a lot in it but I only ever manage to get the better of him once.

[robo1968]

I don't think I'd let Halfords get anywhere near a Westfield. Before I took mine to Matt I took it to a local Porsche specialist who said he knew what he was doing to get my front toe set to zero. They had a Beissbarth ML4000 four wheel alignment computer. Well either they couldn't use the equipment properly or else the machine was setup wrong cos it was way way out when Matt connected it up to his machine and then put it right. Take a look at the printout from Matt's session below. Checkout the front toe before Matt's correction! That was how the Porsche garage set it to what they described as zero toe! You can't beat good experience in dealing specifically in Westfield's - even if the garage has good equipment.

[Matt Seabrook]

Thanks Rob. To be honest no two alignment are normally the same as the first thing we do is chat about how the customer wants the car to handle road test the car and then I choose a set of figures that will suit the owner.

Rob was not used to something as raw as a Westfield and wanted a very stable car. So with the offset his wheels had we chose to run the car slightly toe in and not much camber. Adjusted tyre pressures checked damper settings checked rake and ride hight. Only then did we adjust geo settings. The op should have someone closeish to them that can do this sort of thing but I don't think Halfords are likely to be it.

A good geo setup makes a big difference to a car. It always amazes me how some people will spend a fortune on suspension and brakes and then does not want to get it set up properly. I suppose it's because their is no shiny s**t to show off it something you can't see.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

So, so, true Matt. I don't know what it is about Westfields that 'cause so many to put up with poorly sorted cars. I don't know if the fact it's a kit car somehow causes low expectations, or if it's some other factor. Thankfully it does seem to be changing a little more now, with more recognising the huge benefits of getting them properly set up.

Half the battle is actually knowing what to set them to; with so much suspension adjustment possible, (before even considering the complications of corner weighting), plus variations due to tyre type, springs, dampers, arbs. Then throw in the ideal of matching settings to the drivers style. You can't just pick a set of figures out of a book (or off a web page) and hope for the best, not when the car could be so much better than that.

Like you say though Matt, nothing blingy to look at or a gazzilion bhp to talk about over a pint