Black Series alignment question
03-18-2014, 05:00 PM
#1
Black Series alignment question
Forgive me if this has been covered but I couldn't find an answer searching. I feel like my '13 BS pulls a little too strongly to the right. I'm out of the free 12month/12k alignment, so I checked with my dealer on cost and what's involved and they mentioned the BS takes a special tool to realign that is proprietary to mercedes. They also said an alignment kit may be necessary and would be an additional $350! That seems a little crazy to me, but I wanted to see if anyone had any experience. Generally with my cars I have a great friend who is the mechanic on everything I own, but we are thinking we may not have access to the right tool(s) in this case, but if we could purchase the tool that might be a route we would go.
Thanks in advance,
Rm
Thanks in advance,
Rm
03-18-2014, 05:08 PM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
I think most c63's pull to the right. also, I think the dealer may have been giving you some BS BS. I would just have your buddy take a gander and see if he needs any special tools and then take it from there. there are a few CBS owners on here, so hopefully they will chime in.
03-18-2014, 05:40 PM
#3
I think most c63's pull to the right. also, I think the dealer may have been giving you some BS BS. I would just have your buddy take a gander and see if he needs any special tools and then take it from there. there are a few CBS owners on here, so hopefully they will chime in.
Rm
03-18-2014, 07:15 PM
#4
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2012 C63;1971 280SE 3.5(Sold);2023 EQS 450 SUV 4 Matic (Wife's)
The pressed toe setting is required on any C63 and maybe any C-Class and I am not sure what else. It is certainly possible to do an alignment without the pressed toe reading or bar. I am not exactly sure how big a deal it is. Maybe roadtalontsi will give us his thoughts on it.
The only adjustment front and rear is toe-in and I am not sure that will cure your problem but adjusting the front ride height a little may sort it out for you as it will change camber and caster a little. More positive caster on the passenger side is your best bet. There are camber bolts you can get to adjust caster and/or camber on the front but unless you are way out of spec from hitting a pothole or something they should not be required.
maximus may be correct about C63s pulling to the right and they don't seem to have to be out of alignment much to cause this to happen. It can also be a trying experience to find someone capable of correcting the alignment, even an experienced alignment tech from a MB dealer. Had mine aligned, on three separate occasions, at the dealer with just a little improvement but no cure.
Hopefully a simple alignment will sort this out for you. GL
The only adjustment front and rear is toe-in and I am not sure that will cure your problem but adjusting the front ride height a little may sort it out for you as it will change camber and caster a little. More positive caster on the passenger side is your best bet. There are camber bolts you can get to adjust caster and/or camber on the front but unless you are way out of spec from hitting a pothole or something they should not be required.
maximus may be correct about C63s pulling to the right and they don't seem to have to be out of alignment much to cause this to happen. It can also be a trying experience to find someone capable of correcting the alignment, even an experienced alignment tech from a MB dealer. Had mine aligned, on three separate occasions, at the dealer with just a little improvement but no cure.
Hopefully a simple alignment will sort this out for you. GL
03-18-2014, 10:31 PM
#5
MBWorld Fanatic!
not sure on the special tool other than the press-bar as mentioned. Which most people dont really use anyways. Although i do since clearly it's there for a reason. The c black series is alot like the clk-black on alignments. On the front you can put caster bolts in and the camber adjustment is on the knuckle where the strut meets it. one is a lock the other is a centric. As for rear camber i dont believe there is any stock adjustment (i've only done one c- b.s. not a whole lot floating around 
and its been over year )
The front toe settings only affect where the steering wheel position is. The rear affects thrust angle. Most benz's do pull right from the factory for safety reasons - not to veer into on coming traffic if you fall asleep and because most roads have a slight grade to the right for drainage in the u.s. Some states are much worse than others. I can tell you texas has very very steep road crown that requires around 50 minutes (60 minutes in a degree) of total pull to the left on a c-class to make the car drive straight. Any further adjustments or bolt kits should be covered under the 12/12 warranty. but thats from the warranty start date from when the original owner purchased.
The coilovers are adjustable but not intended for changes in ride height but more for corner balancing which they wont adjust under warranty and requires some very high dollar race car scales which most dealers have to rent.
Feel free to post up your specs before and after. ill tell you my thoughts on it. Ideally I try to use as much caster to pull and as little camber as possible. Caster isnt a wearing angle where as camber is. So the more equal you can get camber the more equal the left and right tire will wear. Also remember tires can cause pulls aswell as bent wheels which wont be warrantable either.
and its been over year ) The front toe settings only affect where the steering wheel position is. The rear affects thrust angle. Most benz's do pull right from the factory for safety reasons - not to veer into on coming traffic if you fall asleep and because most roads have a slight grade to the right for drainage in the u.s. Some states are much worse than others. I can tell you texas has very very steep road crown that requires around 50 minutes (60 minutes in a degree) of total pull to the left on a c-class to make the car drive straight. Any further adjustments or bolt kits should be covered under the 12/12 warranty. but thats from the warranty start date from when the original owner purchased.
The coilovers are adjustable but not intended for changes in ride height but more for corner balancing which they wont adjust under warranty and requires some very high dollar race car scales which most dealers have to rent.
Feel free to post up your specs before and after. ill tell you my thoughts on it. Ideally I try to use as much caster to pull and as little camber as possible. Caster isnt a wearing angle where as camber is. So the more equal you can get camber the more equal the left and right tire will wear. Also remember tires can cause pulls aswell as bent wheels which wont be warrantable either.
03-19-2014, 12:22 AM
#7
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2010 C63 P31 AMG
Forgive me if this has been covered but I couldn't find an answer searching. I feel like my '13 BS pulls a little too strongly to the right. I'm out of the free 12month/12k alignment, so I checked with my dealer on cost and what's involved and they mentioned the BS takes a special tool to realign that is proprietary to mercedes. They also said an alignment kit may be necessary and would be an additional $350! That seems a little crazy to me, but I wanted to see if anyone had any experience. Generally with my cars I have a great friend who is the mechanic on everything I own, but we are thinking we may not have access to the right tool(s) in this case, but if we could purchase the tool that might be a route we would go.
Thanks in advance,
Rm
Thanks in advance,
Rm
