THEhomelessONE

Does the w210 chassis need special bolts to make adjustments or do they all come with eccentric?

Took my e55 into firestone today since I have their lifetime alignment plan and they couldn't adjust the rear. It's a new firestone and they have a brand new hunter alignment machine and kept telling me they did everything correctly and their machine is calibrated but I think they messed something up.

My alignment specs from 9k ago at Hilltop firestone:
FL TOE: 0.08
FR TOE: 0.09
RL TOE: 0.26
RR TOE: 0.16

Alignment specs today at El Cerrito firestone:
FL TOE: -0.24
FR TOE: -0.07
RL TOE: -0.25
RR TOE: -0.29

I'm running Bridgestone RE-71'S up front and Michelin A/S 3 at rear. Shouldn't my tires up front be bald by now from running that much toe out? Front and rear are wearing evenly.

Only reason I brought it in was to get a little more toe-out up front to improve turn-in and add/even out the rear toe-in side to side. I've taken plenty of 100+mph turns, pretty sure I'd notice I had that much toe-out in rear lol but it's the first time I've encountered something like this.

bbirdwell

Start in the stickies here:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/

Plutoe

I don't know if this will help however based on factory documentation front axle tow should be .10 with a + or - of .10------rear axle is expressed as an overall and that is .33 + or - .7

and yes there are special front camber bolts nuts and washers(they are different).

PS: be suspicious of hearsay documentation posted many places!!

THEhomelessONE

Thanks, sticky was helpful. From what I understand now the rear has eccentric toe adjustment and front has crash bolts(?) that can adjust camber/caster in only one of two settings.

All I'm worried about is toe, the rest are perfect. I want 0 toe-in up front and a minimum of .35 toe-in at the rear. I'm used to my (now totalled) nimble E30 with toe-out up front so anything with toe-in feels off. Merc lists 0.0 as their minimum so I'll give it a try.

I guess the guys at firestone are a bunch of morons and I WILL BRING HELL today for my 2pm appointment if they give me any excuses, thanks!!

Beverly Sharp

A dealership is one of the FEW tasks I would use them for.
J

raymond g-

I have a different take on this and don't feel the blame lies with the shop(s).
The overwhelming and vast majority of the time, the critical factory specs
are to be followed in order for the vehicle to be safe and provide predictable
tracking, handling response and tire wear.

You are basically taking your car in and requesting that the suspension be
set up out of compliance with the recommended factory figures. Not
even close. So for liability reasons alone, I can understand if the shop
personnel be reluctant to do so. The risk of being sued can be so great that
what you're asking may be more realistic at a shop which is set up for
competitive racing, or have you sign a hold harmless document...or that
you learn to do this yourself.

I'm sure that if you search enough, you may luck out and find a vendor willing
to dial in the suspension per your liking. Some folks are happy to take the
money and cross their fingers.

Beverly Sharp

Oops! I meant to say that an alignment is one of the FEW things I would have a dealership do on my E430. Duh-getting old sucks.
J

THEhomelessONE

I've had them do alignments outside of factory specs on my BMW's, usually just made me sign something. Specs I requested were all within MB figures.

The shop in El Cerrito sent me out with dangerous rear toe-out settings, saying it wasn't adjustable. Firestone in Richmond was able to adjust everything to my specs without issue. Now I have better turn in and rear doesn't feel like it's getting out of shape on sharp bumps.