hi room , i would like some help as to where to get the tracking done on the polo
how much should one be expected to pay and can any one recommend any particular
provider, quickfit ? kenning? tanvic....etc etc ..thanks for any pointers
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£25.00 is about the standard price but saying that it's usually a free check but better to get all 4 wheels aligned which may cost a little more.
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Seeing as you don't mind getting your hands dirty Zoo, have you considered a Gunsons Trakrite and doing it yourself, about £45 from ebay, use it twice and it's paid for itself.
Other Gunsons equipt i have has lasted years and is used time after time.
N-C recommended one, good enough for him it's good enough for me, i shall order one soon.
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I'm not a fan of that device you drive over, as it measures the sideways force generated by the tyre.
Consider a tyre that's worn unevenly due to bad tracking. It'll have more tread on one side than the other - a truncated pyramid. That will roll in a circle if left to it's own devices.
Roll that over this device and it will give a false reading.
They're fine for new tyres, but I'm dubious of their use otherwise.
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Tom, when i make the replacement bennet mk1 tracking tool for the one i've lost i'll compare the two in operation, though i don't let me tyres get in the state you describe, so comparison with your scenario won't be easy, if alignment was that bad i'm quite sure a tape measure would suffice.
The mk1 consisted of two narrow copper pipes, one a tight sliding fit inside the other, simply measure the inside edge of the wheels fore and aft at the mid height points.
It worked for me for many years, and i don't recall the last time i used professional tracking.
Being thin gauge copper pipe it could have a gradual curve in order to clear the front cross member etc, no doubt some handy fellow could make one out of aluminium with a proper U shaped section and threaded ends with graduated markings.
Bodger here used bent copper pipe, and for wide tracked vehicles, trannies! no tittering at the back, i found a screw driver stuck in one end an excellent extension..;)
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A tyre wouldn't have to be badly worn to give a false reading.
Consider a set-up with too much toe-in. The tyres will be worn down more on the outside of the tread. Those tyres will exert an outward force which the tracking device would see as toe-OUT. That would indicate more toe-in was required.............
I have seen tracking checked with a couple of aluminium ladders. One end of each ladder was leant against a tyre (after making sure the ladders were straight) such that it was touching the tyre in two places. the same would be done the other side. There's now a long length of ladder sticking out each side of the front of the car. Measure the distance between the two ladders close to the car and at the far end of the ladders.
Repeat.
Move the car about one third of a wheel rotation and repeat above.
Move the car about another third of a wheel rotation and repeat above.
If you want to do the maths, then the tracking can be set reasonably accurately. When I saw it done the measurements were amazingly similar and it was only being used to determine if the tracking was toeing in or out. Tedious but doable.
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Those tyres will exert an outward force which the tracking
>> device would see as toe-OUT. That would indicate more toe-in was required.............
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Tyre rotation, as practiced by certain folk here..;)
Nothing wrong with the aluminium ladder method, given you move the car a few times to allow for any tyre distortion it should work fine, assuming your (cars) bodywork doesn't get in the way, it's only really a Heath Robinson version of normal tracking equipment..
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Or there's this: www.trackace.co.uk/
Seems to make sense to me (you can see the instructions on the site as a PDF) and measures from the wheel rims, eliminating any irregularities in the tyres from the equation. A flat, level surface to operate it on is de rigeur though.
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i took it to Halfords and they wouldnt adjust the outer tie rods as they were seized, qouted 80 quid a side to sort it
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 29 Oct 11 at 18:13
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Volkswagen Polo III - 99 1.4 tracking - Bigtee
