[bakshi6]

I have 120,000 miles on my 2012 Optima EX (2.4L) and I'm on my 3rd set of tires now (1. Nexen OEM -> 2. Pirelli Cinturato P7 -> 3. Goodyear Assurance MaxLife). Attached is the alignment report. Does everything look normal with the report? I believe the shop was rushing the job because they didn't get to the car until an hour before closing. The final value for the front left caster angle looks high but I didn't think that value was actually adjustable so I'm not sure how it changed from 5° to 8°. I drove the car today and the car was tracking straight on the highway.

 

[Turbonut]

I'd say that the caster numbers are incorrect as caster camber can't be adjusted on the front and the minimal toe adjustment isn't going to have any affect.
The only problem I see is the left rear camber that is slightly out of spec, so I'd ask why it wasn't adjusted.
These cars have camber adjustments on the rear but the adjustment bolts have a tendency to freeze in the lca. Other than that no problem.
SAI steering angle inclination is another number I'd not get too concerned about as camber is in spec.

 

[Kurt Mraz]

I

I have 120,000 miles on my 2012 Optima EX (2.4L) and I'm on my 3rd set of tires now (1. Nexen OEM -> 2. Pirelli Cinturato P7 -> 3. Goodyear Assurance MaxLife). Attached is the alignment report. Does everything look normal with the report? I believe the shop was rushing the job because they didn't get to the car until an hour before closing. The final value for the front left caster angle looks high but I didn't think that value was actually adjustable so I'm not sure how it changed from 5° to 8°. I drove the car today and the car was tracking straight on the highway.

View attachment 247589

I have a 2015 Kia Optima SX Turbo. I am at 136k miles and on my fourth set. Nexen's, 2 rounds with Continental ProContacts, then went to a Firestone brand. Went around and round with the Dealership, validated alignments between them and an outside shop, suspension checked, came down to design issues with these cars from what we can tell. The alignment is within spec of the Mfg, but for some reason, they chew through tires. Mine tend to cup on the inside outwards, even with me rotating every 5k miles and checking balance. I've remanded myself from stop spending $1000.00 every 30-40k miles on new tires and go with a cheaper brand. Decided I cannot fight city hall on this one. To be honest the Nexen's had the quietest ride but lasted the least amount of miles. If someone has any ideas I'm all ears. Other than that I love my 2.0 274HP car

 

[AftonJay]

Did you pay for this? Because from what i can see you only had two things marginally out of spec. One they made slightly better but still out of spec and the other they made significantly worse if the 8° is to be believed. I would be asking for my money back, and really i think a good shop would have told you, you did not need an alignment.

 

[Turbonut]

Don't have any problem with tire wear, meaning uneven tire wear on the '11, or haven't heard of any problems, but if one has the wheels/tires in spec, I would assume machine out of tolerance, but would like to see the alignment sheet.
Have see it before where shop machines not calibrated correctly and uneven tire wear, or just poor alignment done by the shop, same problem with wheel balance machines, just can't get the vibration out.

 

[tonester]

Did you pay for this? Because from what i can see you only had two things marginally out of spec. One they made slightly better but still out of spec and the other they made significantly worse if the 8° is to be believed. I would be asking for my money back, and really i think a good shop would have told you, you did not need an alignment.

Indeed--basically everything that was originally within spec is still within spec, while everything that was originally out of spec is still out of spec...meaning, after all that work the net result is no overall change in alignment.

 

[COS-16SXL]

Turbunut, I'm sure I bought the - Camber Adjust Bolt - (below) for the FRONT SPEC because of Your Suggestion.
You're saying Front Camber can't be Adjusted BUT this CA Bolt turned my Front Reds to Green after a 4-Wheel Vs 2-Wheel Alignment. Am I right it DID allow Frt Camber Adjustment or did they just take a Green crayon and color in?

My REAR camber is ( - 1.0 ) and ( - 0.9 ) = Green and his is ( + 0.7 ) Greater for EACH. Not sure What is Too Much diff but I'd defer to your experience. With CA Bolt my Frt is Now ... ( - 0.6 ) and ( - 0.8 ) = Green OK, so HIS Front @ ( - 0.7 ) Ea must be ideal.
Hard to figure Front being OK and Not able to Align the Rear. Another trip to Dealer/Shop B seems in order.

Specialty Products® 81280 - EZCam™ Rear Alignment Camber Bolt Assemblies

EZCam™ Rear Alignment Camber Bolt Assemblies - Part Number 81280 by Specialty Products. Quantity: 2 per Pack. Make a two bolt strut adjustable up to ±1. Performance.

www.carid.com

 

[Turbonut]

Turbunut, I'm sure I bought the - Camber Adjust Bolt - (below) for the FRONT SPEC because of Your Suggestion.
You're saying Front Camber can't be Adjusted BUT this CA Bolt turned my Front Reds to Green after a 4-Wheel Vs 2-Wheel Alignment. Am I right it DID allow Frt Camber Adjustment or did they just take a Green crayon and color in?

You are correct in that the camber can be adjusted if needed, but as the OP spec sheet indicated the after readings to be within spec and with the same numbers(degrees) as the before reading, just wanted to enforce the fact that as factory equipped, the camber is nonadjustable, but should have added that the camber can be adjusted with aftermarket parts if not within tolerance so all would know.

 

[bakshi6]

Thank you for the replies! To clarify, my last set of tires, the P7's were wearing evenly as I rotated every 6k. I did have issues with the wear on the Nexen's, my alignment was way out of spec before the P7's were installed.

I had the same impression about the alignment report -- everything was generally in spec to begin with. I'll ask about the left rear camber as Turbonut suggested. So the tire dealer had a bundle deal on the alignment (normally $99) and road hazard warranty (normally $88) called the Peace of Mind Package which was on sale for ‭$147.99‬ (normally $187 for both alignment and road hazard). Their nationwide road hazard warranty includes, among other things, free alignment checks, lifetime balancing and rotations. So I did pay for the alignment but I've generally understood it's good to have an alignment anytime you replace the tires. I'm not sure I'd be eligible for a full refund on the alignment because the tire dealer could still charge me for rack time to verify the alignment, though I agree, it would've nice if they offered a partial refund if they didn't actual need to adjust any values.

Years ago, when I suspected the alignment was out of spec after I bottomed out after hitting a pothole, I brought the car to an independent shop and they charged me about $50 to confirm alignment was still in spec but they said the fee was for rack time only (not their normal fee to do an alignment), which I thought was reasonable.

If you divide $147.99 by 2 , it comes out to $74 for the alignment and $74 for warranty. If I protest the issue and say the alignment charge should've been rack time only, I might get a refund of maybe $25 or something like that, which doesn't seem worth pursuing.

BTW, I got a great deal on the tires on Cyber Monday ($100 off a set of 4 Goodyear tires) so I'm generally satisfied, minus the hiccup with the tire dealer misplacing my appointment and their non-existent for 2 years free courtesy shuttle, despite their advertising of a free courtesy shuttle at this location.

 

[Turbonut]

Lifetime alignment is not a bad idea, but alignment just doesn't go out every once in a while. When set, the alignment will remain the same unless there is a wear item, e.g. tire rod ends, suspension components, etc.
The old '08 Optima was aligned once at @70,000 miles because of inside L/R inside tire wear, but after that tires wore fine even now at 300,000 miles.

Same with out RX7 Turbo, was aligned maybe 20 years ago and no problems. Only problem with the that car was it didn't come with a strut brace and the towers start leaning inward, so purchased a bar and jacked the car up under the front cross-member to get the towers back in position then installed the bar.

Good luck

 

[bakshi6]

Quick update: I went back to the shop as suggested. I pointed out some of the values not being in spec and noted that the steering wheel was off center slightly (to the left) while driving straight. They performed the alignment again at no charge and tried to bring the angles to be more in line with spec, including the left rear camber. Below is the alignment report from today. Note that the front right toe was way off for some reason, so they think there some equipment or operator error with the first alignment. Hopefully things look a little bit better this time around. They also noticed excessive play in the driver side (front) wheel and recommended inner/outer tie rod replacement, so I'll be getting that done in the near future. Thank you for all the responses!

 

[Turbonut]

Looks good, but the only complaint I would have is if a looseness is noticed in any suspension part, the alignment should be terminated until the part is replaced. Chances are it will be the outer tie rod ends, but one never knows until the steering is disassembled to see if the inners are worn.