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I am having some crazy problems with my alignment.

I just had my car aligned at Pep Boys, but when I left, the steering wheel was still pulling like it was before the alignment. I took it back and they said that the alignment is fine but that the crooked steering wheel could be a product of the wider tires I'm using (Nittos on Axis Touring Cup 17s). So I asked if they could just fix my steering wheel, but they said that the amount that Honda steering wheels are adjustable are very small. What should I do??

 
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Try a different alignment shop for starters. Honda should be able to do an alignment better than most others and fix the steering wheel problem, but even if you have to pay more it's still worth it if they do a good job and you don't have to go back and get it fixed again.

 
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also make sure that your tire pressure is correct. if your wheel is aligned, your car can still pull if the pressure isnt right

 
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your problem is pep boyz [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] those places dont take the time to get it right, same thing with discount tire ect.....you are better off going to a non commercialize garage that has been around for a while, and pay 80 bucks for a 4-wheel allignment. Its a little pricey, but worth it in the end.

 
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Any shop that knows what they're doing would have no problem centering the steering wheel, I know because I've done hundreds of alignments. What Pep Boys told you is total BS, the way you center a steering wheel, reguardless of tire size, is to do a proper alginment with a "steering wheel lock" which hold the steering wheel centered. A steering wheels center is determind by how the Toe-in is adjusted, and some time it takes a llitle extra time to do this. Plus a good shop will check tire pressure and make sure all the tires are the same size and are worn evenly.

I swear if they told me that "Honda steering wheels are very hard to adjust" I'd laugh and demand my money back and tell them they need someone who knows what they are doing.

Just because a shop has a nice alignment machine doesn't mean they know how to use it.

 
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i have had the same problem because my car has been hit and screwed up the alignment and all that. it pisses you off like no other when u go in there and get the alignment done and then it seems like nothing has been fixed. i just need to find a realiable shop that wont d**k me.[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-nono.gif[/IMG]

 
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it can be aynthing...io juss changed my 18" rims to SI rims...the rims sumtimes mess with ur alignment..one whell can hit a huge pot hole or two front tires can go into a dip and it messes it up..also it has to do with ur tire pressure as well as the width of the rubbers onthe tires...i had one flat and put a new tire and my steerring wheel shook a little bit since the trading was idfferent on the front ...as well as make sure each rim is balanced correctly

 
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Hi All,

I'm from Malaysia. My 02 Civic VTi (1.7L sohc vtec) is, I think, equivalent to US EX.

When you send your car for alignment, first and most importantly, make sure that the 'machine' has the proper specs (camber, toe, etc) for your car. ES- series cars are pretty new and older machines may not have the right specs. So instead, they use the spec of older models eg EK or EJ. which may not be the same.
To be on the safe side, refer to the owner's manual. It has the exact specs. And ask the shop guy to key-in the measurements.

If tyre wear is on the inside and outside, it is due to underinflation.
If wear is in the centre, overinflation.
If wear is on either side only(in or outside), poor alignment.

Sometime, when wear is little, it can be hard to detect. So remove the tyres and place them side by side.
Then check the deepness of the 'grooves'.

Every time you upgrade your tyre size, the car should be send for alignment. The same apply when you lower your car.

Also, don't forget road camber. Most roads slope downward from the centre. So if you use these roads often, the wear will be uneven. Rotate the tyres every few thousand miles. And remove the tyres from rim and 'flip' it inside- out.

The steering wheel has to be centred, top of steering at 12 o'clock, prior to alignment. It will be locked in that position by a 'wedge' at the bottom, 6 o'clock, position.

Regards.

CKLim,
Penang,
Malaysia.

 
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Usually pep boys like to set the toe and let it go, meaning they set ur toe(alignment angle)
and off you go, as for the crooked steering wheel it is not a product of your tires it is then screwign up, because they skipped the part where you manually straighten it. I do alignments at school, usually aftermarket tires cause a slight pull. my car is set to specs right now and still pulls due to my tires --205/40/17. SO i guess if u wanna play you gotta pay, unless it seriously pulls you then take it to the dealer...

 
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ask them for the print out on the alignment specs, then you can check for yourself to see if everything is to speck. what you have sounds like a toe problem. Firestone did that to me but they gave me the spec print out and I looked at it and it was horrible. the cross camber was off. the toe was off, the truss was off, and the caster was off, it was poorly done. I complained to the manager the next day he looked up who did it and it turns out that they guy who did it wasn't qualified to do alignments. They re-did the job and the new print out on a different machine even said that is wasn't done to spec the first time. but bigger tires won't do that, they just wanted to get you off their back. Always ask for the paper work when you let someone else touch your car. thats why I do all my own work unless I have to let someone else do it.

 
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Setting the toe with the steering wheel locked in the straight position will keep the wheel straight, toe is what screws up most misalgined steering wheels. I'm not sure what you mean when you said, "they skipped the part where you manually straighten it", because if the alignment is done correctly the wheel will be straight.