Being in this industry for as long as I have, I have watched businesses thrive on aftermarket wheels and tires. One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that many high-volume wheel businesses rarely offer alignments.
This poses both a problem and an opportunity. The problem: While these businesses are turning out dozens of large tire and wheel packages each week, they aren’t really servicing their customers fully. We all know that vehicles need alignments, especially those with new – and presumably larger – tires and wheels.
If you have one of those businesses, consider the opportunities you may be missing. What if you went after that business and those kind of customers? How much more profit could you make just by offering a basic alignment?
Ultra-high performance tires alone cost upwards of $400 each, depending on size and vehicle, so tire wear – or lack thereof – is critical. If you could perform an alignment on this type of application with your current equipment, how much would it be worth to you?
One product that can provide you with the necessary tools to take advantage of this opportunity is the Tru Align system (trualign.com).
Alignment mechanic and store owner Dean Peligrino developed and patented the Tru Align system to overcome the difficulties of clamping alignment heads and sensors to aftermarket wheels. Unique plates bolt directly to the vehicle’s hub using provided adapters. By removing three lug nuts or bolts, a technician can install steel adapters that thread onto the stud, then secure the plate to the adapters. This eliminates issues associated with an out-of-round wheel or a wheel with a smooth lip.
According to Tru Align, the system “aligns all wheels, including custom, tuner and other difficult-to-align wheels, even bent wheels. It eliminates head-mounting problems caused by tire rim guards and works with all current alignment machines, new or old. It increases accuracy and eliminates damage to expensive wheels that can be caused by mounting alignment heads directly to the wheel. The system is simple and intuitive to use. It is much less expensive than buying a new alignment machine, and it allows your technicians to do a better job at a fraction of the cost.”
“The Tru Align system will work with all alignment machines, dating back to the A111 or FMC 9000 up to brand-new machines,” according to Steven Novak, vice president of sales and marketing.
The complete system comes with four plates, slotted to fit four, five, six and eight-lug vehicles. Based on dealer feedback, the company recently made plates available that fit up to 19.5-inch motor home wheels. For those dealers that have the original design and wish to use the Tru Align on a motor home, the company offers a service to machine existing plates to the new specs. To fit most vehicles, various thread pitch adapters are provided, including studs used for European applications with lug bolts. Michelin recommends servicing PAX wheels with this system.
Adapters can be machined to fit tuner-style lug holes, as well. On occasion, you may have to deal with deep lug holes requiring a spacer. That will add another 1.5 inches of clearance for the plate. This is included with the kit.
Once bolted to the vehicle, alignment heads or sensors will clamp to the groove machined into the outer edge of the plate. At that point, dealers should perform the alignment according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Alignment Accessories
For dealers using Hunter alignment equipment, Hunter Engineering (hunter.com) offers accessories that will allow the sensors to clamp to the tire instead of the lug studs. The clamps will work on tires with outside dimensions from 21 to 40 inches. Again, this avoids issues associated with wheels that don’t have rim flanges or tires with rim protectors – including the Michelin PAX tires – that negate the use of traditional finger clamps.
Another common issue is getting the vehicle on the rack in the first place. To help alleviate this problem, Hunter developed the RX-P flush-mount scissor rack. This rack can be installed on the surface or flush mounted in a shallow pit. With the rack flush mounted, any vehicle with low ground clearance or equipped with a body kit can be serviced – yet another opportunity to increase profit.
“Another advantage of flush mounting is that the long approach ramps are no longer needed, so nearly four feet of bay space is saved,” explains Denny Bowen, director of product management. “The shop can now install a rack that accommodates longer wheelbase vehicles in a short service bay. This also pleases anyone building a new shop who is concerned with real estate/building costs.”
Altered Ride Heights
In addition to the scissor rack, WinAlign Tuner software will allow you to align altered-ride-height vehicles – lowered or lifted. Most of the time, when dealers install plus-sized tires and wheels, they strive to maintain the same overall diameter as OE. Even so, a lowering kit will alter the alignment angles, which can lead to premature tire and suspension wear.
Conversely, as the diesel truck market continues to expand, lift kits and tall tires will become more common, and that will require special skills and knowledge to align vehicles properly.
What’s more, changes in wheel offset and width can drastically affect scrub radius and camber. WinAlign Tuner software will instruct technicians on how to adjust for these factors and provide the best combination of handling and tread life. For diagnostics, the software will show technicians how to detect ‘bump steer,’ which can cause severe changes in alignment angles when the vehicle encounters a bump or dip in the road surface.
To help technicians determine which alignment kits to use and where to find them, a help screen provides a pictorial catalog of available parts and company Web sites.
“This feature is called Tools & Kits. It provides a vehicle-specific database containing information on alignment-correction kits, hand tools and special tools required for adjustments and even lowering kits,” says Bowen.
Products and part numbers from Stempf Manufacturing (stempf.com), Specialty Products (specprod.com) Ingalls Engineering (ingallseng.com) and Eibach are pre-loaded into the system.
To maximize profit and minimize time spent on each alignment, I would suggest completing all three of Hunter’s alignment training classes. You may remember that I was able to solve a drivability issue several years ago after attending just the first level.
As vehicle manufacturers continue to offer performance upgrades through their dealerships, aftermarket businesses known for their ability to handling performance setups will grow with this new market. Will your dealership be one of them?
