Alignment & inspection - LotusTalk

pfanning · 03-11-2009, 11:31 AM

Looking for recommendations for a shop to do an alignment/corner balance/ride height and annual track inspection. Best if in the North Puget Sound area (Seattle, Bellevue, Everett). I like Cantrell but can't seem to connect. Not happy with TruLine as I disagree on his philosophy of corner balance.

Anyone else? Does Fordahl have Lotus experience? Better way to connect with Cantrell?

SpaceM · 03-12-2009, 11:10 AM

Please elaborate what you mean by "connect" here. Inquiring minds wants to know.

pfanning · 03-12-2009, 05:53 PM

Just have a hard time contacting a human. Colin does good work, just seems hard to contact. I've traded voicemails but can never actually talk to him. Tried email but haven't heard back.

SpaceM · 03-12-2009, 09:10 PM

Have you tried Speedware Motorsports? I don't have any direct experience with them but I think Pete aka Sleepless have taken his Lotus to them. Maybe he or somebody else can chime in. Anyway, here's their website: Speedware Motorsports: Arai, Sparco, Recaro, Alpinestars Race Gear Distributor - Speedware Motorsports

Good Luck

Sal

Bleu Omdurman · 03-13-2009, 08:21 PM

Pfanning,

I haven't used Colin, but I have talked to him everytime I've called.

I have a bunch of friends with cars like ours that simply swear by him. Sleepless takes his there.

bjwhalen · 03-13-2009, 10:09 PM

I've used Colin a number of times and generally have no problems catching him on the phone. Sometimes he's not there, but he's always called me back.

kortik · 06-16-2009, 11:31 PM

can Colin Cantrell work on MR2 Spyder w/2zz in it. or he specifically does Lotus and Porsche only

Bleu Omdurman · 06-17-2009, 11:17 PM

call him up and ask.

cantrellmotorsport.com

voice: 425-820-0231

Bleu Omdurman · 06-18-2009, 06:54 PM

I was there today. He can certainly work on what ever you have. He is a nice guy. There are just three of them and no one "mans" the office. I had the best luck emailing him and setting up a time to bring my tires down. He mounted the tires as soon as I brought them in and I checked out the shop.

I'll be taking the car to him for as much as I can at this point. he is close to me too. about $60 to mount and balance a set of rears. I've had cheaper, but the turn around and convenience were/are worth it. IMO.

pfanning, what did you wind up doing? Since this is about 3-4 months old now.

pfanning · 06-23-2009, 08:55 AM

Ended up going to Fordahl. He did a good job but liked Colin's setup better. I'll be taking the new car to Colin.

kortik · 10-09-2009, 08:49 PM

Whats wrong w/true line?
I am going there next Friday, because Group 2 Motorsports which I setup up and appointment today does not keep their appoinment time and just cancels on people 2 hr before an appointment for no reason what so ever.
they exuse was that technicians are busy with other cars.

Evil Twin · 10-13-2009, 07:34 AM

I like Colin and would take my Lotus to him -- if I lived in Seattle -- for those things I do not (or cannot) do myself, but dialing in an alignment and corner balancing really isn't difficult, and most any shop can handle it. What matters most is attention to detail and the willingness to spend the time to get it right. I actually use Firestone Auto for my Lotus, as I bought the lifetime alignment, so they'll fuss with it endlessly without charge. And I did my own corner balancing using borrowed scales.

Remember, too, that you can drive your car onto an alignment rack, dial it in perfectly to your exact specs, drive it off the rack, and drive it back onto the very same rack secons later, and your specs will always be off by as much as several tenths of a degree. Small differences really do NOT matter, at least for our purposes, so there's no point to being too picky about your settings. Get them into the ballpark and call it done.

Further, I'd argue that few of you (no offense intended, but I believe it to be true) will notice a difference from corner balancing your Lotus unless the settings are already WAY off. Lotus designed the car quite well in that regard, and there isn't all that much to be gained purely from corner balancing. Rack matters a lot, so ride height is more sensitive, but pure corner balancing won't really change how your car feels to you at the limit.

My two cents. I'm sure there are people for whom this is all religigion who feel differently.

Twin

Lifespan · 10-13-2009, 10:01 AM

What's Colin's pricing like?

Evil Twin · 10-16-2009, 01:54 PM

Peter -- what's the story with your Exige rebuild/repair? PM me if you'd prefer.

03-11-2009, 11:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
pfanning Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 125	Alignment & inspection Looking for recommendations for a shop to do an alignment/corner balance/ride height and annual track inspection. Best if in the North Puget Sound area (Seattle, Bellevue, Everett). I like Cantrell but can't seem to connect. Not happy with TruLine as I disagree on his philosophy of corner balance. Anyone else? Does Fordahl have Lotus experience? Better way to connect with Cantrell? __________________ Peter Fanning 2008 Persian Blue Exige S240 - track, touring 2006 CO Exige - RIP

03-12-2009, 11:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
SpaceM Pure Life = Pure Drive Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellingham, Wa Posts: 94	Please elaborate what you mean by "connect" here. Inquiring minds wants to know. __________________ 2005 AR Lotus Elise, LSS, Touring, Biscuit, Hardtop--Pure Ride Baby!

03-12-2009, 05:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
pfanning Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 125	Just have a hard time contacting a human. Colin does good work, just seems hard to contact. I've traded voicemails but can never actually talk to him. Tried email but haven't heard back. __________________ Peter Fanning 2008 Persian Blue Exige S240 - track, touring 2006 CO Exige - RIP

03-12-2009, 09:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
SpaceM Pure Life = Pure Drive Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Bellingham, Wa Posts: 94	Have you tried Speedware Motorsports? I don't have any direct experience with them but I think Pete aka Sleepless have taken his Lotus to them. Maybe he or somebody else can chime in. Anyway, here's their website: Speedware Motorsports: Arai, Sparco, Recaro, Alpinestars Race Gear Distributor - Speedware Motorsports Good Luck Sal __________________ 2005 AR Lotus Elise, LSS, Touring, Biscuit, Hardtop--Pure Ride Baby! Last edited by SpaceM : 03-12-2009 at 09:19 PM.

03-13-2009, 08:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
Bleu Omdurman More track time please. Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,692	Pfanning, I haven't used Colin, but I have talked to him everytime I've called. I have a bunch of friends with cars like ours that simply swear by him. Sleepless takes his there. __________________ Take my track day survey: here You should enjoy it. 10 questions. Now take survey #2 here Mods: TurboXS Intake, Ultra Disc Rotors, Adare Motorsports Racing Pads.

03-13-2009, 10:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
bjwhalen Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 10	I've used Colin a number of times and generally have no problems catching him on the phone. Sometimes he's not there, but he's always called me back.

06-16-2009, 11:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
kortik Matrix XRS 2zz-ge Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 306	can Colin Cantrell work on MR2 Spyder w/2zz in it. or he specifically does Lotus and Porsche only __________________ 05 Toyota Matrix XRS Indigo Ink Pearl 2zz-ge Progress Rear Sway Bar TRD STB PBR Groundwires MagnaFlow Cat Back Exhaust Tein SS coilovers TWM Short Shifter Injen CAI C-one perfromance Fr. Rr. Bar C-one Underpanel

06-17-2009, 11:17 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bleu Omdurman More track time please. Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,692	call him up and ask. cantrellmotorsport.com voice: 425-820-0231 __________________ Take my track day survey: here You should enjoy it. 10 questions. Now take survey #2 here Mods: TurboXS Intake, Ultra Disc Rotors, Adare Motorsports Racing Pads.

06-18-2009, 06:54 PM	#9 (permalink)
Bleu Omdurman More track time please. Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 1,692	I was there today. He can certainly work on what ever you have. He is a nice guy. There are just three of them and no one "mans" the office. I had the best luck emailing him and setting up a time to bring my tires down. He mounted the tires as soon as I brought them in and I checked out the shop. I'll be taking the car to him for as much as I can at this point. he is close to me too. about $60 to mount and balance a set of rears. I've had cheaper, but the turn around and convenience were/are worth it. IMO. pfanning, what did you wind up doing? Since this is about 3-4 months old now. __________________ Take my track day survey: here You should enjoy it. 10 questions. Now take survey #2 here Mods: TurboXS Intake, Ultra Disc Rotors, Adare Motorsports Racing Pads.

06-23-2009, 08:55 AM	#10 (permalink)
pfanning Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 125	Ended up going to Fordahl. He did a good job but liked Colin's setup better. I'll be taking the new car to Colin. __________________ Peter Fanning 2008 Persian Blue Exige S240 - track, touring 2006 CO Exige - RIP

10-09-2009, 08:49 PM	#11 (permalink)
kortik Matrix XRS 2zz-ge Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 306	Whats wrong w/true line? I am going there next Friday, because Group 2 Motorsports which I setup up and appointment today does not keep their appoinment time and just cancels on people 2 hr before an appointment for no reason what so ever. they exuse was that technicians are busy with other cars. __________________ 05 Toyota Matrix XRS Indigo Ink Pearl 2zz-ge Progress Rear Sway Bar TRD STB PBR Groundwires MagnaFlow Cat Back Exhaust Tein SS coilovers TWM Short Shifter Injen CAI C-one perfromance Fr. Rr. Bar C-one Underpanel

10-13-2009, 07:34 AM	#12 (permalink)
Evil Twin No Livestock on Track! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 858 Images: 14	I like Colin and would take my Lotus to him -- if I lived in Seattle -- for those things I do not (or cannot) do myself, but dialing in an alignment and corner balancing really isn't difficult, and most any shop can handle it. What matters most is attention to detail and the willingness to spend the time to get it right. I actually use Firestone Auto for my Lotus, as I bought the lifetime alignment, so they'll fuss with it endlessly without charge. And I did my own corner balancing using borrowed scales. Remember, too, that you can drive your car onto an alignment rack, dial it in perfectly to your exact specs, drive it off the rack, and drive it back onto the very same rack secons later, and your specs will always be off by as much as several tenths of a degree. Small differences really do NOT matter, at least for our purposes, so there's no point to being too picky about your settings. Get them into the ballpark and call it done. Further, I'd argue that few of you (no offense intended, but I believe it to be true) will notice a difference from corner balancing your Lotus unless the settings are already WAY off. Lotus designed the car quite well in that regard, and there isn't all that much to be gained purely from corner balancing. Rack matters a lot, so ride height is more sensitive, but pure corner balancing won't really change how your car feels to you at the limit. My two cents. I'm sure there are people for whom this is all religigion who feel differently. Twin __________________ 2005 Graphite Gray with Black Interior, Sports Package, Touring Package, Hard Top, Starshield, 6-point Schroth Harness, Fire Extinguisher, and Wiring Loom for DL-1. Otherwise bone stock -- and staying that way -- okay, okay, that's true if you ignore the Braille battery, Micro mirror, Multivex mirrors, ROTA slipstreams, RA-1s, two-piece rotors, springs, polyurethane ASB bushings, RTD brace, Sparco seat, and all the stuff I've taken out of the car... Last edited by Evil Twin : 10-13-2009 at 07:41 AM.

10-13-2009, 10:01 AM	#13 (permalink)
Lifespan Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 92	What's Colin's pricing like?

10-16-2009, 01:54 PM	#14 (permalink)
Evil Twin No Livestock on Track! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 858 Images: 14	Peter -- what's the story with your Exige rebuild/repair? PM me if you'd prefer. __________________ 2005 Graphite Gray with Black Interior, Sports Package, Touring Package, Hard Top, Starshield, 6-point Schroth Harness, Fire Extinguisher, and Wiring Loom for DL-1. Otherwise bone stock -- and staying that way -- okay, okay, that's true if you ignore the Braille battery, Micro mirror, Multivex mirrors, ROTA slipstreams, RA-1s, two-piece rotors, springs, polyurethane ASB bushings, RTD brace, Sparco seat, and all the stuff I've taken out of the car...

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