Ok so i got my car lowered at kauffman here in duluth Ga. They put on Monroe Sensatrac Shocks and struts and Eibach springs. I kid you not with in 2 days the shocks in the front are completly blown, and the car is bouncing up and down like a basketball over bumps. So im like wtf and bring it back to them and they tell me its fine not to worry about it. I was like ok maybe im just missing something since its my first lowered car. So i bring it to another kauffman and say i think there is something wrong w/ my suspension in the front, so they go take a look at it and say "yea these shocks are blown" so i then proceed to tell them that they were bought at the Kauffman tire in duluth 2 weeks prior to this, they call the other kauffman that i got this done at and suddenly they come back to me with "these shocks are fine, dont worry about it". So im getting really pissed off at this point, i spent almost 900$ and my car bounces around everywhere bottoming out alot.About a month later after getting the run around from the guy at the store, I finally get on the phone with the corporate office and they send down their south east service manager. So im like cool someone who knows whats going on. So he says that hes gonna take a ride in the car to make sure, before he even gets in the car, he pushes down on the front fenders and it starts bouncing. Immediately he says its broken and pulls it into the garage to get fixed. I point out to him that they installed the spring upside down(i asked the installer about this at the time and he said it was fine) and he says it doesnt matter its only cosmetic. So he orders me a new set of front struts and says these are defects. I can live with that. I call up Eibach to ask them about it and they said it being installed upside down has effectively rendered the spring useless as its a progressive rate spring, so im really starting to get mad and scared that they have absolutely no idea whats going on. The new shocks for the front come in and they put them on and the service rep, Andrew says if there are any more problems to call him. Less than 4 days after the new struts are put on in the front they are blown AGAIN, time number 2. So i call up the Andrew and he tells me that there is a bulletin out not to install Monroe Sensatrac Shocks and Struts on 89-94 Nissan Maximas that are lowered. He explains to me that they will credit me back for the front struts and install any type i want for free, so im happy with this and have them order me some Tokico Hp series struts for the front of the car. They put them on and it fixes the problem. Every time I have brought it there they have realigned it for me because the shocks were blown and it would bounce around. About 2 weeks pass and the backs blow out, i call andrew and the same ordeal happens but this time it goes straight to Tokico shocks in the rear, not Monroes. It fixes the problem and im Fine and happy about the suspension. Mind you I have been paying for the upgraded shocks, so im now from a 900$ suspension job to a little over 1300$ dollars. In the 3 months it took them to fix the car CORRECTLY the inside of my front tires wore out due to a misalignment. So i call up Andrew the service rep again and he says he will work with the guy to get me a good deal on a new set of tires. The best they could do he said was knock 20$ off per tire, I figure its not worth it to put new tires on the wheels that were on it because i was getting new wheels and tires. I put the new wheels and tires on it with BRAND NEW front and rear tires, and today December 10 2004 I noticed while washing my car that the inside of my new tires are completly bald and have worn down to the belts in a few places. I Have no idea what to do, my car has been realigned almost 6 times and they can not get it right still. If anyone has any ideas or help please post something

 

Let's see, a few morals to take from this:

• Don't cheap out on suspension when you upgrade to aftermarket
• Don't keep taking your car somewhere where the service is questionable (even if you are "getting a deal")
• It is in your best interest to find and befriend a private mechanic -- they are generally the most honest, reliable people to do work on your car IF YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND PICK ONE CAREFULLY

As for your specific situation, I suggest you take your car elsewhere for an alignment and ask the tech why the tires went bald. If the tech can pinpoint that Kauffman's is at fault, bring it back and try and get the tires warrenteed, and never go there again. I don't trust chains for anything other than alignments, because my mechanic doesn't have the equipment to do alignments. And I go to an alignment shop where they print out the before and after of all of the pertenant meausurements. Good luck.

 

sorry to hear about that man. But I don't think Eibach and monroe go hand and hand together. Monroes can't take the abuse Eibach springs givin it. Not sure if you've done this, but ask for a print out to see the alignment itself. If you didn't look over there shoulder during the "alignment" they could easliy say it's done and didin't do anything.

But again that sux, Next spring I'm getting suspension upgrade, hopefully installation will be around $150 otherwise I may just do it myself.

beat me to it miz...

 

YOU ALSO DRIVE LIKE A MAD MAN. lol

 

Bah, i call it driving spritiedly!

 

that sucks man. but i feel your pain. it seems like every time i get something done buy a shop they screw it up and never do it right the first time. the only thing they ever did right the first time was an alignment. just try to do whatever you can yourself because you are the only one you can really trust to do it right.

 

I'll tell you something, we had a guy come to our shop, he used to work for shops doing alignments before he joined the military. He showed us all the tricks places can do.

The favorite of most shops, is when doing a alignment they can't get it just right into the specs, they'll tighten everything down, and bump the heads till they come right into the specs. So on the paper they show it looks like where it's supposed to be, but it really isn't

So I agree with Mizeree X, that the best way is to befriend a mechanic.

 

- That is the reason once upon a time I decided I cando that [never had done before any thing] better =ruin all, and cheaper!
- Nowadays I change all myself, bulbs to piston rings. Worst thing: Always the lousy crook behind 'bad alignments' in my mirror, always dirty hands...
- Alignment (toe in) is easy to make uself with minimum equipment, result is as good as any 'laser crap'.


Btw. Kikcaffine - Do what Mizeree_X -says. With a lawyer... Juts do not give up, and let them know you wont.

 

wiking-
you do your own alignment?

 

Toe in -yes:

Used to do it with two metal O o pipes forming a sliding rod: front should be tight when rear side of front wheels is loose... Tire insides have around ribs where u aim at. Sounds russian but beats pros.
Heres pic www.eastwoodco.com selling one mod of such 36$
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/s...heel,alignment


Now got a better DIY one [more accurate] from one site, should actually find out as its got also pics (did not find the site):

Wheel alignment
DIY alignment, fast&free, picked from some website:
- Two straight plates. One touching the RH wheel outside, the other touching LH outside - on even floor [I use wheel size glass panels for their straightness].
- Two measuring tapes crosswise under the car; one front of wheels, second behind the wheels
- Tape ends under RH the plate bottom edge running under LH plates.
- Read the toe in measurement on the tapes passing under LH plate edges. Accurate reading is seen just under the plate edge. (Verify first that your measurement tapes are equal)

 

sounds more like a camber issue which cant be adjusted in the back and can only be adjusted with eccentic bolts in the front. lowered car=negative camber which means your car puts more weight on the inside of the tire, wearing it out quicker. putting struts in with stock bolts will NOT affect the alignment of the car.
come to think of it though, as you lower the car the toe will change as well, so that will wear out the tire 2x as fast as lowering and having bad camber. stock sucks but so does lowered

 

monroes on eibach's ?? what were you thinking...if you searched you would have read that they blow out on lowered cars. i have monroes but my car has stock springs. i have a private mechanic that id trust my ferrari to (if i had one) and i have a private alignment guy that id trust the same. FOR anyone in jersey are looking for an alignment guy that knows his stuff take it to west mountain auto on mountain ave in mountainside nj. personally ill be putting koni's with my eibachs and west mountain will correct the toe and camber if need be.

 

wow that was a long a$$ post,.. dude that really sux
-I think everyone should do the work themselves. because then their forced to acctualy know/learn about what their doing. and problems like this will be avoided.



- i just hit the biggest bump ever with my suspention (night, couldnt see it) everything feels fine but i cant stop thinking about it... theres really know way to check the strut, unless u take it out right?.. i mean besides seeing if the front of the car dips when braking.. but it does that a bit. always did.... damn it I'm going to be thinking about it all week!!! i are the suck

 

ChrisCheezer "damn it I'm going to be thinking about it all week!!!"
- replacement head? If u hear of good ones, tell me.
- Here shocks condition is seen in the inspection tester, once a year. Go find one so u can sleep with testerslip in hand... This is really the logic for all men if one takes care of smtg.
- Lowering cars seems straightforward, but really understanding the mechanics is not for everyone. Not for sailor wikings at least...
- I bought UK LIP shocks with a 'camber elliptic hole' (otherwise granpa model), just put the camber in the furthermost pos without any measuring. Adjusted just toe in, and so far tires are ok. I thought this would start to wear inner edge, but no. I Like the steering is better now for my taste.