Miata Mailing List: February 1999, Message #109

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fellow miataphiles,
i'm having the first trouble with my '96 since i bought it new and was
hoping somebody with more mechanical knowledge could help me out.
i finally replaced the factory rubber with four new tires - dunlop d60s -
and got a balance and alignment. the shop quoted me the price, plus $10
"for the rear wheel alignment, since it's a front wheel drive car"(??) i
told the genius at the shop that it was not front wheel drive, that mazda
does not recommend doing a rear wheel alignment (that's what the dealership
here told me) and to only do the front. i picked up the car and, sure
enough, they had thrust aligned the rear wheels. the car pulled strongly to
the right and the ride felt a lot more nervous and darty; i sent it back
and now it more or less tracks straight, but still feels jittery.
did they mess this car up? is there anything they could have messed up by
aligning the rear end? or am i just feeling the difference in the h-rated
tires and their stiffer sidewalls? if it lines up correctly on the
alignment rack, is everything okay? i'm afraid that if it's messed up, by
the time i start shredding these tires it will be too late to go after them
for it.
if anybody has any ideas, i'd appreciate hearing from them.
mike davis
nashville