Recommendations for shop for installs in Western North Carolina
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 17
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From: Cherokee, NC
Recommendations for shop for installs in Western North Carolina
Figured I'd start a thread here in this section to see if there's any recommendations of garages or shops here in Western North Carolina to do a lift install and alignment. I'd really prefer not to go to my local jeep dealership as they charge an arm and leg for service ($106/hr). Does anyone know of anything near waynesville or Asheville area?
JK Jedi
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 11,360
Likes: 2,089
From: Willow Park, TX
Regarding alignment, keep in mind that the only thing an alignment shop, beit an independent shop or a shop that installs the lift, can do is recenter the steering wheel and adjust toe. Technically, if you have means to correct caster, they could adjust that, but it's usually not included in the regular cost of an alignment. If you end up with that MC lift, whoever installs that should have suggested measurements for those upper arms which would put your caster back in spec. Also, whoever is installing the lift should recenter your steering wheel which is done easily via the turnbuckle on the factory DL. Since you're not touching your tie rod, the toe should not change at all. It's a good idea to check alignment specs, but I'd suggest that a lot of alignment shops will scan your vehicle and present you with the pre-alignment specs regardless if you choose to do the alignment or not. You know, it's not exactly free cuz they always take a long time to go over your entire vehicle and tell you any little thing that might be wrong and then give you the sales pitch, but since you have a pretty new vehicle maybe it would be quicker.
If you do get an alignment printout, the important line to look at is caster. Caster from the factory is ~4.2*. Most of us lifted guys will run in the 4-5* range. Again, if you end up with the MC lift you're looking at, the installer should have those arms set about perfectly to have you fall within an acceptable caster range.
Just a word of caution so you don't feel like you have to spend a lot of money on an actual alignment that could be used for something else. It might actually be advantageous if the shop doesn't do their own alignments. If they do, they're essentially able to charge you for one and they're not doing much of anything for that charge
If you do get an alignment printout, the important line to look at is caster. Caster from the factory is ~4.2*. Most of us lifted guys will run in the 4-5* range. Again, if you end up with the MC lift you're looking at, the installer should have those arms set about perfectly to have you fall within an acceptable caster range.
Just a word of caution so you don't feel like you have to spend a lot of money on an actual alignment that could be used for something else. It might actually be advantageous if the shop doesn't do their own alignments. If they do, they're essentially able to charge you for one and they're not doing much of anything for that charge