I got my car back from the 1000 mile service (done by SVAG). The thought the car could use an alignment (slight shudder at around 80mph), but said Lotus wouldn't pay for it. So:

1) Has anyone successfully gotten Lotus to pay for an alignment at 1k miles?

2) Where should I take it to in the south SF bay area (that won't charge me the $580 for a 4 wheel alignment)?

When I had to drive past the Enzo and the Ford GT to park next to the Spyker C8, I knew I was about to get shafted Rob Dietsch @ Dietsch Werks in Sunnyvale. He works on several Lotuses daily and owns one himself. Rob Dietsch @ Dietsch Werks in Sunnyvale. He works on several Lotuses daily and owns one himself. +1

He lowered and aligned my Exige. I am very happy with the set-up. $$$? $$$?
Rob charges by the hour. My alignment was a custom job, making several changes, and requiring a few iterations to get the car just like I wanted it, so it took a little longer. I would guess a basic alignment would cost you around $100, if all you wanted to do was have it checked and the toe aligned. A little more if you want to have camber shims removed. Give Dietschwerks a call and ask for a quote; their number is in the phone book. +1 for Dietschwerks. He did an alignment on my Elise and removed some shims at the same time. I can't remember the exact price, but it was less than $200 for sure.

Robs phone number is (408) 735-9287. Although he is moving into a new building sometime so I don't know if that number still works or not. Rob Dietsch @ Dietsch Werks in Sunnyvale. He works on several Lotuses daily and owns one himself. +1 again /me schedules the full-on shim/camber/four-wheel dee-luxe

I got my car back from the 1000 mile service (done by SVAG). The thought the car could use an alignment (slight shudder at around 80mph), but said Lotus wouldn't pay for it. So:

1) Has anyone successfully gotten Lotus to pay for an alignment at 1k miles?

2) Where should I take it to in the south SF bay area (that won't charge me the $580 for a 4 wheel alignment)?

When I had to drive past the Enzo and the Ford GT to park next to the Spyker C8, I knew I was about to get shafted
An alignment check/adjust is always a good maintenance policy, and Rob will do a great job. BUT, the problem you seem to be having is more likely to be caused by bad wheel balance. OK, where is a good place to get a roadforce wheel balance? My friend hit a pothole with his car and the local Lotus dealer charged him over $900 for an alignment.

I thought this was nuts, be he said the dealer said it took 4 hours since they have to keep adjusting the shims and putting the wheels on and off each time.

I dont think anyone is going to be bringing there cars to the dealer for servicing after the warranty expires if we are going to get ripped off all the time with $400 oil changes, etc. It's probably a good idea to learn how to do the alignment yourself - it's 'in the plan', but I want a good baseline first. OK, where is a good place to get a roadforce wheel balance? Dietschwerks does wheel balancing as well, but I can't remember what machine they have for it. Rob mounted a new set of tires for me and balanced the wheels. No shake up to 110mph (I haven't had a chance to test them any quicker). Dose anyone have Dietschwerks address? 665 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 735-9287

Between Wolfe and Fair Oaks across from the FORD dealership. Rob has a nice Hunter Douglas for mounting and balancing tires. It wouldn't damage your wheels. And he gets it down to the grams range.

Been a about 1.5 months since I talked to him. The plan at the time was to move to a nice big new factuality in the San Jose area (off of 237/1st street area) towards the end of Sept. I spoke with him yesterday... he hasn't moved yet, but it's still planned. An alignment check/adjust is always a good maintenance policy, and Rob will do a great job. BUT, the problem you seem to be having is more likely to be caused by bad wheel balance.
+1. A speed specific problem is most likely caused by an imbalance, bent wheel, or tire uniformity. The imbalance and bent wheel can be checked on a standard tire balancer. The tire uniformity can only be checked by a shop with a Hunter Road Force type balancer.

Any alignment over $300 is robbery. Caster is not likely to need adjusting. Once the bolts are cracked loose, the camber shims should be able to be done under the car while it is on the alignment rack (no need to remove tires to remove shims...besides, a Lotus dealer should know that each shim is worth .3 degrees camber....it is right in the lotus repair manual). Toe is very easy to adjust and shouldnt take more then 30 minutes to do.