Unfortunately, my experience with Metroplex Customs left me with very little confidence in either their alignment work or their familiarity with the Integra Type S / Civic Type R platform.
I brought my Integra Type S in for an alignment after suspension work. The printout showed a significant side-to-side difference in front camber. What immediately stood out afterward was that the BEFORE and AFTER front camber measurements weren't merely close--they were IDENTICAL on both sides. There was literally zero measured change to the front camber.
When I questioned this, the technician told me he had attempted to adjust the front camber but couldn't improve it. That became difficult to reconcile with both the alignment report and what I observed on the car afterward.
There are witness marks at the upper strut mounting locations that appear to show the original positions of the hardware. Those marks do not appear consistent with meaningful movement having occurred. Combined with the alignment machine reporting exactly the same front camber measurements before and after, I have serious questions about what adjustment was actually attempted.
The subsequent explanation concerned me even more. I was told that adjusting camber at the strut mounting points would change the toe. Yes--changing camber can affect toe. That's precisely why camber is addressed first and toe is then checked and corrected afterward while the car is on the alignment rack. Toe changing isn't a reason not to make an available camber adjustment.
I was also told, essentially, that the camber asymmetry wasn't particularly important because the toe was within specification. I don't consider simply getting the toe into the green to be a satisfactory alignment on an enthusiast/performance vehicle when a significant side-to-side camber difference remains and some factory adjustment is available.
To their credit, Metroplex Customs offered to bring the car back and try again. I appreciate that. However, after discussing it further, I declined because the technician still did not seem convinced that this platform has usable front camber adjustment through movement at the upper strut mounting points.
That was ultimately my biggest concern. This wasn't simply a situation where the shop understood the available adjustment, exhausted it, and couldn't achieve the desired numbers. The conversations afterward left me questioning whether the technician was familiar with how front camber can be adjusted on this chassis in the first place.
I don't expect a shop to achieve numbers the factory hardware physically cannot provide, and the amount of factory front camber adjustment on this platform is admittedly modest. If they used all available adjustment and couldn't eliminate the asymmetry, I would understand. But when I'm told an adjustment was attempted, the shop's own BEFORE and AFTER report shows absolutely zero change, the witness marks don't appear to show meaningful movement, and the subsequent explanations suggest a misunderstanding about whether the adjustment is possible at all, I think it's reasonable to question what was actually done.
I specifically chose a specialty automotive shop and paid a premium price because I expected more than simply getting the toe into specification. I expected the available adjustment to be used to achieve the best and most symmetrical alignment reasonably possible, along with a clear explanation of any limitations.
Paying a premium wouldn't have bothered me if I'd received a correspondingly thorough alignment. Based on the identical before-and-after measurements, what I observed at the strut mounts, and the technical explanations I received afterward, I lost confidence in having Metroplex Customs perform the work a second time and would not bring my car back for another alignment. read more