Alignment Settings???

[dougcw]

I was wondering if anyone had any advise on the Alignment settings for my car? The tire shop cannnot get it correct! I have Eibach Pro-Kit and Bilstein HD shocks. I have read the "Important posts" at the top and they give me the factory specs. The car hasn't been in a wreck. The car pulls to the right and the wheel is cocked to the left about 5-10 degrees.

Please Help!!!

[Eugenio_SS]

i'd try to get get:
castor: +4.5'
camber: be in the negative, -0.5' is good allround.
toe: depends if you want a nervous car to turn NOW (like auto-x) or if you want some more stability @ higher speeds.
neutral, get a 0" toe.
for more nervous steering, get a slight toe-out... for increased stability @ high-speed, get a bit of toe-in.

[Eugenio_SS]

can't believe it's off by so much and nothing happened.
OUCH!!!

[dougcw]

thanks I'll try it out and see what happens? They said that they are going to have to do a cross?

[mrr23]

whe they mention cros, it means two things. wither they mentioned cross rotating the tires to see if it is a tire pull, or they are going to make the caster higher on the right than the left. this creates a CROSS caster difference. this should be done to counteract the crown of the road, which in most states leans to the right. with all angles being equal, the car will drift to the right because of the road crown. to counteract this, you make the caster higher on the right side versus the left.

what i need it the numbers off the printout from the alignment they gave you to see if i notice something is off on what they did. here's what i would do if i aligned the car.

camber -0.50* left and right
caster 4.50* left 4.80* right
toe 0.03* left and right

if they cannot get the caster to those numbers with the camber number at -0.50*, then get the highest they can on the right and drop the left side about .30* lower.

ah, the hell with it. ship it over and have me do it. :p

[dougcw]

mrr23,

here is what the sheet shows the current settings are right now

Left Front
-.4 Camber
4.8 Caster
.04 Toe

Right Front
-.5 Camber
4.3 Caster
.01 Toe

Front Total Toe .05

Steer Ahead .01

Left Rear
.1 Camber
.35 Toe

Right Rear
-.3 Camber
-.06 Toe

Rear Total Toe .29

Thrust Angle .21

I took it in on the premisis that I had lowered the car and that it's the right thing to do to get the alignment checked. The car did not pull right or left, but the steering wheel was just slightly to the right. Now I pull hard right and the steering wheel is 10-15 degrees to the left to keep her going straight. Let go of the steering wheel and she nearly darts right.

Thanks for the suggestions/help! I'm going back to the tire shop right now with your numbers to see if it remidies the situation. Please let me know if you see anything that alarms you. I have the adj. panhard bar on the back and the axle is centered, no sfc's or trailing arms though.

[Eugenio_SS]

it looks like the alignment guy didn't tight the bolts enough so that turning quickly would make the steering non-centered.

[mrr23]

Left Front
-.4 Camber
4.8 Caster
.04 Toe

Right Front
-.5 Camber
4.3 Caster
.01 Toe


right there is the problem. he has the caster lower on the right than the left. that makes the car go right. need to have the caster lower on the left. so, have him switch the caster around and you'll be set.

[dougcw]

The installer now has the car it "as good" as he can get it. He said I need new tires, because he believes that my sweetspots are now triangular shaped. The car only has 16,000 miles on it and I lowered it when there was 10,000 miles on it. I'm planning on getting the TT IIs and the g-force KDs. We'll see if that fixes it?

[mrr23]

what are the new readings for as good as he can get it? and what does "sweetspots are now triangular shaped" mean?? never heard of that.

[dougcw]

From what I gathered, It means that the tire wore towards the inside because the suspension wasn't set right after the drop. After he "adjusted it" to put it back to stock specs, the tires ride on a non natural sweetspot due to the wear. "Triangular Shaped" I don't know what the specs are, he forgot to print out a sheet, and the original specs before he adjusted anything, he didn't keep! Go figure? I don't think that I'll go back there, but my choices are limited on this god-forsaken island. Can't wait to get back to America! :cuss: :brick:

[CDS98Z28]

for street driving in a camaro you want your caster +4.5 to +5 degrees with it slightly higher on the right wheel (to keep the car centered on the road since most roads are graded at to the right slightly for runoff) you want your toe 0.00 to -o.o2 and your camber set at -.4 to -.5 ...some peple go to -.7 but going higher will effect the caster and the need for other after market parts may be needed
i am also ASE
these are not factory specs but the factory alignment is not friendly to tires(wears the outer edges due to excessive camber) nor is it that great for sporty driving

[dougcw]

When I get my new wheels and tires, I try out your recommendation and see what I get. Thanks for the info/input!!