ALIGNMENT AFTER SPRINGS AND TIRES

BlackBoostedStang · Jan 25, 2016

I bought camber plates to be safe for my progressives.. turns out i didn't need them to get alignment back in spec, but i installed them anyway since i bought them.

1 other thing. The ford dealer i went to for an alignment said they COULD NOT get my car aligned, since their shop only had alignment specs for a factory ride height car and not a lowered mustang.

So i went and gave my money to an independent shop instead

db252 · Jan 25, 2016

Just finished installing my ultralite Steeda springs this last Friday and took it in to get aligned and they couldn't get camber to spec either although we always hope there is enough adjustment to make it happen. Ford doesn't engineer a good range of adjustment. Well now I have my front camber bolts from BMR to put in and I'm waiting for my rear adjustable camber arms from Steeda to ship and get here so that they can dial it in again for no extra charge. One way or another, some $$ will have to be spent to get the right specs. Not that it has anything to do with alignment but I also changed out the vertical links, toe rods and sway bar end links. The alignment tech loved the toe rod design which are made by BMR in my case.

redline727 · Jan 26, 2016

Dragster said:
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Just curious if people have generally had better luck at tire shops/dealers/whatever.

Also, what if anything can or will need to be adjusted in the rear? I know I have the spec sheet lying around here somewhere, but I can't seem to remember what needs to be done in the rear.

Thanks for the help!

Toe and camber in the rear as well (which needs to be set first). There is a camber adjustment in the rear. It's just a little bit of a bitch to see to get to. The highlighted part is slotted in the subframe for camber adjustment.

My alignment is pretty conservative. And was achieved using BMR camber bolts in the front and factory rear adjustments. On BMR performance springs. Though the performance springs don't drop the rear much. So I don't know if there is enough adjustment in the rear for more aggressive drops. And I can't comment if the camber bolts were definitely needed for the front with these springs but for $25 it wasn't worth me finding out. I also have a BMR cradle lockout so also important to make sure the subframe is centered when doing so.

15RRGT · Jan 26, 2016

Good info

Midnight_LMR · Jan 26, 2016

Ok guys I'm a complete rookie on reading alignment sheets but I just had mine done this morning after going with Steeda Ultralites and the shop I took it to told me this was the best they could do and they recommended camber plates and adjusters on the front and rear and bring it back in 30 days when the springs settle. So here's my questions, how bad is it? And what all would you guys recommend I do. I talked to the guys at Steeda and they are willing to offer a good price for front and rear but it's still fairly hefty. Opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated

Competition Orange · Jan 26, 2016

Midnight_LMR said:
Ok guys I'm a complete rookie on reading alignment sheets but I just had mine done this morning after going with Steeda Ultralites and the shop I took it to told me this was the best they could do and they recommended camber plates and adjusters on the front and rear and bring it back in 30 days when the springs settle. So here's my questions, how bad is it? And what all would you guys recommend I do. I talked to the guys at Steeda and they are willing to offer a good price for front and rear but it's still fairly hefty. Opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated

It appears they may have plugged in an s197 mustang with the solid rear axle. The header label and lack of rear stock specs support this.

Also, your rear specs are fully adjustable on the S550 cars, so camber and toe can be adjusted. Your rear camber was just like mine after BMR handling spring install. I had them do zero toe, and -1.5 camber in the rear.

Fronts only need the $30 camber bolts, and they're fully adjustable too.

Order the $30 bolts, then go back and have them get it to the factory specs.

Keep in mind, this is all for a non performance alignment.

redline727 · Jan 26, 2016

[emoji115] this, they definitely selected the wrong car. Most machines have a scanner that scans the VIN plate too. So don't know how this happened.

Midnight_LMR · Jan 26, 2016

Thanks guys, I talked to the shop and they having me bring it back in tomorrow morning so they can look at it again. They said their machine hasn't been updated with the S550 specs but the tech that did it was Ford certified and since he drive a 302 he I guess didn't look or something idk. Either way I'm going back in to have them do it. Can anyone link something I could take with me that shows the rear adjustability or how to adjust it in case they give me guff?

HybridGT · Jan 26, 2016

Uh oh... Is this something I'm gonna have to worry about/fix?

Going 275/35 and 295/35 on 20s. Steeda Progressive.

redline727 · Jan 26, 2016

Midnight_LMR said:
Thanks guys, I talked to the shop and they having me bring it back in tomorrow morning so they can look at it again. They said their machine hasn't been updated with the S550 specs but the tech that did it was Ford certified and since he drive a 302 he I guess didn't look or something idk. Either way I'm going back in to have them do it. Can anyone link something I could take with me that shows the rear adjustability or how to adjust it in case they give me guff?

See my post #19. If they can't find the rear toe adjustment tell them to take the car off the rack, they don't deserve your money. Up front toe is adjusted easily at the tie rod, caster isn't adjustable, you will need camber bolts or C/C plates to get front camber in spec, If you don't have either the top bolt hole on the strut can be drilled to be slotted for camber adjustment. But I advise just getting at least camber bolts.

Higgs Boson · Jan 26, 2016

How far back towards 0 camber will the bolts get you? I have steeda plates sitting here and not sure if I need them.... I would like -.5 or -.75 front camber.

redline727 · Jan 26, 2016

Higgs Boson said:
How far back towards 0 camber will the bolts get you? I have steeda plates sitting here and not sure if I need them.... I would like -.5 or -.75 front camber.

I'm sitting at -.7 -.8 with BMR camber bolts on BMR performance springs. I didn't see if it would go to 0. I just wanted to be inside -1.0. And -1.3 -1.4 in the rear with the factory adjustment. Which is pretty much dead center of factory spec for the rear.

Tcstang · Jan 27, 2016

I installed caster camber plates the same time I did the springs. From previous cars I knew I would need the extra adjustment. No way I would let anyone slot the struts as a work around but that's just me.

jasonstang · Jan 27, 2016

So seems like if you gonna lower, might as well swap in all the adjustable stuff?

DAGO GT · Jan 27, 2016

I went ahead and ordered some camber plates from Steeda.

ALIGNMENT AFTER SPRINGS AND TIRES

BlackBoostedStang

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db252

Equinsu Ocha

redline727

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15RRGT

I am teh liquor

Midnight_LMR

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Competition Orange

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redline727

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Midnight_LMR

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HybridGT

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redline727

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Higgs Boson

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redline727

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Tcstang

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DAGO GT

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