Alignment suggestions with Camber plates

[dmann]

Here are the results and I have some concerns. I wanted -2.2 camber in the front and 1.5 camber in the rear. He wasn't able to get the front dialed in as you can see from the pic. I included pics of the top side plates(first is the left and second is the right) to see where the position is at. Why is it you think that we can only get 1.9 out of these plates?
I will say that the strut original positions, before we aligned it today, were practically the same as the right side but look after today. It looks like the right side is maxed out and the left if just over half of its adjustment. What could be the problem?

Sponsored

 

[jabrax]

Was your alignment done by a performance shop? If not, i would seek one out and try. Local neighborhood tire shop struggled, so I made an appointment with an experienced performance shop used to working with custom specs, and they got it very close for me.

 

[Ryan P]

Here are the results and I have some concerns. I wanted -2.2 camber in the front and 1.5 camber in the rear. He wasn't able to get the front dialed in as you can see from the pic. I included pics of the top side plates(first is the left and second is the right) to see where the position is at. Why is it you think that we can only get 1.9 out of these plates?
I will say that the strut original positions, before we aligned it today, were practically the same as the right side but look after today. It looks like the right side is maxed out and the left if just over half of its adjustment. What could be the problem?

The problem is they didn't do it right. There is not that much variability in the front suspension for the two struts bolts to be positioned that differently. And you can absolutely get more camber from those. You can go all the way until the nut bottoms out on the the strut tower hole. I ran into this EXACT same situation at a local alignment place that gave me print outs that showed they met the specs I requested. The struts were in clearly different positions though. Long story short, I lived with it for a while until changing over to my new wheel set. I then took it in to a different shop with different specs. They called when they put in on the rack and said the front toe was wildly out (which I had also suspected), as was the front camber from left to right. Not sure if the last shop fudged the numbers or what, but they certainly were different that what this shop recorded. In the end, I wanted -3° camber in the front with a little toe out, and they were able to do it with no issue. The front strut nuts are evenly spaced in the strut holes. I also measured each wheel with a digital angle finder, and they are dead nuts to what the print out says. Most alignment shops are not going to be able to deal with the camber plates. If you can't find a more competent shop, my best advice is to adjust them yourself. If you are truly at almost -2° right now, adjust them in a towards the center of the car a touch more (making sure they are even spaced in the strut hole), and then just go have the toe readjusted. You should be close enough then.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Or string the car and reset the toe yourself.


Norm

 

[Ryan P]

^What he said.......

 

[Grintch]

I daily on 2.5Fr 1.5R with 0 ToeFr and i think 1/16th in the rear, car doesn't wander and the tire wear seems to be not horrible so far

I am maxed out at about - 2.5 F, - 2 R.

At my last track day, with only - 1.6F (pre camber plates) I burned up the outside front tire (actually chunked the outside edge). Even the rear at - 2 had significantly more wear on the outside edge than the rest of the tire.

IIRC the Track Pack recommends - 1.8 at the rear. That is the minimum I would run/recommend.

 

[Bluemustang]

I am maxed out at about - 2.5 F, - 2 R.

At my last track day, with only - 1.6F (pre camber plates) I burned up the outside front tire (actually chunked the outside edge). Even the rear at - 2 had significantly more wear on the outside edge than the rest of the tire.

IIRC the Track Pack recommends - 1.8 at the rear. That is the minimum I would run/recommend.

I think it's more like -1.59 front and -1.98 rear from what I recall. Could be wrong though.

 

[dmann]

Was your alignment done by a performance shop? If not, i would seek one out and try. Local neighborhood tire shop struggled, so I made an appointment with an experienced performance shop used to working with custom specs, and they got it very close for me.

It was done by a normal alignments shop. Thanks for the info.

 

[dmann]

The problem is they didn't do it right. There is not that much variability in the front suspension for the two struts bolts to be positioned that differently. And you can absolutely get more camber from those. You can go all the way until the nut bottoms out on the the strut tower hole. I ran into this EXACT same situation at a local alignment place that gave me print outs that showed they met the specs I requested. The struts were in clearly different positions though. Long story short, I lived with it for a while until changing over to my new wheel set. I then took it in to a different shop with different specs. They called when they put in on the rack and said the front toe was wildly out (which I had also suspected), as was the front camber from left to right. Not sure if the last shop fudged the numbers or what, but they certainly were different that what this shop recorded. In the end, I wanted -3° camber in the front with a little toe out, and they were able to do it with no issue. The front strut nuts are evenly spaced in the strut holes. I also measured each wheel with a digital angle finder, and they are dead nuts to what the print out says. Most alignment shops are not going to be able to deal with the camber plates. If you can't find a more competent shop, my best advice is to adjust them yourself. If you are truly at almost -2° right now, adjust them in a towards the center of the car a touch more (making sure they are even spaced in the strut hole), and then just go have the toe readjusted. You should be close enough then.

I appreciate the info! Good to hear from someone that has them.

 

[dmann]

Or string the car and reset the toe yourself.
Norm

I can and will research this but would certainly appreciate you give me the 30,000 foot view of what the principle is about.

Sponsored