ACR

2000 Accord 2Dr
I need to get an alignment done on my car and had a few questions. Does it make a difference getting an alignment before or after getting new tires? How much should I expect to pay for a 4 wheel alignment and can anyone recommend a good place in the Bay Area?

I am currently planning on taking my car to http://www.customalignment.com(heard it is a good place but they charge a lot) and they gave a quote for $180 for a 4 wheel alignment. Since my car is dropped, how much of a difference will an alignment make considering I don't have a camber kit? If it won't make that big of a difference than I can take it to cheaper place.

vc

whats a camber kit? =/

.bagged

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sh0rti &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">whats a camber kit? =/</TD></TR></TABLE>

When you raise or lower a car the angle of the wheel can change

a camber kit will correct this which also preserves you tires from wearing bad.

In a nut shell

jwogen1

it is good to get an alignment done after replacing tires or rotating. this will indeed prolong the tire life.

iam7head

depends of how low is the car, if you car is lowered alot with also increase the negative camber by a margin.

1-1.5 degree of negative camber is perfect for corner/ at track, but anything beyond that just gonna decrease grip,drag time, brake time.

alignment should be around 60 dollar, 180 for life of the vehicle huh?

iam7head

bring two long piece of wooden board if the car is having hard time getting on the rack without lossing the front lip.

only get four wheels computerize alighment, aka laser stuff.

ask/request for a spec sheet for before and after spec.

TryumphRacing

I do wheel alignments, most places shouldn't charge you more than $100 for the alignment. As for the camber kit, you will need to purchase one and bring it to who ever is doing your alignment. When you change the height of your car usually the caster dosn't need to be adjusted, sometimes it does. The toe will always have to be reset to 0. And the most important part, your camber needs to be set to spec. On Accords there is no adjustment for the rear camber and caster, you can only adjust the toe at the tie rod ends. But the rear usualy stays at spec for camber and caster any way except for sever situations like an accident. For the front, you do the same with the toe, there is a factory adjustment for the caster, but none for the camber. Thats why you will need a camber kit, because lowering your accord brings the camber in to negatively.

TryumphRacing

oh, and the tires will only make a difference if you have <U>exssesive</U> tire wear.

ACR

Thanks for the information. How much will a camber kit cost, I know Ingals makes one. Is this one any good or they are all the same.

Edit: Oh ya, the car has about 2 finger gap between the tire and the fender, front and back. Damn I edited this thing like 5 times.

accordblk

2 finger gap = about 1.5inch drop = prokit???

don't know.. my math

anyways.. i thought you really don't need camber kit for 1~1.5 inch drops like prokit

am i wrong?

ACR

I don't know about that but I'm dropped on Tein SS.

aznbrwnchld

i think you should wait til you get a camber kit before you get an alignment done. most front kits come around 200. look around for a good deal. which reminds me, i need one too.

ACR

Just got off the phone with Honda and the guy said that all they can do is adjust the toe. Also I read this thread https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=747152 and have come to the conclusion that maybe I really don't need a camber kit after all. I think I am just going to just get the toe and the caster asjusted.

philadd

I would highly recommend a rear camber kit for your car. On the 6th gen Accords, the rear tires will camber a lot, even with a mild drop. My friend's Accord was lowered 1.5 inches with the Prokit, and he had some pretty bad camber in the rear. My 99 Accord is lowered about 2 inches all around, and I only have a rear camber kit. (Rear camber kit also includes toe adjustment.) My front tires have less than 1 degree of camber (within factory specs), and the toe was aligned back into spec, all without a camber kit.