so i went to ntb to get an alignment (my camber is really off on the left front tire and i just replaced the ball joints) and they said it would take about 2 hrs. so i came back 2 hrs later, they havent even started it, and im like have u done it yet? then they pull it in and it doesnt fit on the dam rack! said it was to low.... i just bought the car so i have no idea what is on the suspension yet (too cold to check!) but i know it is slammed. rides pretty rough sometimes and the wheel shakes. i also get a squeeking on the front left sometimes it does sometimes it doesnt. (i think its because of the camber being so off) it also sucks on bumps....hits hard even the littlest bumps makes my cd skip..(its not the greatest player either) anyways my question is do i have to put some stock springs on to get an alignment and then switch it back? or does anyone know of a performance shop that may be able to do an alignment with it lowered? i live near chicago,il (bout 20 min away) any help or comments would be awesome

 

if you or if you know anyone mechanicly enclined you can do your own alignment, I do my own alignments on all my cars and have never had a problem with tire wear

 

i was thinking about that too, its just so hard to get a dam jack under this car lol. teh only thing i really dont know is how to adjust camber... dont know to much about suspension, just the very very basics

 

it looks a little too slammed.. check to see if there are camber kits. no camber kits = worn out tires fast.. and i dont care what anyone says about "oh just set toe to zero." that is complete bull****. Maybe on cars lowered an 1 inch. But even then. Over time, they will wear faster.

Do not get an alignment until you are done with the suspension and fixing any problems. Fix all problems (tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints, axles). I would suggest raising it up a little with some H&R Race springs and some Ingalls 3degree camber kits in the front and some adjustable camber arms in the rear. Then take the car for an alignment. Most shops wont/cant do an alignment on a car that slammed low.. The ones that will do not promise a perfect alignment.

Good luck.

 

Well my car is a little lower than that and I was able to get an alignment no problem. Granted I live 500 miles away to it doesn't help you much. As far as raising it up getting it aligned then lowering it again will be pointless and defeat getting the alignment in the first place. Personally I would suggest (if you have to replace) the Omni power full set-up: http://robearracing.com/pd_omn...r.cfm.
All you will need for this is the upper control arms and camber kits.
As far as the jack goes, go to lowes, home depot or whatever and buy a 1''x6'' board. Have them cut it into different length pieces and make like 2steps on each one and screw them down so you can get your car high enough off the ground to get a jack under it. Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92integraVTECgsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it looks a little too slammed.. check to see if there are camber kits. no camber kits = worn out tires fast.. and i dont care what anyone says about "oh just set toe to zero." that is complete bull****. Maybe on cars lowered an 1 inch. But even then. Over time, they will wear faster. </TD></TR></TABLE>

no sir it is not complete BS. My car ran over 2" lowered, closer to 3" lowered for years, never had camber kits, and I would regularly get 30-35K miles on a set of ES100's. Yes it did wear the inside edge *a little* faster, but it wasn't wearing them out completely in a matter of a couple of months. In 4 years and 120,000 miles, with around -2.5 deg. camber in front most of the time, I'm just now on my 4th set of tires. How else would you explain that? I keep the toe in check by getting it aligned regularly (twice a year if I can) and I rotate my tires every 5K miles.

camber kits are <u>overrated</u> for people only concerned about tire wear. If you track the car and/or want to dial in a certain camber setting (NOT straight up 0 camber, bad for handling), then get a set and use them. Otherwise, IMHO the cost of the parts, and the added cost of alignment, and all the possibilities of the parts slipping or otherwise malfunctioning, parts squeeking, etc. just aren't worth it.

Now to the original question, if one tire's camber is noticeable different than on the other side, then you definitely need to get under there and check for damaged parts, etc. At the very least, see what you have installed on there so you'll know if the parts are good or crap and if you need to replace anything. You should get everything in good working order before going for an alignment, because otherwise the money you spend having it done will be wasted.

 

they couldn't just put boards down?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LoseRPunKx182 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">they couldn't just put boards down?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea, get a place that will put boards down to get it up on the lift. Just ask them if they'll do it, maybe slip em a few bucks if they won't. I've never had a place just offer to put boards down for me, I had to suggest it to them.

 

just take boards with you and put it on the ramp yourself lol...the shop wants money so I don't believe they will object, because you are making their job that much easier.

 

yeah i feel ya. when i bought my da it was slammed too. it was a pretty rough ride. i tought that the shocks were just out. but to find out that it was that, and then when i really looked out it. it was just cut springs. yeah if you guys know where garage 509 is at in seattle. don't get anything there. they're all just full of bull****.

but with your alignment, any car that's low. they'll need to do it manually. because it won't fit on the lift. there's some places that will do it. but around seattle a lot of the places are owned my old white guys that hate imports and will pretty much tell you to f off. or charge you up the ***.

goodluck on your car. you should lift it a bit. most likely going to get all new suspension.

 

another option is to find a place that still uses a pit. thee aren't many left but it is an option. good luck.

 

i think bringing your own boards would be your best bet, i'm gonna get an alignment soon, i'll tell you how it works out, there are places around here that can get your car up

 

awesome guys thanks! ill have to try the boards lol... also rkrone let me know what u find anything is always helpful. and i wish i could just raise it up but money is low, i was originally looking for spacers for the springs but no luck :\ thanks again guys and any other input is always welcome

 

my car is about that low i just use a stock jack to raise it and wen its high enough i put a bigger jack

 

as far as jacking it goes, drive up onto a 2x4 if its too low for a jack.

 

walmart uses pits still i usually go get my oil changed there when im lazy but im not sure if they do alignments but you can check

 

the reason they cant align your car is because the thing that connects to the wheel hits the bumper due to the car being so low. thats what happen to me. then when the dude drove my car off the ramp and almost broke the bumper off cuz hes stupid.

but anyways some places do lowered cars. call around.

 

Yeah I have to remove my front bumper in order to get a laser alignment done, because my ITR lip blocks the beam. However last time I got one done, it was an old school place with a pit, and no lasers so I didn't have to remove anything.