I finally got an alignment done at the Acura dealership. I was hoping the alignment would solve an issue I have been having ever since I installed my coilovers and new wheels & tires. Before modifying the suspension and while I was running stock RE-01's the car steered extremely fast and quick. Razor sharp turn in and quick reflexes.

After the suspension install and new tires/wheels I felt that left and right of center in the steering movement was numb. It is as if the first 2-3" on the left or right of center produces hardly any notable steering response. I got an alignment done and while the car feels more stable at speed and in turns, the big dead spot around center is still there. I feel like the car needs way too much steering input all the time. Basically the car steers like ****. I am hoping it is just an alignment issue.

Here are my aligment specs:

<U>Front : Left</U>
Camber: -2.2 was -2.2
Caster: 1.0 was 1.0
Toe: 0.01 was -0.16

<U>Front : Right</U>
Camber: -2.4 was -2.4
Caster: 0.3 was 0.3
Toe: -0.02 was 0.02

<U>Front</U>
Cross Camber: 0.2 was 0.2
Cross Caster: 0.7 was 0.7
Total Toe: -0.01 was -0.14

------------------------

<U>Rear Left</U>
Camber: -1.9 was -1.9
Toe: 0.07 was 0.03

<U>Rear Right</U>
Camber: -2.1 was -2.0
Toe: 0.10 was 0.10

<U>Rear</U>
Cross Camber: 0.2 was 0.1
Total Toe: 0.17 was 0.26




Modified by AamirCWITR at 2:11 PM 5/8/2006

 

where are the alignment gurus?

 

Do you have before alignment specs? Car will wear tires well. Personally, I'd like a hair more toe out in front and back.

 

Before numbers posted.

Doesn't anyone else here have experience with dead steering around center?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AamirCWITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I finally got an alignment done at the Acura dealership. I was hoping the alignment would solve an issue I have been having ever since I installed my coilovers and new wheels & tires. Before modifying the suspension and while I was running stock RE-01's the car steered extremely fast and quick. Razor sharp turn in and quick reflexes. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Tires are basically the MAJOR deciding factor in what is called "steering feedback".

The stock tires are KNOWN for "razor sharp" steering sensitivity/feedback.

It would help if you posted what tires you're running now. More likely than not, the "numb" association you have with your steering is a result of the tires you're running.

Posting the camber/caster is useless if you don't have a camber kit, since you can't correct it. The only thing an alignment is good for on our cars is setting the toe.

 

Michelin Pilot Sports 215/45-16

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Alexander &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

It would help if you posted what tires you're running now. More likely than not, the "numb" association you have with your steering is a result of the tires you're running.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

The tires that I have right now are known to be some of those most responsive summer tires made.

 

The Falken 512's I have now are terrible in regard to the steering response.

 

i'm running the Falken Az. RT-615s and i do have that 1 inch left&right of center dead spot in the steering, where i can move it back and fourth between that dead section and the steering does nothing... what did your alignment cost from the Acura Dealership??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JUN.R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'm running the Falken Az. RT-615s and i do have that 1 inch left&right of center dead spot in the steering, where i can move it back and fourth between that dead section and the steering does nothing... what did your alignment cost from the Acura Dealership??</TD></TR></TABLE>

$99.99

This steering issue is driving me crazy. literally makes me hate my car

 

You lucked out...I just put my caR on the rack today...here is what I discovered:

Front :
Camber: suppose to be -0.5 -&gt; -1
Caster: suppose to be 1.17
Toe: suppose to be at 0

------------------------

Rear
Camber: can't remember right now
Toe: suppose to be 0.07

In the front I can't adjust the camber or caster...there is no adjustment. I can only adjust the Toe via the steering rack and I have LH & RH at 0.

I have coil-overs as well, and my current LH & RH numbers are just as off as yours, if not worse on the right front . I am thinking this is normal for these cars since they are designed to operate at the stock height with precision. My thoughts are that the way to correct the suspensions miss calibration is to purchase devices that allow us to adjust the front camber and caster...now the searching begins.
Any advice out there for which products to use to correct the alignment issues we are having???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by infulleffect &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You lucked out...I just put my caR on the rack today...here is what I discovered:

Front :
Camber: suppose to be -0.5 -&gt; -1
Caster: suppose to be 1.17
Toe: suppose to be at 0

------------------------

Rear
Camber: can't remember right now
Toe: suppose to be 0.07

In the front I can't adjust the camber or caster...there is no adjustment. I can only adjust the Toe via the steering rack and I have LH & RH at 0.

I have coil-overs as well, and my current LH & RH numbers are just as off as yours, if not worse on the right front . I am thinking this is normal for these cars since they are designed to operate at the stock height with precision. My thoughts are that the way to correct the suspensions miss calibration is to purchase devices that allow us to adjust the front camber and caster...now the searching begins.
Any advice out there for which products to use to correct the alignment issues we are having???

</TD></TR></TABLE>

There is nothing "wrong" with my alignment, everything is within spec. Its ok if your camber is -1. The stock R is setup with negative camber. You just need to make sure its within spec and also isnt very different on the left and right hand side. Camber differences should be minimal from left to right. Caster is generally not set from what I know and should not change much unless your suspension pieces are bent or damaged.

All you need to worry about is keeping your camber differences minimal across left and right and making sure your toe is correct, 0.06-.1 is good for front total toe and 0.0 is good for the rear total toe.

 

i never noticed it but after driving my friend's s2000 and reading this post makes me think my ITR has the dead center steering issue too.

does that happen when the car's dropped too much?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by itr1244 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i never noticed it but after driving my friend's s2000 and reading this post makes me think my ITR has the dead center steering issue too.

does that happen when the car's dropped too much?</TD></TR></TABLE>

its a combination of a few things from what I have gathered.

1. Using tires other than the RE-010's, they were specifically engineered with the Type-R's steering in mind.

2. Using lower offset wheels in combo with non OEM tires.

3. Not having enough toe out in the front, I have read somewhere that the stock RE-010's tread design immitates toe out. This info could be wrong.

4. The steering rack has an adjustment and this can affect how "loose" the steering feels.

My car is at the dealer getting more toe out in the front (1/16 on each side) and zero in the rear and also getting the steering rack adjusted. I will report back how it feels. The dead center steering feel is annoying enough to make me go back to stock wheels and tires.

 

My apologies AamirCWITR I didn't mean to imply yout alignment was wrong...I just was posting the HUNTER alignment specs for my 98 ITR.

I saw your posting of camber being -2 when the maching said it should be -.5 -&gt; -1, if you like more camber that is totally cool, I was just trying to help out. I thought by posting my findings it might be helpful to you and to others.

It does look like lowering your ITR does cause the other alignment areas to be off from the suggested stock alignment specs . So basically by lowering your car to try and improve handling you will lose other important aspects that go along with having a superior handling vehicle.

IMO since HONDA only allows for TOE adjustments...when lowering an ITR or other HONDA vehicles...and to meet the alignment specs...one would need to purchase camber kits and possibly caster kits. I realize it is a lot of $$$ to shell out, out after a couple of hours of trying to align my car to something close to spec in the area of camber and caster I found myself still in the red .

PS: the alignment was done with the stock wheels, not tires...I am also interested to more about the steering rack adjustment for the dead center steering feel, they are not talking about the TOE adjustment are they?