what alignment specs does everyone use? I know different alignment specs change traction, 60ft and so on. i am looking for an all around good setup.

THE SPECS

92 EG hatch
omni power sport coil overs
full race traction bars
right know the car has 205/50/15 bfg drag radials (Will go bigger when the power is there)
the car will make around 400-600whp (400-450 whp street)(600whp track)

the car is mainly used on the street/weekend track car
i would like to know if i should stay with stock specs, or are there any other
good specs out there that people are having luck with?

 

it REALLY depends a lot on what suspension you're running and how much power your making. but BASICALLY....... for toe, you pretty much want it strait up. i like a degree or two of negative camber in the front (more for softer suspension, visa versa); on this one, think about how your tires move with weight transfer. and for caster i'm pretty much in the dark, so i dont want to give any bad advice there.

 

thanks for the help

jeff

 

Bump I am curious about this as well.

 

bump

 

try to get as much caster as possible.

 

the more positive your caster if, the straighter the car will track by itself, i.e. no hands on the wheel. however you lose some of the turning characteristics of the car with a more positive caster. i set caster at a little under 4 degrees with my full race bars in my ef. the cars definitely more difficult to turn, but drives very straight down the road and has no torque steer at all.

edit: as far as camber and toe specs, i just used the factory specs loaded onto the racks computer.

 

thanks for everyones input

jeff

 

1

 

caster affects camber roll... so if caster is more positive you will have more camber roll... with negative camber you will have less camber roll... camber roll is good when u want to road race cause u will use more of your tire... more contact patch on your tires... except you dont want to go too excessive on caster... imo i would only go 3 degrees of caster adjustment either way... you dont want negative caster... especially for street drivin... so positive is the way to go...

 

any more specs

 

I thought I remember reading Tony1 saying 1/8" toe and 1/2 or 1 deg negative camber. You might want to search for it and double check. Or ask him. The negative camber is for when you launch the front end will raise and bring the camber to zero.

 

thanks for help

 

any other specs?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ranta18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1/2 or 1 deg negative camber. You might want to search for it and double check. Or ask him. The negative camber is for when you launch the front end will raise and bring the camber to zero.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You don't set the car for any camber at ride height, you set the car for 0 camber at full droop because at 400+ the front end will come all the way up on launch and every time you stick the gas and get any traction. The camber falls wherever it falls, make a note of it in case you need another alignment but throw it away if you change the setup.

At those power levels, you're kinda screwed if you want to switch to slicks at the track. You'll just spin off anything with a similar OD to a street tire (pointless), and going with a 24.5+ slick changes a street tire alignment. I'm seriously considering M&H's 25" DOT slick, and if I get any flack from the local law enforcement point them toward the DOT stamp on the tire. Mom's house is a mile above the strip, and the streetrace crew gathers even closer, I've been planning on keeping the car at her house since I'm not planning on joyriding in it.

 

u guys are right. typical settings are like caster = 2.5 to 3 degrees (positive). camber = 0.5 degrees (negative) and toe = 1/8 inches (negative)

Of course these are base settings and some cars will have to be fine tuned depending on your setup.

edit: just remember to set them in that order. caster then camber, lastly toe.

 

helpful info here... let's see some more details

 

tires will not change an alignment.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Garage 808 Hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">tires will not change an alignment.</TD></TR></TABLE>

A couple inches won't have an effect on ride height, castor, etc, totally ignoring the fact that you almost always have to tweak ride height via coilover when bolting on any slick big enough to be worthwhile?

That's nice.

 

good info...

 

when i align my car, i take into consideration for when the front end lifts on the launch. a lot of shops do not have a level alignment rack, and it does change the whole charactoristics of the alignment.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by XXX008XXX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when i align my car, i take into consideration for when the front end lifts on the launch. a lot of shops do not have a level alignment rack, and it does change the whole charactoristics of the alignment. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i wouldnt take my car to any shop that didnt have a level rack. what do you think that does to your camber and toe readings?

 

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

A couple inches won't have an effect on ride height, castor, etc, totally ignoring the fact that you almost always have to tweak ride height via coilover when bolting on any slick big enough to be worthwhile?

That's nice.</TD></TR></TABLE>

damn it, you beat me to it.

 

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

i wouldnt take my car to any shop that didnt have a level rack. what do you think that does to your camber and toe readings?</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you think lifts stay level when you move them up and down??? you are supposed to have stops that swing down that keep the lift level and not move the car. every shop i know moves the car up and down several times when an alignment is being performed.

 

When you raise or lower the rack during an alignment, you are supposed to set it down on the locks that way it is level. Some of the older alignment racks do have the legs that come down to level the lift, and they should be used to properly set the caster and camber.