So is it just me or is it that EVERY time i go to les schwab I get Fu**ed with? I was told yesterday that my toe could not be adjusted unless i had a camber kit from them ( I know that isnt true at all but I didnt complain because they didnt charge me ). Main question I have is they told me that caster didnt matter because I have a front wheel drive car, SO can the caster be adjusted without a camber kit? Do I need it within specs so I dont destroy my tires? I read the camber kit write up already and that didnt answer my question. Any input would be appreciated.

 

No the caster is not adjustable. Caster also will not wear your tires.

Why do you want to adjust your caster? Is it out of spec?
How low are you?

The reason why is they want you to buy a camber kit from there, so they make money.

They are going to keep bull shiting you in hopes you will buy one. It happens to me all the time. EVERY time I go into firestone they do it. It is the same guy every time, he knows I wont buy one, and he is aware I know more then he does.

It's there job to sell you everything they possibly can, and get you to ok the install.
It works, some people just don't know, or have been told camber kills tires.

 

i was told if a shop tells me i need camber kits to go on to the next shop bc they dont know what they are talking about

 

Umm, they may or may not know what they are talking about, but the only shops I am aware that don't say something about camber kits are race shops. But, not all have alignment racks.

Only one in my area that I know of does, and the guy will do what ever the hell you want, no questions, no bull ****. ( I know the owner).

These types of shops understand that camber won't kill your tires, and won't bull **** you. Or at least in my experience they don't with me. Hell I was told I could do my own alignment if I wanted to. Again, I know the owner, and we are great friends. I haven't done it, because, well I am lazy and would rather have his buddy do it.

I will actually be going to tommorow and having him align my car.

The bigger places, firesone, les swaub, are only in it for money. Do you think they car if you get 4k or 40k out of a set of tires? NO, they don't. They just want to sell you everything under the damn sun, and make as much money as possible.

It's life, you just have to deal with it. As much as it pisses you off, just let it go.

Cliffs: don't give in, say no I just want the toe to be adjusted.

If I come off as a *****, I don't mean to.

 

im a little confused. OP, you said you went to "scwab" and they said your TOE could not be adjusted, without a camber kit. then you ask if the CASTER can be adjusted without a camber kit. But you start out this post asking about the TOE, then you switch to CASTER. ok to set it straight. i WORK in a shop (Big o Tires) we are a full service shop from flat repairs to motor swaps. iam the lead tire tech and alignment tech at our shop. now as far as les schwab goes they pretty much WILL NOT touch a lowered car. we get in cars all day for alignments that schwab wont do cause the suspension has been altered. now a main question i have is what vehicle are your driving. (year make model). Now on ALL cars toe is always adjustable. we will get trucks in will loose front end parts (ball joints tie rods, idler or pitman arm ect....) so we can do the alignment till the parts are replaced so till then we will do a toe set. because TOE is what is going to cause your tires to wear out. (worse than camber or caster). now CASTER is going cause a pull to on side or the other. and there is almost never caster adjustment in the rear. so NO you do not need a camber kit to set the TOE. toe can always be set. and NO you do not need a camber kit to set the caster and you have a FWD car so you have no caster in the rear. you MAY need a CASTER kit. if your car is lowered you might be maxed out and the kit will give you more adjustment. the only reason for a camber kit (98% of time) is only for camber adjustments. my suggestion STOP going to schwab and do some searching and find another shop.

 

Its a 2000 civic SI, its def not "slammed". I went somewere else, told them im aware my cambers off but to just fix the toe and they did it no problems. The camber angle is -1.4 on all four tires so im pretty happy with it now. Thanks for all the input

 

Go to another shop when they say that.

-1.4 is nothing, I've had about -3 for a couple years and was fine.

Only the toe is adjustable on most hondas anyways. When i get an allignment I just tell them to put the toe to 0 and thats it.

 

^That. Im 2.5 inches at -1.7* in front, and -2.8 but 2 washers brought it down to -1.9*

-1.4* is not much at all.

 

How do you only have -1.4° on the rear of a 6th gen Civic? Washers on the upper arm bolts? I think -1.4° is within or very close to OEM spec for rear camber on those cars.

 

^It is in OEM spec. Spec is -2.0*- 0

 

Yeah I put 4 washers ( two for each bolt ) on the rear. It was originally around -2.4 I believe

 

Hi, I am new to the boards. I have a 2000 Civic EX with ~120k miles on it. I have no aftermarket suspension parts on my car, it's 100% stock (and original for the most part). I took my Civic to get an alignment last week and the shop (which I have used before for other work) said that the manufacturer does not specify a rear camber adjustment and also does not specify front camber AND caster adjustments. Based on what I read here, that is true.

So I pulled out my service manual (not Haynes, but the real deal) and it DOES specify camber and caster settings for the front and rear. To make things even more confusing, I took my Civic to get an alignment ~2 years ago at a different location under the same company name (local repair company) and they charged me additionally for "shim labor", implying that the alignment is indeed adjustable. The most recent shop said I would need to install some aftermarket front caster adjusters and some rear camber adjusters since the factory parts don't allow for any adjustment. I didn't let them install these parts.

Can someone advise on what is correct? If my camber/caster settings are out of spec but they cannot adjust either, then what approach do I take to fix this? Does that imply some other suspension parts are worn? I know the trailing arm bushings are worn and will be replacing those myself soon.

 

FYI, here are the alignment specs they gave me:

Front left: Camber -0.2*, Caster 2.9*, Toe 0.13*

Front right: Camber 0.1*, Caster 3.5*, Toe 0.10*

Rear left: Camber -2.6*, Toe 0.13*

Rear right: Camber -2.8*, Toe -0.35*

 

Ahh, wow.

The caster and rear camber have me worrying a bit.

All stock, and you have as much camber as I have lowered 2.5''s


I would start a new thread, so more people are able to see it.

 

thanks, I will do that now