Should I do alignment at Subaru service or tuning shop?

[mitama]

Hi Guys!

My car has been lowered about an inch with Eibach prokit and now im thinking to do alignment

Should I do alignment at Subaru service center or tuning shop?

I thought maybe alignment spec for stock suspension is different from the one for lowered car so im not sure its a good idea to do alignment at Subaru service center because they probably do it based off of stock suspension??

Please let me know your opinion?

[Decep]

performance/tuning shop for sure. or a good place that doesn't mind custom specs/aftermarket parts. call around and you can tell in about 5 seconds. some will just say "well as long as the machine says its ok, its ok" others will say no problem, give us the specs and we'll do our best to hit them.

make sure to buy some camber bolts too for the front.

[humfrz]

Any good alignment shop/machine should take your lowering of your car into consideration when they do the work.


humfrz

[Impureclient]

I had mine done at the Toyota dealer when they put in the TRD springs but if I could do it again I'd look into a lifetime alignment agreement.
At Firestone for instance, they will align the car every 6 months or 6k miles for the life you own the car for $200 instead of the normal $80 for a one time job.
If you plan on keeping it for a while and messing with suspension a lot it seems like the way to go. Like Decep said, get those camber bolts for the front which
will get you real close to -2 in the front to match what the rear will be after lowering with the springs. After lowering my rear was -2 and when I installed the bolts in
the bottom hole, I got them to get me to -1.8 in front.

[conehead]

Originally Posted by Impureclient

I had mine done at the Toyota dealer when they put in the TRD springs but if I could do it again I'd look into a lifetime alignment agreement.
At Firestone for instance, they will align the car every 6 months or 6k miles for the life you own the car for $200 instead of the normal $80 for a one time job.
If you plan on keeping it for a while and messing with suspension a lot it seems like the way to go. Like Decep said, get those camber bolts for the front which
will get you real close to -2 in the front to match what the rear will be after lowering with the springs. After lowering my rear was -2 and when I installed the bolts in
the bottom hole, I got them to get me to -1.8 in front.

The Firestone next to my house will not do anything other than factory specs and will not even touch extra adjusters. I don't know of any alignment shops with lifetime guarantees that will let you come in just to make setup changes. They could never make money doing that. Find a race shop.

[why?]

Ask around in your local area on here or on facebook. There is always someone who is great, easy to deal with, and has no problems helping you get the exact specs you want.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Highly recommend asking your local forum/cargroup/facebook/whatever for a recommendation.

Dealer will be expensive and may or may not do what you want. Random tuner shop may just have no idea what they're doing and make things worse.

A good alignment shop is valuable.

- Andrew

[N1rve]

If all you have is springs, I don't really see a need for like a custom alignment. You can't change camber without LCAs or Camber Plates/bolts int he front. It's going to be a toe-in and toe-out alignment.

I would go to a place that is relatively inexpensive and doesn't scratch rims. My Firestone uses alignment clamps that grip onto the rim and has chipped rims on my other cars, so I don't use Firestone.

Once you have more adjustment, go to a Alignment specialty or a shop that knows how to deal with with the 86 Platform.

You're in CA but I don't know where in CA. I can recommend a few places if need be.

[churchx]

When one installs/changes springs, alignment may get off by a lot simply because all parts undone/bolted together. If springs are non stock length, due camber and toe being linked, both will change. And even if as stock camber is unadjustable on twins, it matters even more to get toe right, as it can cause big pile of issues, eg. car unstable/unsafe to drive (if excessive toe-out), not tracking straight (uneven toe), and wearing tires too quick (excessive toe wear) .

[xdavidx]

Originally Posted by mitama

My car has been lowered about an inch with Eibach prokit and now im thinking to do alignment

Should I do alignment at Subaru service center or tuning shop?

You will probably be 'ok' doing it at a dealership given your local dealer isn't the mindless oblivious type (the type that would argue with you that you need an alignment because you got new tires - true story). I had mine done after TRD springs (same drop as yours) at my Toyota dealer and it's been fine. No odd tire wear and everything works great. I get a discount at that dealer so independent wouldn't have been any cheaper. Now, a good specialty shop could have done a slightly better job or given it a bit better handling, but as some others have pointed out without further modification there isn't a lot you can do with the alignment so it probably wouldn't be noticeable. For the most part, either is fine. If you plan to do autox, track, or further suspension modifications in the future though it might be worthwhile to seek out a good specialty shop and start a relationship.

[mitama]

Originally Posted by Decep

performance/tuning shop for sure. or a good place that doesn't mind custom specs/aftermarket parts. call around and you can tell in about 5 seconds. some will just say "well as long as the machine says its ok, its ok" others will say no problem, give us the specs and we'll do our best to hit them.

make sure to buy some camber bolts too for the front.

Can you recommend any good camber bolts?

The one that I found was whitelines 16mm , are these good?

[Racecomp Engineering]

I've seen so many bad alignments posted here that even just a standard set the toe alignment would make me nervous at most places. That said, sometimes a dealership will have a great alignment guy. Sometimes a standard run-of-the-mill mechanic will take their time and do an awesome job. Sometimes a tuner shop will suck ass.

- Andrew

[why?]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I've seen so many bad alignments posted here that even just a standard set the toe alignment would make me nervous at most places. That said, sometimes a dealership will have a great alignment guy. Sometimes a standard run-of-the-mill mechanic will take their time and do an awesome job. Sometimes a tuner shop will suck ass.

- Andrew

It really can be about where the great guy in the area works. One area I lived in the best mechanic in the county worked at a walmart, so everyone went there.

[Impureclient]

Originally Posted by conehead

The Firestone next to my house will not do anything other than factory specs and will not even touch extra adjusters. I don't know of any alignment shops with lifetime guarantees that will let you come in just to make setup changes. They could never make money doing that. Find a race shop.

I was getting a tire with a nail in repaired at a Tireplus and they said with their lifetime alignment, I could do just that. If it's in writing and signed as a contract, they are bound to it:

Lifetime Wheel Alignment Package

This is our best value! Your vehicle is covered as long as you own it, no matter how many miles you drive!
A tire and wheel alignment every 6,000 miles can greatly extend the life of your tires. At Tires Plus, we provide a wide range of alignment services performed by certified alignment technicians. With every wheel alignment package, we will:

Inspect your steering and suspension system.
Check your tire condition and air pressure.
Adjust your camber, caster and toe angles (if adjustable) to the manufacturer’s specifications. (Additional parts and labor may be necessary on some vehicles. See your customer service advisor for details.)
Road–test your vehicle to ensure your alignment is straightforward.
Provide you with a printout containing your vehicle’s "before" and "after" alignment readings.

It does say "Adjust your camber, caster and toe angles (if adjustable) to the manufacturer’s specifications." but when I was asking the manager, they said they would adjust to whatever I wanted to when the times comes.
I didn't ask if it was every month or every time I want a slight change because that is unreasonable to ask but when that 6 months/6k miles comes up, they have to do that alignment to whatever specs you ask of them.
Even if you were to only get three alignments from them the entire time you owned the car, you are still ahead. If it were me I'd change out parts right before the 6 month came up, if I was constantly changing stuff out which I don't personally, and bring it in and they set it back to spec.