Highway stability

[FadedCamo]

Hello all. I drive a '13 frs with 215/45R17 all seasons. Love the car for back roads it handles great and the chassis is super stiff no body roll. However on the highway the car feels a bit...harder. It's hard to describe I don't get any vibrations or anything but the car can be difficult to keep straight I constantly make micro adjustments and it feels when I change lanes that the car wants to keep going and I have trouble stabilizing it after a quick lane change. So I've looked into alignment issues and read up on toe and camber and such and the alignment faq thread. I feel like I have a good grasp on what the different terms mean as far as angles of the wheels but I still am unsure how it actually affects driving characteristics. I ideally would like more highway stability and the car to not feel as floaty and hard to maneuver above 60 mph. I recently got an alignment done and here's what the tech printed out, empty car:



Does anything look like something I should get adjusted? I realize the only thing stock I can adjust is the toe. Would adjusting that for the front or rear help this issue or should I look into camber bolts?

[Clipdat]

I'm no expert, but that seems like a pretty bad alignment.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

I'm no expert, but that seems like a pretty bad alignment.

Me neither but they changed virtually nothing and some are way off the specs.
I am sure the alignment gurus will set us straight.

[strat61caster]

You currently have toe out on the front end which is likely contributing to the lack of freeway stability. Changing that to be closer to zero or some toe in will likely add that stability you are looking for.

Everything else looks pretty damn standard for this car.

Originally Posted by Clipdat

I'm no expert, but that seems like a pretty bad alignment.

How? It's a stock car, that's what they look like on an alignment rack, tech likely did all they should by fixing the wicked toe in on the RF and matching it to the LF. Most 86's and other sporty cars that roll through that shop probably want exactly what they did, a bit of toe in rear, a bit of toe out front.

The right rear could have come in a little to match the left rear (more toe in), that would have decreased the camber difference to boot. But techs do what they're told to do, and without the work order we wouldn't know what happened.

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Me neither but they changed virtually nothing and some are way off the specs.

Which ones? I don't see anything out of spec.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

You currently have toe out on the front end which is likely contributing to the lack of freeway stability. Changing that to be closer to zero or some toe in will likely add that stability you are looking for.

Everything else looks pretty damn standard for this car.



How? It's a stock car, that's what they look like on an alignment rack, tech likely did all they should by fixing the wicked toe in on the RF and matching it to the LF. Most 86's and other sporty cars that roll through that shop probably want exactly what they did, a bit of toe in rear, a bit of toe out front.

The right rear could have come in a little to match the left rear (more toe in), that would have decreased the camber difference to boot. But techs do what they're told to do, and without the work order we wouldn't know what happened.



Which ones? I don't see anything out of spec.

Well front toe for starters.
Min - .09
Max .09
Actual .03 and .04

OHHHHH WAIT A SECOND HERE!
Never mind I see where I went wrong in reading it.
You can probably guess what I did.

[SoNotCool]

when you say the car wants to keep going... do you feel as the wheel has been caught in a grove and its pulling you, or does the car just feel heavy to one side?

do you feel like you have to fight the steering wheel more so then normal to regain control, or is it like pulling against a heavy wheel?

[churchx]

Front toe out .09 to toe in -0.9 = very big subjective change in handling/stability making car behave very differently. If that wide of range passes green within allowed stock ranges, then i guess lot of even new cars among first things should have alignment checked, even if no track use planned.

[Clipdat]

My bad, I wasn't taking into consideration that there's no camber adjustment in stock form.

Originally Posted by strat61caster

How? It's a stock car, that's what they look like on an alignment rack, tech likely did all they should by fixing the wicked toe in on the RF and matching it to the LF. Most 86's and other sporty cars that roll through that shop probably want exactly what they did, a bit of toe in rear, a bit of toe out front.

The right rear could have come in a little to match the left rear (more toe in), that would have decreased the camber difference to boot. But techs do what they're told to do, and without the work order we wouldn't know what happened.

[JDM4E]

Possibly related?
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117372

[FadedCamo]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

You currently have toe out on the front end which is likely contributing to the lack of freeway stability. Changing that to be closer to zero or some toe in will likely add that stability you are looking for.

Everything else looks pretty damn standard for this car.



How? It's a stock car, that's what they look like on an alignment rack, tech likely did all they should by fixing the wicked toe in on the RF and matching it to the LF. Most 86's and other sporty cars that roll through that shop probably want exactly what they did, a bit of toe in rear, a bit of toe out front.

The right rear could have come in a little to match the left rear (more toe in), that would have decreased the camber difference to boot. But techs do what they're told to do, and without the work order we wouldn't know what happened.



Which ones? I don't see anything out of spec.

Hmm it's only a few degrees toe out though? Would dialing that to zero toe from -. 3 on each wheel be a noticeable change?

Also I can see may camber has a bit of variance. Would it be worth it to invest in some bolts to get the camber adjusted? What bolt should I buy?

[FadedCamo]

Originally Posted by JDM4E

Possibly related?
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117372

Interesting. I do notice a bit of a floaty feeling with the car when you get it above 80. Interestingly enough when I first got the car the rear end was kicking out BAD at high speeds. Had to take it back to the dealer for a quick alignment. I. Didn't get any numbers from them but it was improved a bit after they touched it.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by FadedCamo

Hmm it's only a few degrees toe out though? Would dialing that to zero toe from -. 3 on each wheel be a noticeable change?

Also I can see may camber has a bit of variance. Would it be worth it to invest in some bolts to get the camber adjusted? What bolt should I buy?

I think it would be a noticeable change in how it feels.
There is no universal perfect toe, it's all preference and right now your preference is stability, which toe-out is totally counter to that goal.

That level of camber variance is likely to not be something you would feel.

Some more camber up front will likely help cornering grip up front, either the factory camber bolts or SPC bolts for about $20, you can read more here if you'd like, but there's nothing wrong with where it's at.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103609

[stevesnj]

The steering is a tight ratio, small steering wheel movements will cause floatiness.

[JDM4E]

Originally Posted by stevesnj

The steering is a tight ratio, small steering wheel movements will cause floatiness.

I do not agree.