Alignment FAQ Thread

[Khánh]

this is exactly what I need. thanks for taking time to write

[ProjectD]

Looking to lower the car to remove that horrible 1+ inch gap.....not slammed.... Just lowered. I was planning on coilovers to see where I would be, and then base my alignment from there - since I may not need much done since it would give just enough camber for street/ dd use. To my understanding... If we were to lower it....the LCA would be the preferred method as opposed to bushings, correct? Or is it simply what is most compatible with that type of setup?

I understand that the bushings would be cheaper- yet also more difficult. I almost bought the set over the holidays, but I'm glad I held off until I learned more info. Would this be against the rules to use in conjunction with coilovers? Better yet, what's the negative/ positive impact would you get if you combined all 3? I just wanna make sure I make my educated decision when that time comes. Thanks.

[Swift]

my god, did the op look for the worst shops in town??? I was a mechanic in the industry and part of the reason I left was because of the dishonesty and the amount of stupidity I saw, however not even the worst shop where I am at would do any of what you just showed. wow, just wow.

great thread!

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Dezoris;627090[SIZE=4

10 Things You Should Know Before Installing Coilovers
[/SIZE]

1. They don't automatically make the car handle better/faster
2. Know the spring rates are of the OEM springs and the Kit you bought (If you dont know this answer then reconsider buying them)
3. You will need camber correction kits and potentially caster kit to get your alignment fixed after the install.
4. If your alignment is out of spec it can effect performance far beyond whatever you may have gained with the coil overs
5. Alignments just got 3x more complicated
6. Alignments now cannot be handled by most shops
7. Do you know what corner balancing is?
8. Every time you change ride height you need to re-corner balance and re-align.
9. There is no such thing as a track setting that is good for the street and vice versa.
10. Most coil over kits were never even tested on a track or street, they were computer designed and MAYBE test fitted. (Ask for proof of testing, chances are you won't get it.)

This is precisely why we do the testing on out car, so that our client's have tried and proven settings to work off of.

I'd also like to clarify a few things.

- Alignments with and without a coilovers are no different. If anything, it may be even easier since you now have PROPER adjustability (e.g. a camber plate, instead of playing with a camber bolt and trying to torque it in the right location).
- Alignments can be done by any alignment shop, regardless of whether you have coilover or not. Cornerbalancing is a different story.
- Re-cornerbalancing is not necessary with a height change if it is done with careful consideration.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ayau

getting front camber doesn't seem to be an issue with the current options; it's the back that seems like it's going to be a hassle, especially if your rear camber is uneven from the factory. here are a couple options i can think of to remedy this issue.

1. aftermarket adjustable rear control arm.
2. whiteline rear bushings.
3. lowering the car with aftermarket coilovers (adds negative camber), and you can adjust the rear height to get your desired negative camber.

A good alignment shop can get you an alignment that's close to what you want.

A great alignment shop can even out that uneven rear camber, without adding any parts Our car came uneven in the rear, and is even now

For anyone that's in socal... http://www.yelp.com/biz/west-end-alignment-gardena . Book your appt at least 2 weeks in advance if you want your choice of time and date.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

A good alignment shop can get you an alignment that's close to what you want.

A great alignment shop can even out that uneven rear camber, without adding any parts Our car came uneven in the rear, and is even now

For anyone that's in socal... http://www.yelp.com/biz/west-end-alignment-gardena . Book your appt at least 2 weeks in advance if you want your choice of time and date.

Do most alignment shops have the proper torque specs for the suspension bolts in case they need to loosen them? I'm not talking about just the crash bolts, but the bolts for the other suspension parts too in case those need to be loosened too.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by ayau

Do most alignment shops have the proper torque specs for the suspension bolts in case they need to loosen them? I'm not talking about just the crash bolts, but the bolts for the other suspension parts too in case those need to be loosened too.

Go to a pro-shop already Alan.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

Go to a pro-shop already Alan.

I plan to bring it to thealignmentguy.com

Just curious if it's standard practice to properly torque every bolt that needs to be loosened by the alignment guys.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by ayau

I plan to bring it to thealignmentguy.com

Just curious if it's standard practice to properly torque every bolt that needs to be loosened by the alignment guys.

BRRZZTTT BRZZTTT BRRZZZTTTT clack clack clack. That's how you torque.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ayau

I plan to bring it to thealignmentguy.com

Just curious if it's standard practice to properly torque every bolt that needs to be loosened by the alignment guys.

My alignment shop doesn't use a laser rack. Everything is done with levels and tape measures. They never go out of calibration.

Everything should be properly torqued. In some cases, this can be done with an impact.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by ayau

I plan to bring it to thealignmentguy.com

Just curious if it's standard practice to properly torque every bolt that needs to be loosened by the alignment guys.

They most likely aren't going to use a torque wrench or have a reference of the proper torque values. When you get home jack up the car and you can get a wrench and a torque wrench on the rear toe adjusters and torque them down and then do the pinch bolts on the tie rod ends or the allen head screws on your camber plates.

[Xanatos]

Would an alignment be required if you change out the wheels for a larger/smaller diameter without any suspension changes?

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by Xanatos

Would an alignment be required if you change out the wheels for a larger/smaller diameter without any suspension changes?

No alignment needed.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

This is precisely why we do the testing on out car, so that our client's have tried and proven settings to work off of.

I'd also like to clarify a few things.

- Alignments with and without a coilovers are no different. If anything, it may be even easier since you now have PROPER adjustability (e.g. a camber plate, instead of playing with a camber bolt and trying to torque it in the right location).
- Alignments can be done by any alignment shop, regardless of whether you have coilover or not. Cornerbalancing is a different story.
- Re-cornerbalancing is not necessary with a height change if it is done with careful consideration.

Glad you posted, to follow up..

- Many coilover kits don't come with alignment kits namely in the rear so an alignment just became more complicated because you also need to consider correction.

- Almost ALL alignments shops probably 90% or more dont have wheel scales to do corner balancing for people who have coilovers so sure they can do an alignment but your corner balance is going to be off which completely defeats the purpose of coilovers.

- The average shop or coilover owner has no knowledge of this "careful consideration" as to what height change may or may not affect corner balance. Reality is as soon as you raise or lower one corner it affects the weight of the others even for as little as .5".

- I have never heard of any shops looking up TQ values and using TQ wrench to tighten your suspension back down. In fact even spec race teams dont usually do this. Good or bad take it for what its worth.

- Every alignment rack is slightly different, values may slightly be off from rack to rack.

- Manual alignments with proper tools and methods work wel takes experiencel. But if you have access to a modern rack it's as accurate as you can get.