I need to get my car aligned, i think the tires are wearing WAY to fast. what are some good alignment specs for good street handling (better then stock) and better tire wear? I saw this over at f-body.com

.................Caster.......Camber.....Toe In
.................L.....R........L.....R
Street.......(+4).(+4.5)..(-.5).(-.5)...3/32
Hard Street(+5).(+5.5)..(-1)..(-1)....3/32


what do yall guys recomend or use?
how far are these from stock?


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- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---> air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series Muffler added to Unkown CatBack, Ported Intake

http://www.geocities.com/david_angel_16



[This message has been edited by breathment (edited November 14, 2001).]

 

I run +3 1/4 degree caster driver side and +3 1/2 caster on passenger side,-.5 degree camber on both sides and zero toe.Tires wear pretty good,but I also drive hard 90% of the time,it's a weekend toy.Also ran this spec on my 86 T/A with no major tire wear outside of usual.

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1982 Z28:355,4 Speed,Lots of bolt ons

 

Use the above street settings. They are way better than stock and will help tire wear as well as cornering.


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, currant red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

Can someone explain what caster and camber is? Toe is the tire facing inward, correct?

From the top: toe:
/ \

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1985 Camaro SC - 2.8L, auto.

C'mon, spin 'em for papa...
http://www.xenodrgn.f2s.com/Frontright.jpg

[This message has been edited by Xenodrgn (edited November 15, 2001).]

 

My specs are very close to the above mentioned hard street,+5,+5.5,-1.5,-1.5,3/32"TI.
This works out very well for me,I drive it hard most of the time, and tires (245/45-ZR-16) last as long as they ever have (for me).Car is lowered more than 2.5",and all bushings are either polyurethane or delrin/aluminum.Running pretty soft shocks/struts (KYB) but in the spring, planning to upgrade to Bilsteins or Konis.
The positive caster really makes a difference at high speed, and not so much negative camber, that it'll eat tires up quickly.
-Rich-

 

Yes, positive toe is having the tires pointing toward the center of the car. Camber is the angle of the wheel from top to bottom. Caster is a little more difficult to explain. In a strut car, its the angle of the strut. When the top of the strut is more toward the back of the car than the lower ball-joint, that is positive caster. It's kind of like a bike, where as the fork is angled to increase stability.


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, currant red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

so should i just write those settings down and tell the alignment guys that i want those settings over what they have? do most places do that.

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- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---> air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series Muffler added to Unkown CatBack, Ported Intake

http://www.geocities.com/david_angel_16

 

I maxed my camber out negative when I did my 1LE upgrade.While I had the spindles off anyway.I loosened the nuts and just slid the strut mount all the way inboard. I never even had it aligned(even though I work at an alignment shop)and I have had no problems at all.

 

Yeah, any decent alignment shop should be able to take whatever specs you give them and do it, but the hi-perf shops might be less inclined to squawk if they have a hard time with it.I took mine to Kraus Racing in Castro Valley,they are Nascar Racers, still only cost about $65 to have them align it, and I feel comfortable that they know what they're doing.
-Rich-

 

well im going tomorrow to have it done, just pushing this to the top to see if anyone has any last minute recomendations.

 

ok, went to some shops today around 4, and they either all were busy or were too stupid to do the work tonight, however. one place said that the street specs i have listed about are almost exactly the same as what they have. so does that mean those (above) are almost factory specs or that their (pepboys) specs are different then factory? what do you guys recomend?

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- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---> air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series Muffler added to Unkown CatBack, Ported Intake

http://www.geocities.com/david_angel_16

 

The factory specs call for positive camber, the above specs call for negative camber. I guess you should see what he means by 'close'.


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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, currant red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

Those specs you posted are pretty decent. I have mine set to about +3°/+3.5° caster, -1°/-1.5° camber, and .05"-.1" toe. Alot of these cars won't go much more aggressive than that without modifying the strut tower (filing the slots) or using aftermarket camber plates. Also, as you increase the positive caster, the tire gets closer to the rear of the wheel well; it will hit the bottom edge of the fender on left turns, especially when backing up or when the left front suspension is in "rebound".

The factory specs suck. As was mentioned above they call for positive camber, which leans the top of the tires outward (the exact opposite of a performance setting, which leans them slightly inward) and much less positive caster than the ones you listed (which makes the wheels tend to do like a shopping cart where the wheel flops back and forth by itself when you push the cart). I have no idea what they were thinking when they wrote those. One of these cars set up their way wanders real bad and has little straight-ahead "feel" in the steering, wears the outside edge of tires rapidly, and doesn't handle near what the chassis is capable of.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
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