Replaced lower balljoints, inner/outer tie rods, adjusting sleeves, center link, idler arm, shocks, and springs.

Yeah, so needs an alignment, right? Got one, they did it to a stock 2.8 '88 - AFTER I ASKED THEM TO DO IT TO A '87 IROC - I've got te 245/50/16 Iroc wheel/tire combo, with DropZone 1" lowering springs on the front.

The car drives itself to the right. Let go of the steering wheel, and she'll drift to the right, rather quickly.

So my question - what alignment specs would you recommend, for a '88 Camaro, 2.8 Turbo, 245/50/16s, with 1" drop from stock on it?

I'm figuring -

left ......... right
camber -0.5 ......... -0.5
caster 3.50 ......... 4.00
toe 0.03 ......... 0.03
(+1/32) (+1/32) = +1/16th total toe

Mainly highway miles, btw!

 

Impressive story on the 350Z- from what reports I have always heard these little motors are capable- I'm pleasantly NOT surprised- congradulations on a job well done.

Camber at -.5 is good with the stock rubber strut mounts. Especially if they are a few years old, they will produce camber gain when stressed into a corner. You will be producing mor like -.7 camber at max grip and still get decent tire wear for daily driving.

Caster I would bump up higher to +4 L and +4.5 R at minimum. This will give a little more stability at freeway speed. Too much caster without a bumpsteer adjustment on a 1" drop will produce even more unwanted bumpsteer, so without and bump adjusters I would recommend no higher than +4/+4.5 settings. (right side needs to always be aprox .5 more becasue of the crown in the roads street driving, this keeps the car going straight)

Toe at 1/16" in is good especially with wider 16x8's and slightly aged A-arm bushings. The trust setback will widen it more at speed so don't go any more towards zero (Stock is 3/32") Slower driving you want outward (autoX) faster you want slightly in. 1/16" is good there for you.

 

So you think 4 and 4.5 on the caster, and the rest is good?

 

Yes sir.

Edit- You don't by chance have adjustment provisions on the rear LCA's do you (To shorten or lengthen) You could be also getting a tail yaw to the left forcing the front to the right. This usually only happens if the car was in an accident or a rear LCA bushing is completely shot (rare)

 

Sweet. I just hope I don't have to kick this guy's rear to get him to set the alignment EXACT.

And yeah, that was pretty sweet taking down the 350z. I still can't believe it. I seriously need some dyno time, to tune.

 

Sorry, I added to the post above and didn't want you to miss what I wrote

 

NP... nope, the rear LCA bushings are fine - I got the car with 84k miles, and it had been well taken care of for quite some time, and then got thrashed before I got it. I've been all under/over the car, and all the bushings are worn, as you'd expect a 16 year old car to be. They will all get replaced, but everything is still tight.

 

Did you install adjustable panhard also?

If not, that would kick the rear to the left, I belive causing it to pull to the right?

 

I have not installed any panhard bar yet... of course, I've only got the DropZones on the front right now - and the car sits level, lol! My fronts were so worn out, that the 1" drop from stock actually LIFTED the car 1", and it's sooo much stiffer.

The rear DropZones will go in with the 3.42 28spline HD Zexel Torsen rear end I'm working on, as well as with an adjustable panhard bar, Spohn relocation brackets, and Spohn LCAs

 

Doward-

After I did all the suspension work to our car as you read in a prior post (or check my cardomian site) I had it aligned. Then I put the new Kumho's on, same as you have.

The car at first felt like it was pulling to the right, and at highway speed seemed a bit 'floaty".

I took it back, they re checked it- this is a place that does all out fleet vehicles at work, and I explained to them what I did as far as suspension components. I didn't ask them to align it to any special non stock specs.

They checked it and it was fine, they gave me the printout, and did mention that the front wheel bearings could use repacking.
I don't have the printout in front of me.

I have talked with other people who have the same tires- the consensus is they are an agressive tire and tend to pull on crowned roads and grab grooves in general. The more I drive the car the more I have become used to the way it handles.
Do you still have your old 15" rims and tires? Try putting them on and seeing if it pulls less- I bet it does.

I'm sure Dean's specs would make it better too.

Eric

 

Yeah. I'm going to have them set it to Dean's specs... We'll see how it does then. Dropping it off tomorrow!

 

For the record, those are not the specs on my car- they are spec I am suggesting for your car.

My car has alot of different things done to it and is very much stiffer so my travel is less, my defelction is less, and my sidewall layover is greater under hard cornering do to the high G' figure I'm pulling.

The HMS struts do not produce the flex camber gain that the stock rubber strut mounts do- so I am sitting aprox -.8 camber and about +5/+5.5 caster and have maxiumum 1 1/2" front wheel suspension travel under max conditions. I am also fitted with bumpsteer corrections to help eliminate the large caster and extensively lowered induced bumpsteer. I am entering corners at about or just above 1G so my camber needs to be higher or I will be rolling and wearing the outside edge of the tires without them breaking loose.

 

I will also add that my toe in is the same 1/16".
I run very high pressure in the tires as well. 49 psi (Hot) fronts and 46.5 psi rears on the Goodyear GS-D3's