If you guys are in to doing your own alignment check this stuff out. I think I'm going to make a purchase tomm.
See Rebco and Longacre
www.racerpartswholesale.com
See Rebco and Longacre
www.racerpartswholesale.com
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Alignment specs?
- Thread starter Vmax39
- Start date
I have the smart strings setup and a couple of the longacre gauges. My favorite setup was finding a decent NTB and getting free alignments for a year after paying the $79.99 price. I tell them what settings to use and then try it out and go back until the car is right. I was told by the store manager that I am one of three people so far this year that do this. I got the feeling they were not happy at first with my almost daily visits but I bring the guys doughnuts now and all is well.
Originally posted by Bingo13
I have the smart strings setup and a couple of the longacre gauges. My favorite setup was finding a decent NTB and getting free alignments for a year after paying the $79.99 price. I tell them what settings to use and then try it out and go back until the car is right. I was told by the store manager that I am one of three people so far this year that do this. I got the feeling they were not happy at first with my almost daily visits but I bring the guys doughnuts now and all is well.
Now that is a good idea.
Anyone else a fan of 0 toe? I don't understand why on a car that's already lowered a little (with the tie rods pointing up a little) you would want the toe in (factory specs)? If you hit a bump, the toe will go even further in and feather the tires over time.
I guess toe-in is better than any sort of toe-out for daily driving?
I guess toe-in is better than any sort of toe-out for daily driving?
You don't want the tie rods pointing up a little unless the LCAs are pointing up a little. If they are you need a bumpsteer kit to correct this. Basically you want the tie-rods to be parallel with the LCA pivot-point and ball-joint pivot point so they are both traveling in as close to the same arc as possible. And optimally for handling the LCA pivot-point and ball-joint pivot point parallel with the ground at rest. As far as running 0 toe it really is not practical most of the time. The reason is toe-in increases stability decreases the cars desire to turn. Toe-out increases encourages the cars desire to turn therefore decreases stability. With rubber bushing the suspension is moving in several undesirable directions so running a 0 or close to 0 toe-in alignment will increase the likely hood that you actually have a toe-out dynamic condition while driving. That said I have all of my rubber in my articulating suspension replaced with Delrin which is substantially denser and dramatically reduces the most of the undesired movement. My toe is set to ~1/16” toe-in and when driving “normally” the car is unstable and doesn’t want to track straight. When driving “spiritedly” my car tracks perfectly and handles great.
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I definitely understand the part about the LCA's and the tie rod ends being parallel; I have read that before. And I could see how anything close to toe out would make the car go all over the road as well. Delrin bushings are too harsh for me since I drive mine daily; I never take my car to any type of tracks. But one of the things that I was trying to mention was that if the tie rod ends are pointed up at all (parallel or not to the LCA's), then when I hit a bump my toe is going to go in even further. I have the offset rack bushings on my car, and I only installed them because I got them for free. I wouldn't mind getting the bumpsteer kit as well, but I really don't think I need it. Rather, I think I would need a better steering shaft or rack to get of the play that I have in my steering wheel.
Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the help.
Hey, speaking of alignment, I have a question:
I had the vibe in my 2004 and it turned out the tires needed balancing. It seemed to fix 85% of the problem but now the car seems to be all over the road. The steering is really loose now.
Do I need an alignment after having the tires re-balanced?
I had the vibe in my 2004 and it turned out the tires needed balancing. It seemed to fix 85% of the problem but now the car seems to be all over the road. The steering is really loose now.
Do I need an alignment after having the tires re-balanced?
anyone know?
Not normally, but it sounds like you need to have your front end checked including an alignment. If you car is new you can bring it to the dealer and complain about it.
My car is a daily driver also.
You are correct that if the tie rod is not parallel to the LCA when you hit a bump you will have a toe change. But if the tie-rod is parallel to the LCA when you hit a bump they will both keep close to the same articulation arc therefore having minimum affect on toe change. I would not use an offset rack bushings on a car with the stock k-member from the detailed testing I have seen they actually make a bad situation worse by causing more of an issue then they resolve. I have aluminum center drilled bushings in my car for this reason. With an aftermarket k-member offset rack bushings are usually needed, to bring the rack back into the stock relationship with the LCA pivot point. A solid steering rack makes a massive difference in how your car response to steering effort and feedback. I have the Borgeson unit in mine and the difference was profound.
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