2003 Mach 1 with Cobra motor. I have a MM K member, MM arms, MM bumpsteer kit, coil overs,(all came with motor and tranny I bought already installed) Front ride height is 26 3/4" so not a lowered car by any means. I spent 4 hours at alignment shop and wound up leaving the car. The best we could get was 5.2 caster/-1.3 camber. We tried flipping bottom plate, swapping top plate and the adjustment is maxed out no matter what we do. MM recommends 4.5 caster, heck we can't even get the Ford spec. Any ideas please?? Shop that installed plates said they installed by the directions..seems to be worse on drivers side camber wise. Are we doing something wrong? Is there some trick we are missing ?? I got these since they are supposed to be so adjustable, if I can at least get the Ford spec I will be happy. I was thinking of raising the car 1/2 to 3/4" up front to see what that does, but really shouldn't have to do that. Thanks guys, I am limited in my area with only 3 shops and none of them specialize in alignments and not used to working with MM caster/camber plates so hopefully some of you guys can help, just had the car tuned Monday and haven't even driven it yet..again thanks !!
HELP: Can not align car with MM Caster/Camber plates
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With the k member and arms there is a different spec for caster I had to call maximum motorsports to find that out. Give them a call great customer service. If I remember correctly your caster should be 6
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Thanks, verified plates look right. First thing we got ride height the same on both sides since it was off in relation to each other. Back is 27 3/4", front is 27 1/2. Something I found out as well is MM spec for K member and for plates are different as you said. K member instructions say 6 for caster while plates say 4.5, so we are gonna shoot for 5.5 even for both sides. We are gonna get an idea where we are at now that ride height is set and will look into the 2 struts/spindle nuts as well..here is pic of plate on drivers side
Also when I got motor it was already sitting on k member and I was not the one who actually set the motor in. ALSO, I was wondering if maybe the control arms are the forward offset type, that would make a difference I am sure, saw that if that was the case would need the sway bar relocation kit, but not sweating that right now.Also concerning the possible forward offset control arm, I noticed the endlinks were not straight up and down, had a slight lean, wasn't sure if this was normal or do I need the MM sway bar relocation kit.
Also when I got motor it was already sitting on k member and I was not the one who actually set the motor in. ALSO, I was wondering if maybe the control arms are the forward offset type, that would make a difference I am sure, saw that if that was the case would need the sway bar relocation kit, but not sweating that right now.Also concerning the possible forward offset control arm, I noticed the endlinks were not straight up and down, had a slight lean, wasn't sure if this was normal or do I need the MM sway bar relocation kit.
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Thanks, verified plates look right. First thing we got ride height the same on both sides since it was off in relation to each other. Back is 27 3/4", front is 27 1/2. Something I found out as well is MM spec for K member and for plates are different as you said. K member instructions say 6 for caster while plates say 4.5, so we are gonna shoot for 5.5 even for both sides. We are gonna get an idea where we are at now that ride height is set and will look into the 2 struts/spindle nuts as well..here is pic of plate on drivers side
Also when I got motor it was already sitting on k member and I was not the one who actually set the motor in. ALSO, I was wondering if maybe the control arms are the forward offset type, that would make a difference I am sure, saw that if that was the case would need the sway bar relocation kit, but not sweating that right now.Also concerning the possible forward offset control arm, I noticed the endlinks were not straight up and down, had a slight lean, wasn't sure if this was normal or do I need the MM sway bar relocation kit.
I haven't looked at my car in a while, I apologize if I'm wrong...but isn't the strut nut supposed to be tightened down to the spacers?
Check the plate on the bottom of the strut tower for correct orientation. Mine were installed incorrectly when I tried to align my car and I ran into the same problem. There is a clear picture of the correct orientation in mm install guide for the cc plates. Once we got the plate right on the underside of the strut tower it was a breeze to get the alignment spot on.
Throw as much caster at it as you can. Your car will love it. Here are my alignment specs:
FRONT
L R
caster 5.5 5.5
camber -1.5 -1.5
toe in 1/16 1/16 (overall 1/8)
REAR
L R
camber -1.0 -1.0 (absolutely no more than /// if unable, .8 on both)
toe in 1/16 1/16 (overall 1/8)
Thrust Angle
0 degrees
FRONT
L R
caster 5.5 5.5
camber -1.5 -1.5
toe in 1/16 1/16 (overall 1/8)
REAR
L R
camber -1.0 -1.0 (absolutely no more than /// if unable, .8 on both)
toe in 1/16 1/16 (overall 1/8)
Thrust Angle
0 degrees
I contacted MM and since I didn't do the install I couldn't answer the questions they shot back. Ok, using camber bolts (the kind with the collar that as you turn they roll) on the strut nuts to the spindle, after some tweaking got this (actually got toe equal at ,15)
Now the weird part..driving in left lane (flat), let go of steering wheel and car tracks to the right.steering wheel physically will lay over slightly, but for sure pulls to the right. Plan on re-centering steering wheel think and re checking toe. Also, tomorrow I am gonna rotate tires. I read on MM they recommended caster at 6 for k member install, or 4.5 when installing CC plates. So, guys what do you think of alignment specs and what do you see/don't see to explain car pulling to the right? If nothing works..plumb time :eyes:
Now the weird part..driving in left lane (flat), let go of steering wheel and car tracks to the right.steering wheel physically will lay over slightly, but for sure pulls to the right. Plan on re-centering steering wheel think and re checking toe. Also, tomorrow I am gonna rotate tires. I read on MM they recommended caster at 6 for k member install, or 4.5 when installing CC plates. So, guys what do you think of alignment specs and what do you see/don't see to explain car pulling to the right? If nothing works..plumb time :eyes:
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Gonna be verifying k member with plumb lines, then check bottom plates. I will shoot for 5 caster, -1.5 to -2 camber and .15 toe in (not good with fractions I'D WIN lol). Also, how would I know if the control arms are the MM offset? I am wondering since the endlinks aren't straight up and down and not sure if I need the MM sway bar relocation jit ( only called for with there offset control arms). Thanks for the replies guys.
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Well round 4 today, hung the bobs and took measurements
So we centered it. I called MM and told him my setup, when I told him the lowest I could go on caster was 6, he asked so what is the issue?? Dude said they were made to run more caster, so we set both sides dead even at 6, camber at -1.5 and toe at .15 (.30 total). Still has VERY slight right pull, slight enough that resting your hand on wheel solves it, so gonna leave it alone. Still a little scary up top mph..with coilovers, will running softer or stiffer help this?? I run 32 psi in tires, I have D spec and went full 7 turns to full stiff, and backed off 4 turns to soft. Thanks guys..now back to cooling issue.
So we centered it. I called MM and told him my setup, when I told him the lowest I could go on caster was 6, he asked so what is the issue?? Dude said they were made to run more caster, so we set both sides dead even at 6, camber at -1.5 and toe at .15 (.30 total). Still has VERY slight right pull, slight enough that resting your hand on wheel solves it, so gonna leave it alone. Still a little scary up top mph..with coilovers, will running softer or stiffer help this?? I run 32 psi in tires, I have D spec and went full 7 turns to full stiff, and backed off 4 turns to soft. Thanks guys..now back to cooling issue.
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