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lowering springs and alignment

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Old 09-08-2011, 09:28 PM
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Default lowering springs and alignment

today i tried to get an alignment .. and the guys told me they can get rid of the angle of the wheel but not pull... so my car still pulls to the left when i hold the wheel straight. so i want to know if any of you guys have had the same problem..
i have eibach lowering springs.
Old 09-08-2011, 09:46 PM
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no? if they take care of camber that should take care of the pull..
Old 09-08-2011, 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Alex2210
today i tried to get an alignment .. and the guys told me they can get rid of the angle of the wheel but not pull... so my car still pulls to the left when i hold the wheel straight. so i want to know if any of you guys have had the same problem..
i have eibach lowering springs.
They didn't give you any additional information then that? Anything bent?
Old 09-08-2011, 10:07 PM
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They said something was maxed out think it was the chamber it was already near closing time i think they wear bsing
Old 09-08-2011, 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by chrisrz28
they didn't give you any additional information then that? Anything bent?
no they didnt say anything was bent they just blamed it on my lowering springs saying that they could take care of the angle of the wheels but not the pull and that it was either take car of the angle or take care of the pull .. And they didnt even do the back
Old 09-08-2011, 10:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Alex2210
no they didnt say anything was bent they just blamed it on my lowering springs saying that they could take care of the angle of the wheels but not the pull and that it was either take car of the angle or take care of the pull .. And they didnt even do the back
B.S. There's been many cars with lowering springs that have been aligned. How low is your car and what kind of alignment numbers are you trying to get? Stock, better handling or...? Sounds like you need to go to a different shop that knows what they're doing.
Old 09-08-2011, 10:43 PM
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Originally Posted by chrisrz28
b.s. There's been many cars with lowering springs that have been aligned. How low is your car and what kind of alignment numbers are you trying to get? Stock, better handling or...? Sounds like you need to go to a different shop that knows what they're doing.
i just dont want that pull to be gone and i dont want uneven ware on my tires .. They said they took care of that but i dont dont even know if thats the truth... Already payed them too should i go back ?
Old 09-09-2011, 10:42 AM
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Hmm, not sure what they're talking about being "maxed out" I would suggest you ask them for more details. There should be a 30-day warranty on the alignment so go in and say it still pulls. Lowering springs do not make alignment impossible so they sound a little full of...something. haha You can lower a 93-02 F-Body 1-inch to 1.5-inches without a problem getting it back into spec - unless there is an A-Arm bushing that has worn out or something.

Go in and tell them the car still isn't 100% correct. If they say the whole "maxed out" thing again, then ask what's maxed out. (Toe, caster, and camber) You think they told you camber - is it negative or positive (lowering will increase negative camber). Negative will increase the "railroad" effect where the car pulls through the groves in the road so this is probably what you're experiencing. If you can put up with it, then your car will probably handle a little better and you'll like it. The downside being the previously mentioned "railroading" and increased inner tire wear if you're not driving aggressively. Believe it or not, you'll reduce irregular inner tire wear with aggressive negative camber if you take corner more aggressively.

But, on the topic, there shouldn't be any problem getting the car back into 100% factory alignment spec up front...I've done it on countless vehicles.

Plan B
If they won't work on your car, you may be able to get a refund or something, I don't know. Next time you get an alignment ask you local F-Body friends and see who they suggest for alignments. If you were in Florida I would have a TERRIFIC alignment shop we suggest to everyone. All of our cars get alignment done there - including all my personal cars. I run 1.9-degrees negative camber front and rear on my GTO and these guys will make sure you're happy before they make you pay.
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Old 09-12-2011, 03:18 AM
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Originally Posted by bmr sales
hmm, not sure what they're talking about being "maxed out" i would suggest you ask them for more details. There should be a 30-day warranty on the alignment so go in and say it still pulls. Lowering springs do not make alignment impossible so they sound a little full of...something. Haha you can lower a 93-02 f-body 1-inch to 1.5-inches without a problem getting it back into spec - unless there is an a-arm bushing that has worn out or something.

Go in and tell them the car still isn't 100% correct. If they say the whole "maxed out" thing again, then ask what's maxed out. (toe, caster, and camber) you think they told you camber - is it negative or positive (lowering will increase negative camber). Negative will increase the "railroad" effect where the car pulls through the groves in the road so this is probably what you're experiencing. If you can put up with it, then your car will probably handle a little better and you'll like it. The downside being the previously mentioned "railroading" and increased inner tire wear if you're not driving aggressively. Believe it or not, you'll reduce irregular inner tire wear with aggressive negative camber if you take corner more aggressively.

But, on the topic, there shouldn't be any problem getting the car back into 100% factory alignment spec up front...i've done it on countless vehicles.

Plan b
if they won't work on your car, you may be able to get a refund or something, i don't know. Next time you get an alignment ask you local f-body friends and see who they suggest for alignments. If you were in florida i would have a terrific alignment shop we suggest to everyone. All of our cars get alignment done there - including all my personal cars. I run 1.9-degrees negative camber front and rear on my gto and these guys will make sure you're happy before they make you pay.
i did exactly that because a firestone refused to service me because my car was too low. So your saying the more negative i have on my car the less tire wear i will have???
Old 09-12-2011, 09:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Alex2210
i did exactly that because a firestone refused to service me because my car was too low. So your saying the more negative i have on my car the less tire wear i will have???
Well, not exactly, what I was saying is that a lot of people and places warn for irregular tire wear when there is too much negative camber. This is true because you're angling the tops of the tire inward, which will wear the inner-most part of the tire.

But, if you drive aggressively and take turns quickly all the time and have a REGULAR alignment, then you'll wear the outside of your tires. So when you run a bit more negative camber and drive like a crazy man all the time (me) it tends to even things out. I always encourage enthusiast drivers to do this if they notice the outside of their tires wearing.

Obviously there are many variables in tire wear, but in a perfect situation without any other elements contributing to tire wear, I've found this to work. haha
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Old 09-12-2011, 11:04 AM
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bullsh!t, you went at closing time, they half-assed it and took your money. Go back and tell them you want it fixed or you want your money back. Im lowered 2" rear and 2.25" front and although it took a little extra work, my alignment is dead-on
Old 09-12-2011, 01:25 PM
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I am lowered 1 3/4-2" around and was able to align my car with in OE SPECS, but cars are like ladies they all react differant to differant mods, I suggest you ask the people you trust , then ask the tech questions, if you do not understand his/her answers go to another shop
ALSO get a printout and post it up so we may see all SETTING front and rear
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Old 09-12-2011, 07:44 PM
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sure thing i will go tomorrow morning and let you guys know!
Old 09-13-2011, 08:54 PM
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Get the printout and check back! Alignment shops can be a problem, so make sure you know what they're saying is "maxed out". If your car is pulling left, you might have too low left caster/too high right caster, or possibly a weird toe issue.

I have -.5 camber left/right, about 4.6 caster left/right, and about 1/16 toe in left/right and my car handles/drives great! This is also from a Firestone Service Center BTW.
Old 09-13-2011, 09:09 PM
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Originally Posted by 99FormulaM6r
Get the printout and check back! Alignment shops can be a problem, so make sure you know what they're saying is "maxed out". If your car is pulling left, you might have too low left caster/too high right caster, or possibly a weird toe issue.

I have -.5 camber left/right, about 4.6 caster left/right, and about 1/16 toe in left/right and my car handles/drives great! This is also from a Firestone Service Center BTW.


they said my camber was maxed out
Old 09-13-2011, 09:48 PM
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chk your PM
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Old 09-14-2011, 08:57 PM
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Toe out on the left and toe in on the right could cause your car to track left (basically, the left tire is pointing left....as well as the right). Might be an issue.


As far as the camber, if you're not looking for great straight line tire wear, I'd try to even them both out at -.8 degrees!
Old 09-15-2011, 09:52 PM
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The camber and toe need to be adjusted.

The camber between the two should be the same IMO. When I had my car lowered on Stranos I had 0 degrees camber left and right as I wanted the best tire wear going straight down the road.

The way your toe is set is going to cause it to do weird things on different road surfaces. Yeah, the cross toe is 0 but those should also be nearly identical. I believe mine was set to -.05 both sides.

Note what I found on my lowered car is it was more susceptible to road surfaces and the direction they face; some will pull you left, some right, and some will track dead straight.



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