Alignment (are these specs ok)?
04-13-2010, 07:12 PM
#22
Just thought of something -- is it possible one of my wheels are different than the others (siince I did buy a second set of the factory GM 16x8 chrome wheels from a dealer, and yes I made sure all 4 were of the same part number for my 1997 Formula)? Although they all look the same, and no dents/blemishes.
The only thing I had done differently this time around was getting them balanced with clamps on the inside, and stick-on's toward the outside (I previously had just clamps on the inside).
I guess someday I will have to try rotating the tires and see what happens (I tried to get the tire place to do that, but they told me if it was radial pull I would've felt a much stronger "pull" rather than a "slight drift" as I felt before the alignment).
Last edited by Jeff 97 Formula; 04-13-2010 at 07:20 PM.
11-01-2010, 11:56 AM
#23
Teching In
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Personally next time I had it aligned I would go to 0 toe, max negative camber. and a more even caster. Closer to 5*. I autocross so that's where a lot of that comes from. but the toe in will make the car feel numb and the camber settings will make it turn different left to right. The max camber I could get out of mine was -.5* which isn't near enough for these cars but the class I run in will not allow for any modifications to get more camber. And if you spend a lot of time in the interstate, especially in the fast lane the large caster stagger will make the car pull hard left if your are on the left side of the crown.
12-01-2010, 08:44 PM
#24
Quick update (not much of one).
By now, I've put just over 2000 miles on the tires. Still driving good and straight with no drifting or pulling, and still very enjoyable at 60-80+ mph. No real signs of excessive wear either.
And yes, I learned that too much toe-in can make the steering feel numb (which is why I asked them to readjust the toe closer to the "before" settings, from .15 to .03)
By now, I've put just over 2000 miles on the tires. Still driving good and straight with no drifting or pulling, and still very enjoyable at 60-80+ mph. No real signs of excessive wear either.
And yes, I learned that too much toe-in can make the steering feel numb (which is why I asked them to readjust the toe closer to the "before" settings, from .15 to .03)
12-02-2010, 12:55 AM
#25
Quick update (not much of one).
By now, I've put just over 2000 miles on the tires. Still driving good and straight with no drifting or pulling, and still very enjoyable at 60-80+ mph. No real signs of excessive wear either.
And yes, I learned that too much toe-in can make the steering feel numb (which is why I asked them to readjust the toe closer to the "before" settings, from .15 to .03)
By now, I've put just over 2000 miles on the tires. Still driving good and straight with no drifting or pulling, and still very enjoyable at 60-80+ mph. No real signs of excessive wear either.
And yes, I learned that too much toe-in can make the steering feel numb (which is why I asked them to readjust the toe closer to the "before" settings, from .15 to .03)
The camber specs were sort of interesting. Most of the time people run a half degree more on the right to keep these cars from pulling due to road crown. If your car is driving how you like it and the tires are not wearing funny then I suppose it isn't a big deal.
12-02-2010, 12:31 PM
#26
Yeah toe in helps straightline stability and reduces tendency to turn in while tow out is the opposite.
The camber specs were sort of interesting. Most of the time people run a half degree more on the right to keep these cars from pulling due to road crown. If your car is driving how you like it and the tires are not wearing funny then I suppose it isn't a big deal.
The camber specs were sort of interesting. Most of the time people run a half degree more on the right to keep these cars from pulling due to road crown. If your car is driving how you like it and the tires are not wearing funny then I suppose it isn't a big deal.
12-07-2010, 11:35 AM
#27
On The Tree
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You need to find somebody willing to take the time to get some exact specs. It can take 30min-1 hour for them to get it right. You want to run slight negative camber (-0.5) you can get away with this small amount and not have to worry about wear, trust me I have -1.0 on my DD and the tires have worn perfectly even with these settings and car has no pull.
Camber -0.5
Caster - As much positive as possible but as close to even on both sides as possible. My car is able to run 6.5 + but a stock F-body will hit about 5.0-5.5 with the slight negative camber.
Toe- 0.0 - The toe is what will DESTROY a tire very quickly. I had a set of 300 rating kuhmo street tires wear out in 3500 miles because the alignment shop left -.1 toe in on my car. This is the most important thing you need them to get right. Set it at 0 degrees.
FYI- My old shop used to charge me double price to get my exact specs, now i found someone that does it for only 65$$$ and they get it dead on everytime.
Camber -0.5
Caster - As much positive as possible but as close to even on both sides as possible. My car is able to run 6.5 + but a stock F-body will hit about 5.0-5.5 with the slight negative camber.
Toe- 0.0 - The toe is what will DESTROY a tire very quickly. I had a set of 300 rating kuhmo street tires wear out in 3500 miles because the alignment shop left -.1 toe in on my car. This is the most important thing you need them to get right. Set it at 0 degrees.
FYI- My old shop used to charge me double price to get my exact specs, now i found someone that does it for only 65$$$ and they get it dead on everytime.
12-09-2010, 09:53 PM
#29
XxWICKEDSSxX,
I know it is preferred to have a more even caster, but unfortunately my car was drifting to the left when the L-caster was at 4.7, R-caster at 4.2. Still driving nice with the current alignment setup and no drifting/pulling.
I know it is preferred to have a more even caster, but unfortunately my car was drifting to the left when the L-caster was at 4.7, R-caster at 4.2. Still driving nice with the current alignment setup and no drifting/pulling.
