Tire Alignment spec question
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 937
Likes: 0
From: South Alabama
Tire Alignment spec question I need clarification on the suggested alignment specs for the wheels.
The car has Koni’s on the front and I’m using the lower spring perch. I believe this makes the front end drop approx. 5/8”. Everything else is pretty much stock.
The GM preferred specs are:
Front
Caster 4.8
Cross Caster 0
Camber 0.4
Cross Camber 0
Sum Toe 0
Steering Wheel Angle 0
Rear Sum Toe 0
Thrust Angle 0
Now for the question, some people here have recommended the following changes:
Caster changed to 4.5
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
I’m a little confused about the “toe in”, I assume this is listed under the GM specs as Sum Toe and the GM range is listed as -0.2 to 0.2. If I go with the middle of the recommended toe change at 1/32” toe in, how does this equate into the GM rage of -.2 to .2? Is the -.2 to .2 in inches (as -.200” to .200” or is this an angle representation)?
Also, if I go with the suggested changes, are the other specs to remain at the GM preferred spec?
I’m to get my car aligned this afternoon and I sure would appreciate any help in this matter.
TIA
The car has Koni’s on the front and I’m using the lower spring perch. I believe this makes the front end drop approx. 5/8”. Everything else is pretty much stock.
The GM preferred specs are:
Front
Caster 4.8
Cross Caster 0
Camber 0.4
Cross Camber 0
Sum Toe 0
Steering Wheel Angle 0
Rear Sum Toe 0
Thrust Angle 0
Now for the question, some people here have recommended the following changes:
Caster changed to 4.5
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
I’m a little confused about the “toe in”, I assume this is listed under the GM specs as Sum Toe and the GM range is listed as -0.2 to 0.2. If I go with the middle of the recommended toe change at 1/32” toe in, how does this equate into the GM rage of -.2 to .2? Is the -.2 to .2 in inches (as -.200” to .200” or is this an angle representation)?
Also, if I go with the suggested changes, are the other specs to remain at the GM preferred spec?
I’m to get my car aligned this afternoon and I sure would appreciate any help in this matter.
TIA
If you walk in and give the tech these specs:
Caster changed to 4.5
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
He'll use the GM stuff for the rest and it would look something like this:
Front
Caster changed to 4.5
Cross Caster 0
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Cross Camber 0
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
Steering Wheel Angle 0
Rear Sum Toe 0
Thrust Angle 0
You'll be just fine, just give him the info from the top of this page, he'll handle the rest.
Caster changed to 4.5
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
He'll use the GM stuff for the rest and it would look something like this:
Front
Caster changed to 4.5
Cross Caster 0
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Cross Camber 0
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
Steering Wheel Angle 0
Rear Sum Toe 0
Thrust Angle 0
You'll be just fine, just give him the info from the top of this page, he'll handle the rest.
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 937
Likes: 0
From: South Alabama
Originally Posted by trackbird
If you walk in and give the tech these specs:
Caster changed to 4.5
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
He'll use the GM stuff for the rest and it would look something like this:
Front
Caster changed to 4.5
Cross Caster 0
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Cross Camber 0
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
Steering Wheel Angle 0
Rear Sum Toe 0
Thrust Angle 0
You'll be just fine, just give him the info from the top of this page, he'll handle the rest.
Caster changed to 4.5
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
He'll use the GM stuff for the rest and it would look something like this:
Front
Caster changed to 4.5
Cross Caster 0
Camber changed to -0.1 to -0.5
Cross Camber 0
Toe changed to 0 to 1/16” toe in
Steering Wheel Angle 0
Rear Sum Toe 0
Thrust Angle 0
You'll be just fine, just give him the info from the top of this page, he'll handle the rest.
Originally Posted by Dom
Are those the recommended specs for a daily or a weekend racer? I don't want to wear out my tires unevenly.
That's a good performance "street/driver" alignment.
For reference, I was running -1.3 camber, 4.5 castor and 1/32" of toe out (0 toe wears tires less than toe out) and I got 30K out of my front tires.
I'm now running -1.7 camber, 5.1 castor and 1/32nd inch of toe out and my tire wear has increased a fair amount (I'll still get 18-20k out of front tires from the looks of things). My car is daily driven, but the -1.7 camber is more of a weekend racer setup, not so much for drivers.
