Alignment questions/scenario

[kenny]

I have FRPP lowering springs and when I was on the stock 18's I had negative camber and the car pulled to the right. I never got it aligned because I knew I was going to get rims shortly after so I decided to wait.

I got the 20's and after a month I have noticed that the car has stopped pulling to teh right and drives straight as can be at 65. Did the 20's change the dynamic of my car that much that the alignment straightened out? I still have some negative camber but nowhere near as much as I had before. Will getting an alignment assure no bad tire wear? My other tires were wearing bad on the inside. Thanks.

 

[1lowtoy]

The changing of your wheels will not affect the way your car is aligned. If the car has been lowered you do need an alignment, to at least fix the toe problem. That is what caused the tires to wear on the insides.

 

[Nogo07]

totally agree your wheel and tire combo is not going to change your alignment one bit. Get that thing on a rack asap 20" tires ain't cheap.....

In regards to it not pulling to the right now, alot of times a tire can cause a car to go one way or the other. Even if the pressure is correct the car will still pull to that side.

 

[kenny]

Thanks for the help. If I am still in the negative will the camber bolts fix the issue?

 

[Sinotis]

Different tires will cause a pull. Since you never got it aligned after you lowered it your toe setting is off and your camber is probably more then -1 degree. That will cause the inside edges of your tires to wear extremely fast. The more they wear the more it will pull. Camber bolts are cheap and will fix this problem. You do not need caster camber plates.

 

[Nogo07]

Bolts will do the trick

 

[kenny]

Will any place that does alignments be able to install them or do I need to do it before hand?

 

[Sinotis]

Its just a bolt that goes in place of the upper spindle bolt that connects to the strut. Spc makes them. Part number 81260 and its around $25. You'll get charged an hour labor to have them installed.

 

[saleen07gt]

When you lowered the car, the alignment changed. Typically the camber goes negative, the caster can go up and toe gets out of whack. If you maintained the same tire height of 27.2" when you switched to the 20s then the alignment shouldn't change but if the tire height is say for ex. 28" now then your camber will go a little more pos. and your caster will decrease. Bottom line get the camber bolts and get it aligned ASAP. As you know 20s are not cheap.

 

[1lowtoy]

When you lowered the car, the alignment changed. Typically the camber goes negative, the caster can go up and toe gets out of whack. If you maintained the same tire height of 27.2" when you switched to the 20s then the alignment shouldn't change but if the tire height is say for ex. 28" now then your camber will go a little more pos. and your caster will decrease. Bottom line get the camber bolts and get it aligned ASAP. As you know 20s are not cheap.

I'm not trying to pick your post apart, but how is the height of a tire going to change your camber at all? Its not.

 

[BSell]

I'm not trying to pick your post apart, but how is the height of a tire going to change your camber at all? Its not.

Think of the distance from the spindle to the ground. The longer that is, won't it put more weight on the inner edge of the tire?

Granted, the angles are all the same, just the distance from spindle to ground changes. Maybe I am crazy, tired, or just need another beer!

P.S. What is that angle called? Scrub angle or something would increase with a taller tire/wheel combo. This too tall setup would play havoc with the steering geometry, but would it really put more 'weight and wear' on the inner edge?

 

[1lowtoy]

Tire wear is one thing, alignment angles are another. Lower profile (wider) tires can exaggerate an alignment problem.

 

[sportinawoody]

these cars are made with over 1 degree of negative camber for handling characteristics. you can grind the bolt and set the wheels straight up and get your tire wear right , but the trade off is your car will handle like shit. i just did mine and i went back and put the negative camber back in. thats where the inner tire wear comes from, that really is normal. if youve got a pull its one of 4 things, toe way out, caster from side 2 side is more than .03 degrees different, radial tire pull , or uneven tire pressures.

 

[kenny]

Got the camber bolts installed and the car aligned. They said could not get the passenger side aligned perfectly though. It is 1/10th outside the green. I believe green is a -1.5 and I am at -1.6 or green is -1.6 and I am at -1.7. He said it will not cause any problems however.

 

[Sinotis]

You always want more negative camber on the passenger side anyway to counteract the crown of the road on most streets. Although -1.7 is excessive its not a show stopper. It might pull a little bit to the left on the highway but it also depends on the caster setting. I think the saying goes your car will pull towards the least amount of camber and the most caster. I have lowered a lot of s197 mustangs and those bolts always get the camber setting to at least -1.5. Hopefully your alignment shop knows that there is a difference on where you position the tab on those bolts. Unless you bent something. You'll be fine.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

The spec is for there to be some negative camber, like -0.5* to -1.5* (or only -1.25*). More negative makes it handle a little better on cornering, but wears the inside tire more.

 

[kenny]

Thanks for the info guys. It doesn't pull at all, but the steering wheel is off center. If I am driving straight the steering wheel looks like it is turned to the left slightly.

 

[1lowtoy]

You need to take it back and have that fixed.

 

[kenny]

What would cause that?

 

[1lowtoy]

Steering wheel was offset when the toe was set. Its not a tire wear problem, just the steering wheel is cocked to one side.