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Old 03-20-2012, 08:31 PM
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paulmess7
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Question Alignment Issues

Hey,

I got an alignment done on one of those fancy hunter machines with the lasers, and they couldn't get my camber within spec on the right side of my car.

I had a mechanic take a look at the print out for a second opinion, the first people told me I had a bent suspension component on the right side.

He called it a "BS alignment" and said that I should have it redone.

Here are my before and after specs


Old 03-20-2012, 08:54 PM
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terrasmak
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What is done to your car? Springs? Etc ?
Old 03-21-2012, 03:24 PM
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joepro
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Defiantly need to know what is done to it, I do my own alignments on my car with an old beam machine(still laser ) if the head is not on the wheel correctly it will give false readings. Quick story...I work as a service advisor at a Honda store(seeking new employment!), and one of our salesman came back frantic because his cousin had her 2010 CRV aligned at a local shop(cough...PEP BOYS and had her one of those exact print outs) and said the LF could not be brought into spec because the tie rod was bent and wanted to know if that was warranty...(salesman) ANYWAY, we put it on our machine a few days later, guess what, 5 minutes we had it within spec, either the head was on wrong or worse..were being unethical or ignorant... dunno. Anyway needs some more info, I am on S-techs and with the spc kit nailed my camber right at 1.55- 1.58. My front is at -1.5 and -1.79, car was wrecked on right side before I got it. I had the Ichiba kit which looks identical but could barely get to -1.8 before it would no longer adjust...Our Acura store has a newer hunter, and it is much nicer than our machine BTW.

Last edited by joepro; 03-21-2012 at 03:29 PM.
Old 03-21-2012, 05:17 PM
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BlueZ33
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i recently had my alignment done at my local nissan dealer and they too cant get my right front into specs. im not dropped on any suspension yet. i had someone do a hit n run on my front right while my car was parked at work. but the advisor told me that i probably have frame damage.
Old 03-21-2012, 05:55 PM
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TURBOROADSTER
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Do we really need -camber ? I know it's good for high speed stability , but I would rather have tires last more than 2 years . My car is not lowered that I know of . If I buy the SPC camber/toe kit for the rear , and adjustable A-Arms for the front . Couldn't an alignment shop get it close to .0 camber ?
Old 03-21-2012, 06:01 PM
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joepro
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In short yes, I am no engineer, but this article is good read for us common folk.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-r...ar-camber1.htm

this is good too:

http://www.intraxracing.nl/?cat=prod...oe-out&lang=EN

Last edited by joepro; 03-21-2012 at 06:05 PM.
Old 03-21-2012, 06:29 PM
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TURBOROADSTER
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Originally Posted by joepro
In short yes, I am no engineer, but this article is good read for us common folk.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-r...ar-camber1.htm

this is good too:

http://www.intraxracing.nl/?cat=prod...oe-out&lang=EN
Well I would say yes to a certain point . I could live with .05 negative camber since I do no high speed cornering . Again tire life is more important to me . But in order to get -.05 camber , I believe I need to get adjustable arms .
Old 03-21-2012, 07:28 PM
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joepro
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I honestly do not know the extent of the factory camber adjustment, but I think you are correct...factory spec is -1.1 to -2. and honest even at -1.5 I do not notice excessive wear. My guess it is also dependent on the tire width and the toe..camber adjustment affects toe. You might be able to get to -.5 but the toe adjustment might be out...need some one that has some more knowledge to chime in...hope the OP gets back to us!
also do not buy Ichiba arms...

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...ml#post9662857
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