RE: [alfa] alignment questions

["Jeff Greenfield" <alfaguy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Positive toe (toe out) will make the car very unpredictable. Turn in will be
very sharp and the car will tend to 'dart' in whatever direction the wheel
is turned.

I can't really say why they couldn't dial in the negative camber. I will say
that there is very little (if any) adjustability on most modern cars. It
could be that something is bent, or the unibody got tweaked.

It all depends on the car, and what means is available for adjustment.

Although I doubt that you would notice the difference between 1.5 and 1.8
degrees of camber unless you were measuring tire temps across the tread at
the track.

It is normal for an alignment shop (if they know what they are doing) to run
slightly different camber and/or caster settings from one side to the other
in order to compensate slightly for the crown on most roads. (at least here
in the north east where the roads have a crown, this may not be as
pronounced in other areas, I don't really know).

Have them set the toe back to what it was previously or to spec, and the car
should return to its previous self. If it does, then you can contemplate
camber plates, or other more drastic measures.

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided] On Behalf Of
Tessie McMillan
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 11:35 PM
To: alfa-digest@domain.elided
Subject: [alfa] alignment questions

I just got my AWD sedan back from the local sports-tuner shop, where it
had a corner balance and alignment. This car had a track accident a few
months ago that broke quite a few suspension pieces; I've been repairing
things as has been feasible.

I had requested they dial in as much negative camber as
possible, especially in the front. Someone different (not the owner,
who's done a terrific job in the past) did the alignment this time.
He said the car simply would not take the negative camber it had in the
past. The most the RF would take was -1.3 (previously it was -1.8), and
because of that he set the LF at -1.5 (previously -1.7). Because I wanted
negative camber, he added positive toe, saying this would give the tire
negative camber in turns. He set it at about 0.02L and 0.04R (previously
-0.03 and -0.something I can't remember).

Driving the car home, MY GOSH! left turns scared the bejeezus out of me.
The turn was unpredictable and herky-jerky -- that is, it didn't want to
turn, and then the car would turn farther than I wanted, then the process
would be repeated. I'm used to setting my wheel and then accelerating to
find my curve ... and by gum if I didn't find myself in the wrong lane
doing this. I totally lost confidence. Right turns weren't quite so bad,
but still the car just didn't want to turn; it wanted to keep ... going...
straight.

Two questions: what happens to make the suspension unable to accept more
negative camber? (Do pieces get bent? What does the adjustment involve?
Are there threads that become crushed? Is there anything that can be
replaced to improve this?) I just don't understand this. They said I need
to go to adjustable camber plates to get more negative camber. But...
I previously GOT more negative camber.... I don't understand.

If I ask them to bring back my negative toe, is there anything wrong with
this request? Previously, the steering was quick and precise. I guess I
don't understand why he was so confident about dialing in so much
positive toe.

I am trying to balance between excess tire wear on the outside front right
tire (due to heavy cornering), and responsive steering. Sorry to ask such
simple questions, but the shop wasn't really taking me seriously today
-- or else they thought I knew more than I did -- and I'd like to know
more about the process.

If you have any comments or suggestions for me, I'd appreciate it! The
shop has a policy of wanting feedback within 24 hours if the customer
wants an adjustment to work performed... sigh.

Tess
in Bellevue, WA USA
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided