Alignment question

[tony]

I got an alignment done at Butler Tire saturday and they also installed my SPC Camber Rods and Toe bolts, the rear is within factory spec now but whenever I take a hard right turn it feels like the rear end is swaying back and forth.. but when I make a left turn its fine. Anyone know what this could possibly be? I wont be able to make it back over there till next saturday and I'm wondering if it could be an easy fix. I was thinking maybe it was something with the sway bar but I looked and didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

[kenchan]

tonio- can let me know if you have lowered your car, with what springs, if you have aftermarket swaybars, and what your current alignment setting is?


Sounds like your rear left might be toe-ing out too much when you
make a sharp right turn.

[tony]

lowered on eibach springs and I have the stock sway bars. As for the current alignment..I'll try and scan it but the rear is -1.8 right is -1.9.. rear camber toe is .24

[kenchan]

tonio- It looks like you got enough total toe-in, but can you breakup
the toe left and right respectively?

Did you recently get the springs installed? Did Butler have you or anyone
sit in the car while it was getting aligned? If you did get the springs installed
recently and if noone sat in the car while it was getting aligned, the
springs may have not have settled properly while they made the
adjustments...which results in more neg camber and less toe when the
car resettles.

I'd like to see what the before alignment measurements were and if
you had that wandering effect before you got the alignment today.

many variable changes the settings, so that's why I have so many q's. :wink:

[tony]

I appreciate the time and advice. The problem only started after the alignment, and I've had the springs in for just about a month now. I can say that nobody sat in the car during the alignment though, and before the alignment I know the rear was way out of spec, you could almost see a portion of the left tire not touching the ground. I'll just take it back to them saturday and see if they can correct it.

[Canton_G35]

wow that sounds really weird. I've never heard of someone having this problem. It almost sounds like the sways aren't in right but they shouldn't have touched them so I guess that's not it.

Did you call them to ask about it?

[tony]

I got the alignment done friday, and by the time I got there saturday they were closed. The strange thing is it only happens on right turns. It really does feel like something with the sway bar

[kenchan]

Did you have the guys install the toe and control rods? because you do
need to take off the endlink for the control rod install... maybe they
forgot to torque down the nut?! :char14:

[kenchan]

tonio- any updates?

[FIRESTARTER]

It's seems like you got too much toe inn, did they elongate the hole for the toe bolt?

[tony]

No updates yet..I've been at work and school all week long so I haven't had time for much of anything. I will say I've been driving my truck (four door colorado) and it feels more planted in the corners than my car so I know theres an issue. I'll have to take it back saturday morning to get the problem fixed.

[kenchan]

It's seems like you got too much toe inn, did they elongate the hole for the toe bolt?


toe is .24 ..so if it was .12 and .12, barely enough toe-in. Mine's .31
and I can still feel a little bumpsteer over big dips and humps. Max is
.44 and Im going to try to get the car aligned with high .30's. next time.

[G35Bama03]

Kenchan,

How often do you have your car aligned or what is recommended?

[kenchan]

G35Bama03 - usually I have the car aligned several times since Im
running progressive lowering springs and the springs tend to settle
over time.

I did the first alignment a week after the spring install and then another
one about a week after that while adding the rear camber rods. The
springs have since then settled a little more so planning to do my 3rd
alignment this spring if I feel the need.

If your car drives fine you can go without an alignment for
a long time (years).

This car requires a lot of toe-in for straightline stability so it is not
unusual to have slightly more inter tread wear even at stock specs.
Some people get the car aligned after purchase to lessen the toe-in
to prevent inter-tread wear while compromising a little bit of
straightline stability.

For most street use, this compromise usually goes undetected
especially if you are running stock height...this might be something
to think about if you like to prolong the life of the tires.