PDA

View Full Version : Input please on my alignment



larryo108
11-30-2011, 07:40 AM
I have a 2003 VBP EP lowered with Tokico D-specs and skunk2 springs. Car is low and looks really good in my opinion. I am running some old GSR fat 5 wheels. I will get actual pics of the car some time soon.

Anyways, my previous tires were trashed because of what I thought was toe issues. There is obvious camber as well. I had bought 0857's steering arm bracket to fix the toe and bump steer. The car feels great with the bracket. Rides smoother, no more bump steer, and I will swear there is less steering rack creak (although that is probably just in my head). In looking under the hood though, the tie rod ends are slammed all the way on the tie rod and I am still not at zero toe.

I also bought ingalls front and rear camber kits. I held of on installing the front camber bolts hoping the bracket alone might gain me some camber. I think I am going to have to install the bolts. I also went to install the rear camber arms. Imagine my surprise when I saw the PO had already installed some.

Anyways, I installed the steering bracket and new tie rod ends. I got new Falken tires and got it all realigned.
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s132/larryo108/Car/alignment.jpg

I was hoping to get back closer to stock with my alignment specs. I still have some front toe and slightly more rear toe than is specified in the owners manual. I know I will need to run a little more camber than Honda specifies to keep from rubbing. Will my current alignment kill my tires? Should I look to try to get realigned by a more tuner friendly shop or will this work.

I like the lowered look, but I am not necessarily looking for a race car. My motor is still 100% stock. This car is my ommuter and does most of it's driving on straightish interstates and highways.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

makavelibranded
11-30-2011, 09:53 AM
Which Falken tires? are you dropped 2 inches on those springs? Im surprised thay couldint fix the toe a little better but idk too much about setting up an alignment.

larryo108
11-30-2011, 10:00 AM
Yes dropped 2 inches on the springs. Falken Ziex ZE-912.

makavelibranded
11-30-2011, 10:14 AM
Ya that might be why its a tad difficult to get the toe perfect im lowered on coilovers not sure how much maybe 1.5, my toe was anywhere between .1-.5 .

Wish I could have taked you out of getting those tires, had them years ago and they were a horrible investment, they wore fast and I didint trash them, pulled hard on any crack or bump, had horrible wet weather performance and hydroplained alot, all around had a bad experience with them after the good tread wore off.

Zzyzx
11-30-2011, 10:34 AM
I was about to say leave it as is, its a pretty decent street performance setup. but then I read it was a daily commuter...

My $0.02 says keep the nose where its at, you've got a decent amount of camber and great caster with your toe being slightly in (which is preferable for street driving). On the rear I'd buy a camber kit and drop the rears camber to around -.5. once again, leave toe where it is.

Summery:
You've got a good alignment, there's nothing particularly wrong with it for daily driving. you may be able to get a bit more tire life if you reduce camber overall, but even for street tires -1.5 isn't that much camber. Toe is already within factory spec so no issues there. You want your front end toe to be slightly in because it makes the car want to drive in a straight line as well as make it less susceptible to tracking & tramlining. If you zero out the nose or even go toe out... the car will tend to want to wander on the road when you are driving straight.

larryo108
11-30-2011, 10:43 AM
The car does seem to wander a little bit. Could that be because of the differing cambers on the right and left sides.

The car does actually have Ingalls adjustable camber arms in the rear. I even took the instructions to the shop on how to adjust them. Got home and realized that they had printed out for me that the manufacturer does not specifiy any rear camber adjustments. No shit, that's why I printed you the other instructions. I need to find a tuner shop to do it next time.

Thanks for the input. I guess I will just keep an eye on the tire wear, rotate the tires every oil change and go from there.

Zzyzx
11-30-2011, 12:11 PM
reducing camber on the nose will reduce the amount of tracking & tramlining you feel. -1 on the nose would not be a bad compromise in my opinion. Curious, how many miles did you get out of the last set of tires?




Note: Tracking/tramlining are often mis-interperated as "bump steer". Given that bump steer really has next to nothing to do with actual bumps in the road where as tramlining/tracking does. easy way to tell the difference is whether or not the steering wheel moves. If the steering wheel jerks to one side making the car try to turn in to a defect on the road, that's Tramlining & tracking and not bump steer. True bumpsteer is a whole hell of a lot more subtle.

larryo108
11-30-2011, 01:24 PM
Between 40 and 50k. If I can get the same this time, I will be happy. It is hard to tell though. The last time I bought tires it was at about 109,000 miles. Shortly after, can't recall the exact mileage I traded my 17" wheels with 215/45 rubber for the fat 5's with stock size rubber. The tires that were on the wheels I traded for already had camber wear and my alignment previously was not as good (ie, no steering bracket or camber devices).