alignment spec?

[ban-one]

took my gt to local FOMOCO dealer to get front end alligned after install f/r new struts,shocks and h@r SS springs ...this is what he gave me for specs. when they went to do alignment and set camber at -1 degree.

left right
cm -1.4 cm -1.0
cs 3.2 cs 3.3
toe .07 toe .07

tech said i def need the c/c plates for the front of car... anyone know what a good reliable brand that dont cost 400 bucks are? what about the upr products shark ones? do i need 4 bolt or 3 bolt? its for a 2000 gt

 

[bdcardinal]

Maximum Motorsports, accept no others.

 

[tomustang]

Maximum Motorsports, accept no others.

You can search the internet for a better answer but you won't find one.

 

[ban-one]

figured that would be the universal answer....

 

[merc123]

Maximum Motorsports...$200..

 

[merc123]

Looking at those numbers, they look within specs. I won't know until I get home on Monday but I have a printout with acceptable specs.

 

[ban-one]

said if he tried to adjust towards -1 deg it would burn the right inner tire up. he even printed me out a pic of the steeda c/c plates to show me what i need.

 

[merc123]

I was looking through my old post. If CS on that is caster, then the range is 2.5* to 4.0*. I have 4.1 on my stang and haven't had any odd tire wear or anything. Hasn't caused any issues either.

The caster/camber plates aren't necessary because you caster looked within spec. If they're bitching about the camber, they can fix that with the stock plates. Caster is the only thing NOT adjustable from the factory. It's hit or miss with it.

i would strongly suggest you got the C/C plates if you have the money. if youre broke as poopy, you dont have a choice, but i would strongly suggest them. from the factory, caster isnt adjustable. its basically a hit or miss thing. its ok if its a little off, not too big a deal since caster isnt a wearing angle like toe and camber. if you really want some good handling, have the guy doing the alignment give you some negative camber. ive got 1.4* on my front tires and i could really feel a difference in the turns. i wouldnt go any more than ~1.5 though b/c then it starts to take it's toll on your inner tires.

Link to my old post: http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=539831

 

[merc123]

Oh, and 4 bolt
http://www.americanmuscle.com/maximum-motorsports-caster-camber-plates-94-04.html

 

[ban-one]

ford tech kept talking about his 88 gt needing them...but i never seen the car around...he might of been talking about how one adjustment was -1 like i wanted and he cant get the other one any less than -1.4 so i dont know thats why i have u guys on stangnet:SNSign:

 

[bdcardinal]

caster is not a tire wearing angle. it just causes pull when its out side to side. also with more caster your car will be more controllable at higher speed. a lot of german cars run 9 or more degrees of caster.

 

[ban-one]

well all i can think of is that the ford factory machine does not have the tollerances for a aftermarket lowered car.does anyone have the specs where a lowered car should be set at to get good tire wear and better steering performance.

 

[SaleenGT2001]

i set all the cars that come into my shop to -0.4 camber on both sides and run as much caster as i can get with a -0.5 offset. toe is set to factory spec. this will give you much better tire wear

 

[steveb24]

ill chime in..

ive had h&r ss and the prokit installed, pro kit is what i have now..

after both installs i had an alightment done, and both times the alignment came out "easily within spec" so i was told, so no u dont need them and dont waste your money

 

[SaleenGT2001]

i'd get them anyway. they will be a big help in the future.

 

[EPIK]

I got my car aligned by Sears because they were the only place open on a sunday. Big mistake!!!! Here are what they set mine at.

Camber.. Caster..
Left . -0.2 4.6 deg
Right. -1.1 5.2 deg

These specs didn't make my tires wear funny or anything, but it definately isn't good for handling. On top of that you can tell just by looking at my car that the camber is different from side to side. Anyway, I am adding some steeda X2 balljoints & bumpsteer kit tomorrow, so i will need an alignment soon. When i do, i am gonna find a place to give me the specs that Maximum Motorsports gave me. Here are the specs

Camber Caster
Left. -1.5 5 deg.
Right. -1.5 5.25 deg.

They said these specs would give me good street handling, but also preserve my tires for a while. I trust them more then Sears, or Les Schwab....I dont daily drive my car anyway so I would rather have a semi aggressive setting for better handling.

 

[EPIK]

ill chime in..

ive had h&r ss and the prokit installed, pro kit is what i have now..

after both installs i had an alightment done, and both times the alignment came out "easily within spec" so i was told, so no u dont need them and dont waste your money

U sure, because fords stock components dont adjust very far. Even with C/C plates I was told by these alignment places that they couldnt get my car perfectly in spec. I just think they were idiots not knowing how to correctly align a car with plates. They said my negative camber was maxed out on the right side, but it looked like the plate had plenty of adjustment left. My left camber isnt even within spec.

 

[EPIK]

This might be a stupid question. When u look at your alignment print out, and they say left or right. They mean from inside the car right? Or do they mean from the machine's point of veiw.

 

[tomustang]

U sure, because fords stock components dont adjust very far. Even with C/C plates I was told by these alignment places that they couldnt get my car perfectly in spec. I just think they were idiots not knowing how to correctly align a car with plates. They said my negative camber was maxed out on the right side, but it looked like the plate had plenty of adjustment left. My left camber isnt even within spec.

No one can give you an exact answer, these cars came from the factory with the chassis all screwed up, it is the same way with the rear of the car when you will do adjustments to it. Alignment issues with certain drops, Springs will have different drop heights, panhard and swaybars will touch or have space between the mounting points etc..

 

[EPIK]

No one can give you an exact answer, these cars came from the factory with the chassis all screwed up, it is the same way with the rear of the car when you will do adjustments to it. Alignment issues with certain drops, Springs will have different drop heights, panhard and swaybars will touch or have space between the mounting points etc..

How do those specs from Maximum Motorsports look to you?