Suspension - Alignment


    Alignment
      The difference between a good alignment and a bad alignment, can be the difference between a car that drives well, and a car that won’t track a straight line or is a nightmare to drive.
      The difference between a car with a stock alignment, and a racing alignment, is usually the difference between finishing in the bottom of the pack, or fighting it out for first place.

      According to the service manual, most of the suspension is classified as “non-adjustable”, and most alignment settings can not be adjusted. The service manual basically states that only the front toe (via the steering rack tie rod ends) and the rear toe (via the rear lower control arm turnbuckles) is adjustable.
      This, however, is somewhat less than true. All of the bolted connections in the suspension offer a limited range of adjustability, because the hole the bolt fits through is larger than the body of the bolt. Some assemblies, such as the front and rear subframes, have slotted mounting holes specifically to allow for adjustment. There is enough slack in the bolt connections of the lower ball joints, lower strut mounts (at the spindle), and the upper strut mount (or pillow mount) to provide for more than a degree of camber adjustment. Likewise, the upper strut mounts are offset and can be turned around to increase the camber angle by 1 ½ degrees if this is desired.
      For track use, it is usually desirable to in increase negative camber (to counter cornering forces on the strut suspension) and increase toe out (to increase nimbleness).
      For street use, it is best not to change the toe settings very much from the factory specifications. But, if your use of the vehicle involves more high speed cornering, and you notice increased tread wear on the outside shoulder of the tire, you may benefit from a very little bit more negative camber.




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