C5 KIDD

posted this in C5 general, but figured some of you guys might be able to help me out also! just mounted new wheels/tires yest. looks great and all, but it was a HORRIBLE day getting them mounted! its a long story, but to make it short, the mechanics werent really that good... actually they were HORRIBLE!!!

now, although the guy that finshed the alignment seemed to know a little bit about what he was doing, i still need some advice from anyone that can help!!

they tried to explain to me that it was impossible to get my car completely aligned. they said something about needing a "caster kit/bolt" for the front in order to complete the alignment???

here are the numbers:

LEFT RIGHT

CAMBER: -0.8 -0.2
CASTER: 8.8 8.3
TOE: -0.04 -0.06


TOTAL TOE: 0.02
STEER AHEAD: -0.05


my PROBLEM is that now (only after leaving there) i have a bad pull to the right. now if anyone can explain this to me i would really appreciate it. the shop wants me to bring it back there, but they are on drugs and i will never return there!

im hoping to get another shop to help me out. anyone have any ideas as what to do?!? im pretty frustrated now, as its kinda sucky to drive the car like this!!

appreciate any info! sorry so long!

AU N EGL

need more negative camber. camber kit would give you too much negative camber for street use

Front:
Camber -1.0 to -1.2 for street use
full caster but equal on both sides
front toe 0 to 1/16 out

Track use is different and depends on your experience and needs.
front
Camber -1.5 to -3.0
full caster
front toe 0

rear
Camber -1.5 to -2
toe 1/16 to 1/8

YOur current bad pull to the right is the unequal aligning from left to right. and rember roads are cowned to allow rain / water to run off. most cars will pull to the right.

Go find a level parking lot, if there is one, and do some braking and see or feel if there is a pull to the right or not.

davidfarmer

it can be difficult to get max (or equal) castor AND achieve the desired camber. Since the two are inter-related on the C5, it could be that he can't get more camber in your front right without losing some castor. Basically, the rear adjuster would be all the way out, and then the front adjuster would be tweaked to get camber. Unfortunately, moving the front adjuster "out" also moves the lower part of the spindle "back", losing castor.

I would try and get as much castor as possible BUT get the camber first. Remember, castor has 2 purposes: Self aligning on the road, but also gives you dynamic Camber when you turn.

If you installed the Hardbar or GM camber plates in the rear adjusters, that would allow you to get a little more castor and camber at the same time.

TedDBere

Too much Caster is limiting your Camber. Set the camber first, equal on both sides, and then take whatever caster it will give you...then set the toe.

Good luck.

ghoffman

I am constantly amazed how complicated the automotive service industry makes aglinments. I guess if they keep it mysterious then the business rolls in. Caster is no big deal, set the camber and then max out the caster but tell them the camber comes first. Then set toe last. It is really pretty simple, but it is much easier to do than explain.

Anybody in the New England area that wants a demo, let me know, I can show you how do do this with simple tools in an hour (probably more since I suspect we would have a beer or 2), especially with our camber kit.

Maybe we make a video to show how to do this and include it with our camber kit? I am not a videographer so it would have amatuerish production values but it might be helpfull.

Gary Hoffman
Hardbar.net

MAC95 6SPD

The only other thing I would add if this is a street car then I would set the castor on the right more than the left by a few tenths. Since most of our roads are crowned they tend to make the car pull to the right. Since the castor is the self straightening of the wheel, if the right front has a greater tendency to do this it will offset the natural pull to the right from our roads. In your case now since the castor is greater on the left and given our roads your car now pulls to the right.

MAC

Oyishdog

Gary - a video would help LOTS of people on here....including myself.

yellow01

Gary,

I've been contemplating a camber plate kit anyway...a video or at least a step by step with pics would be awesome.

I have a feeling this is one of those things where once you've done it it's easy as pie, but if you've never done it seems difficult.

astock165

Would this be the same routine for a C4? Just finished an alignment on my 93 over the weekend. Set the camber, approx equal, and toe but haven't measured the caster yet. I'd assume that if I get an equal amount of caster on both sides and it falls within recommended amounts that I'm done?

GR8-LIFE

Very informative thread

dvandentop

video woudl be kick ***

ghoffman

Geez, I just figured out how to make DVD's from my camcorder! OK, lets start with what do you all want to see in this video?

1) Camber settings, including stock cams and Hardbar camber plates.
2) Toe settings
3) Thrust angle
4) I don't think I will show caster, it requires a gauge and turn plates.

dmtnt

That's the one I was hoping to see. I just maxed it out both sides.

GR8-LIFE

5) a little T and A also if possible (and I'm NOT talking about Thrust Angle)

davidfarmer

you can easily measure castor using a camber gauge. Just turn the wheel a set amount, the measure the camber change. As long as you can repeat the exact angle for both sides (say 1/2 turn of the steering wheel), you can get an accurate "relative" castor from side-to-side

drbenne

Gary
Count me in for the video/dvd or you can just plan on making a few trips out here to help me out like you've done in the past. I'll buy the beer.

Roy