jimh_1962

This last winter, I must have forgot to check the alignment when I had changed out the springs. The driver side wheel was squealing around sharp corners. At first I thought it was a brake hanging up. Plus, it seemed like there was more of a dead spot in the steering. This weekend, I had some time to dive deeper into the problem. The driver side wheel's caster and toe was off.


Looking at the wheels on the front ground then took some measurements. The camber was closer to 2 degrees on the driver side versus 1 degree on the passenger side. Not sure what the toe was...

First adjustment:
so I adjusted the driver side caster and toe. The caster looked good after adjusting it but now the toe was way off. I made an adjustment to the the driver side tie rods since the wheel was pointed outwards. Finally, I took a drive thinking the job was completed. I went about a block and noticed something did not feel right. There was a more noticeable dead spot and louder squealing on the driver side as I took a left hand corner. Drove back into my garage.

Measured the wheels and tie rods. Too much toe adjustment on the driver side. I must have checked the wheels about three times before taking the last test drive. Adjust let down the jack checked and so forth. Not too much fun after second guessing my measurements.

I went for a test drive. What a difference the alignment made. Now, it drives straight as it did before when I had the old HD springs in it. I could remove my hands from the steering wheel at 65 MPH for a couple of seconds. The corvette did not veer to the left or right. No more squealing around corners.

One more thing completed off my list!

tomy62

Good job. Just curious but what tires are you running?

jimh_1962

Michelin radials. I cannot remember what the size are.

davekp78

On C-1s you need to adjust caster first, then camber, then toe. If you had the wheels raised, you need to roll the car back and forth to settle the suspension before adjusting the toe.

jimh_1962

The caster was fine. Gotcha on the suspension. I think I figured that one out when I took it for the quick 1/2 block ride.

davekp78

What about the camber?

jimh_1962

As I said earlier it was off on the driver side about 1 degree. I first addressed the camber and got it on point before dealing with the toe. The camber was fine after checking it once more on the ground plus settled.

I did not have a problem with the caster at all.

jimh_1962

Really my point for this thread was to say an out of align front end suspension will make a world of difference in the steering play (dead spot).