I just got my car back from the alignment shop. The front was way off which I expected because of some tie rod work etc. The rear was within specs. How can this be? I was under the impression that after a lowering procedure the rear alignment changes. Am I wrong? Was I supposed to mention it had been lowered? -Mike

 

It may have been slightly out before and now it's within range so they left it alone. When I had mine aligned after lowering they had to do the rear twice.

 

Maybe......but looking at the rear of he car the tires really lean in at the top or out at the bottom, however you want to put it. I know it's supposed to be that way somewhat, just seems extreme to me. Didn't notice it being that way before I lowered it. Anyway, thanks for the input Shake!

 

Now that sounds like a front end only alignment. They don't camber in much at all. If they were suppose to do all four I'd bring it back and ask for another tech to do it for them to print out of the final specs. My alignment shop always provides me with the alignment specs on paper.

 

Well that's what I thought when he told me how much it was. 59.95. I asked did he do F/R and he said the rear was within specs. I have the print out and it shows the numbers on the rear. Just sounds fishy! Why did it take 1 1/2 hours to do a front alignment?

 

I paid about $95 for a 4 wheel alignment recently at a friends shop. It needed adjustment all the way around. I had just rebushed the rear suspension (what a pain that was). The car now runs like it's on rails and is very stable. I also replaced the batwing tie rod ends (Moog).

Larry

 

Thanks Larry. I was thinking about doing the same thing to my bushings but according to the sheet all bushings are good. It was raining when I went home so I can't really say much about how the car does but it feels different. In a good way though.

I'm thinking maybe I need to take it to another shop to get that rear checked out. As it was taking so long to do the alignment I ask the guy at the front counter if it usually takes this long to do a Vette and he said they had one in a couple of weeks ago that took 3 hours to to do. He also said they do a lot of Vettes. It's a very popular shop here. So who knows......Might just be me thinking to much.

If I can I'll try and get a picture of the rear this afternoon and let you guys see what I'm talking about. -Mike

 

Camber should be 0 +/- .5 and Toe 0 +/- .1 If he did the job right 1 1/2 hours seems reasonable to me

 

The alignment bay is a huge profit center. Most shops try to run as many cars through the alignment rack as possible. They also try to sell as many parts as possible.

There are very few good alignment shops left. There is no way you can get a real 4-wheel alignment done for under $100. It sounds to me you got what's called a toe-n-go.

They ran the car up on the rack and took a a reading. Then the tech pushes on the front tires to get a different reading. Bingo - you now have a before and after print out in less than 15 minutes.

I've said this before but it's worth repeating. Paint a white stripe on every single nut that relates to an alignment. Before you pay the bill check to see if anything has actually been moved. If all of the white stripes are in the same location as when you dropped off the car ask for the service manager.

Richard Newton

101 Projects for Your Corvette 1984-1996

Wheel and Tire Performance Handbook

 

Setting the toe only takes a few minutes once you get the machine set up. When I did my front camber it took me 2 hours to get it shimmed correctly. I print out a graph picture for my customers. It shows a much better picture of where you really are, better than just numbers which can be misleading. You can be within specs and still not really have a great alignment.

 

Devious - I like it!

 

Mike,
As previously stated, The +/-.5 camber allowance given by the book really gives the alignment shops alot of leeway.I don't necessarily agree with what tolerances are given especially with the price of tires these days but I guess the shops have to have something to go by. Your car may be within the -.5 degree camber tolerance but, unless you autocross the car any, zero camber in the back with the planned ride height including normal fuel load for the street should be about where you want it set. Unless you specify the settings you want at a reputable shop,you'll probably wind up with what you have now. Lowering the car does add negative camber and positive toe in. It apparently still fell within the tolerance though. They should rename the so called word (alignment) to (alignment check) because that's all most shops are doing with the tolerances given so they can make quick easy money. You might want to take it to a better more reputable shop. Regarding the front wheels, I have found after owning 3 C4's that adding a 1/4 to 1/2 degree negative camber with 0 toe and maximum caster for street use seems to wear the front tires more even. Many C4's I have seen exhibit considerable outside edge tire wear on the fronts over time because of the agressive steering and cornering capability of the cars. Any positive camber at all in the front seems to really wear the outside edges but as you'll find, a +/- .5 camber setting is also allowed for the front by the book.Good luck with the problem.
Rick

 

I'm starting to think maybe I jumped the gun here. It was late when I got in yesterday and I never even looked at the car with the rain and all. It doesn't have that Volkswagen look like it did have. Damn If I know.....maybe I got something for nothing. I never saw who actually did the work. I may know them and they did me a favor.....Thanks for all the info though! You guys know you chit!!! Here's the spec sheet.

 

Am I missing something? When asked they told you the rear was already within specs, although from the sheet it looks like they made adjustments to get them into specs?

 

You got it!
And I just noticed something else about the car. It's higher in the rear than it was. The space above the tire is higher. Now, I guess if the wheels were straighted up that would raise it to some degree. But I mean there is better than 2 inches above the tire. First thing I thought was.....he just readjusted the lowering bolts to get it back to specs. But the bolts are where I left them. About 4 threads showing below the nut.