[Z06] 4 Wheel Alignment
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 592
Likes: 21
From: St Aug, FL
4 Wheel Alignment
well I took my car in to be aligned, it pulls to the right, and when they put it up on the rack and checked it they said it was within spec. I told them that although I have new tires on it the car was doing it with the old tires as well. After 3 hours of them working on the car and making a couple small adjustments they were finished. Does everyone else's cars pull to the right? I know when the road is crowned you'll have a slight drift to the right however a couple weeks ago when I was on the expressway in Georgia and the road "very noticeably" crowned to the left the car still wanted to drift to the right. It's done this on 2 different sets of the tires and 2 different sets of rims.
To make the day more interesting I stopped off to pick up some bird food after going to the dealer and this lady was in there holding a kitten. She was explaining to the store owner that she found the kitten in the road right out in front of the shop like 30 minutes ago. She asked me if I wanted since she claimed she was alergic to cats so after one call to the girlfriend I now have a 5 week old kitten sleeping on my shoulder as I type this message
To make the day more interesting I stopped off to pick up some bird food after going to the dealer and this lady was in there holding a kitten. She was explaining to the store owner that she found the kitten in the road right out in front of the shop like 30 minutes ago. She asked me if I wanted since she claimed she was alergic to cats so after one call to the girlfriend I now have a 5 week old kitten sleeping on my shoulder as I type this message
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 2,786
Likes: 22
From: Cary NC
Have you played with the adjusters and lowered it? Did the previous owner? It may not be balanced properly. Get someone to corner weight the car. The alignment can be within spec and the car will still pull a bit. You could also have some slop in the suspension that only shows up when the car is moving.
Get a shop with the Hunter alignment system and a good tech. It does not take 3 hours to align a Vette. As froggy said, "Dead nuts on". My guy gets my alignment done in an hour.
Get a shop with the Hunter alignment system and a good tech. It does not take 3 hours to align a Vette. As froggy said, "Dead nuts on". My guy gets my alignment done in an hour.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 10,864
Likes: 196
From: Southern CA
I will pass on one experience I had at a shop. They guy aligned my 04Z to my spec. & it was great out the door. I did one autox event & it went to S##t.
When he tightened the adjusters (for camber) he did not torque them, just open end wrench tight. They need to be about 100 to 125 ft lbs.
What happened is they moved & the alignment was lost.
ALWAYS tell the guy to put a torque wrench on it & ALWAYS put a witness mark on the adjustment, so if it does loosen you can move it back.
BTW I do my own alignment now, bought a few tools & it's not that hard, but may be beyond what most guys want to get involved in.
When he tightened the adjusters (for camber) he did not torque them, just open end wrench tight. They need to be about 100 to 125 ft lbs.
What happened is they moved & the alignment was lost.
ALWAYS tell the guy to put a torque wrench on it & ALWAYS put a witness mark on the adjustment, so if it does loosen you can move it back.
BTW I do my own alignment now, bought a few tools & it's not that hard, but may be beyond what most guys want to get involved in.
Last edited by froggy47; Nov 11, 2007 at 03:08 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
Likes: 33
From: Not on either liberal coast.
I just had my car aligned and I don't know if the tech torqued the cam bolts or not. This site has the torque specs...
http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/C5_Torque_Values.pdf
It looks like it's 107 lbs ft for the front and 70 lbs ft for the rear.
Will someone please confirm that for me, thanks!
http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/C5_Torque_Values.pdf
It looks like it's 107 lbs ft for the front and 70 lbs ft for the rear.
Will someone please confirm that for me, thanks!
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 10,864
Likes: 196
From: Southern CA
I just had my car aligned and I don't know if the tech torqued the cam bolts or not. This site has the torque specs...
http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/C5_Torque_Values.pdf
It looks like it's 107 lbs ft for the front and 70 lbs ft for the rear.
Will someone please confirm that for me, thanks!
http://www.eliteengineeringusa.com/C5_Torque_Values.pdf
It looks like it's 107 lbs ft for the front and 70 lbs ft for the rear.
Will someone please confirm that for me, thanks!
The REAR cam nut (leading)s/b 107, the other on the rear (trailing) s/b 70.
This is from the 04 FSM.
Last edited by froggy47; Nov 11, 2007 at 02:27 PM.
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I'll check mine now. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
My alignment kept changing so I drove home from the alignment shop and checked the cam nuts with a torque wrench.
The shop actually used impact wrenches (which I don't really like either) and they were still not tight enough. I torqued them to 125 ft lbs. and I just had the alignment checked. Still the same after almost a year.
I also took a paint pen and marked the cam positions on the cam and frame, so I could tell if the cams have moved.
A good alignment shop can make the car track straight, unless there is chassis damage. Some will add a little more negative camber on the right side, or add postive caster on the left to make the car drive straight under highway conditions. You should also end up with the steering wheel centered when the car is going straight by adjusting the toe in correctly.
You could always do a quick check like the NASCAR guys do by running a string along the side of the car between two jackstands and see if the front lines up with the rear wheels and is square with the axis of the car.
The shop actually used impact wrenches (which I don't really like either) and they were still not tight enough. I torqued them to 125 ft lbs. and I just had the alignment checked. Still the same after almost a year.
I also took a paint pen and marked the cam positions on the cam and frame, so I could tell if the cams have moved.
A good alignment shop can make the car track straight, unless there is chassis damage. Some will add a little more negative camber on the right side, or add postive caster on the left to make the car drive straight under highway conditions. You should also end up with the steering wheel centered when the car is going straight by adjusting the toe in correctly.
You could always do a quick check like the NASCAR guys do by running a string along the side of the car between two jackstands and see if the front lines up with the rear wheels and is square with the axis of the car.
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Nov 11, 2007 at 07:36 PM.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 592
Likes: 21
From: St Aug, FL
I've been the only owner of the car and the only damage it ever recieved was my mother backed into the front of the car with her yukon. The car has never been lowered and the wheels/tires on it are balanced out perfectly (I was there at the tire shop watching them do it).
I'll have to get under there and check the cam nuts since I don't know if they did torque them down or just did it by wrench.
I will also inspect the other suspension parts to make sure everything is fine.
Froggy47, PM sent to ya
I'll have to get under there and check the cam nuts since I don't know if they did torque them down or just did it by wrench.
I will also inspect the other suspension parts to make sure everything is fine.
Froggy47, PM sent to ya
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,847
Likes: 795
From: Longview Texas
It may be obvious, but you will need a socket to fit the cam nut, and a socket to hold the cam bolt head on the other end to keep it from rotating when you torque the nut.
I would recommend that you mark the cam location of BOTH ends so that you can tell if you accidentally allow the bolt to rotate when you apply the 125 ft lbs. I had a little trouble keeping the cam setting the same while I torqued the other end.
I would recommend that you mark the cam location of BOTH ends so that you can tell if you accidentally allow the bolt to rotate when you apply the 125 ft lbs. I had a little trouble keeping the cam setting the same while I torqued the other end.
