ALIGNMENT, How long to go?
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Burning Brakes
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ALIGNMENT, How long to go?
Hello, Im a new member and I love this forum. I just had my 2000 lowered on stock bolts all the way on monday. I am getting it aligned on thursday. Does it matter how many miles I drive between now and then, or having the car just sit in the garage for 4 days enough to let the suspension settle fully for a proper alignment? Again, great forum, and great cars.
Safety Car
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Actually I believe it would benefit you more if you took it for a nice "spirited" run, someplace with a few sharp curves to help it settle down, I don't believe sitting in the garage 4 days is going to do it. you need maybe 50 miles or so. At least that's what I did mine, except I played with it on the back roads for about 100 miles, than had it aligned. My .2 cents 
Scientific Negotiator
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Give the suspension a little workout first... The closer the arms are to parallel the less active change there will be to toe and camber though, so you will likely be close even if it settles just a bit after. Since you lowered it closer to the parallel line, you have slightly more give (stock height is above parallel).One other note: If you can watch them do the alignment, then watch. The tolerances are a little big and it is more important that the sides are equal to each other than which end of the spectrum they are on. In other words if one side is set to -.2 degrees camber, and the other is at -1.2, they are both within spec, but not ideal.
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I agree - a 50-100 mile trip over a variety of roads (straight, curvy, etc) would be best before getting it aligned.
Melting Slicks
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Actually I believe it would benefit you more if you took it for a nice "spirited" run, someplace with a few sharp curves to help it settle down, I don't believe sitting in the garage 4 days is going to do it. you need maybe 50 miles or so. At least that's what I did mine, except I played with it on the back roads for about 100 miles, than had it aligned. My .2 cents
Exactly what I did.
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Hi charger21 -
It will really make no difference, drive it.
It is my experience that a car that is already aligned within specification will not require adjustment if you turn the ride-height adjusters all the way down to the factory limits.
However, it is also my experience that these cars, with their sport-oriented suspensions and huge wheel/tire setups, are readily beaten out of adjustment when the car is subjected to pothole-ridden roads.
With the high cost of replacement tires for a C5 Corvette, it is my opinion that it is worth the ~$100 for a proper alignment every time you install new tires.
If the car was simply lowered, I would drive it and watch tire wear, paying attention to abnormally quick wear on the inner edges of the tires. If you notice a problem with wear or scuffing, or the steering seems to slightly pull, go ahead and have it aligned.
Note - my advice is for a street driven car - you need to take the
deep-dive with corner-weighting and such if you intend to seriously loose the car on a road course.
best regards-
mqqn
It will really make no difference, drive it.
It is my experience that a car that is already aligned within specification will not require adjustment if you turn the ride-height adjusters all the way down to the factory limits.
However, it is also my experience that these cars, with their sport-oriented suspensions and huge wheel/tire setups, are readily beaten out of adjustment when the car is subjected to pothole-ridden roads.
With the high cost of replacement tires for a C5 Corvette, it is my opinion that it is worth the ~$100 for a proper alignment every time you install new tires.
If the car was simply lowered, I would drive it and watch tire wear, paying attention to abnormally quick wear on the inner edges of the tires. If you notice a problem with wear or scuffing, or the steering seems to slightly pull, go ahead and have it aligned.
Note - my advice is for a street driven car - you need to take the
deep-dive with corner-weighting and such if you intend to seriously loose the car on a road course.
best regards-
mqqn
