[Z06] Alignment question.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 346
Likes: 1
From: Austin, Taxes
Alignment question.
I currently have a very neutral feeling alignment. The specs are very close or exactly OEM recommended on the chart below. It feels way too much like driving a Camry so I want a setup that is a bit more responsive, better handling, etc. I drive the car only on weekends and probably average 250 miles a month so I am not too worried about tire life but would rather not decrease it more than 25%. I also only drive this car on the street.
Has anybody tried two or three of the setups below? What would you recommend for me?
Has anybody tried two or three of the setups below? What would you recommend for me?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,003
Likes: 89
From: Indy IN
The problem with toe out is that it eats the front tires, and that is compounded by negative camber. For an aggressive street alignment that won't be horrible on tires I'd set the front toe to zero or just a smidge of toe in. I run -2 degrees of negative camber on the front and -1.5 on the rear, and set the total toe in at 1/8 of an inch all around (although I do set in toe out for track days or autocross events). It doesn't eat tires, although you should flip the tires on the rims at about 10,000 miles or else you will be cording the insides while you have a lot of life left in the tire.
With this setup I got about 20,000 miles out of the OEM Goodyear Supercars, although they were pretty well shot when I pulled them off.
With this setup I got about 20,000 miles out of the OEM Goodyear Supercars, although they were pretty well shot when I pulled them off.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,184
Likes: 3
From: KADS- If it has wings or an engine, I can break it. Dallas TX
Wow, the zo6 has excellent turn in. A neutral handling car is what you want, if it feels like a camery. your not going fast enough. a neutral chasis will slide all four tires at speed in a nice stable drift.
too much front toe out, will turn quicker. but you lose some stability at high speeds, and chew up tires.
toe out is good for the track sometimes, for a street car you don't need it.
when I was autox the car i ran some toe out, but it made the car a little nervous (darty) above 120MPH.
Go with the settings that solofast recommended.
best of luck
too much front toe out, will turn quicker. but you lose some stability at high speeds, and chew up tires.
toe out is good for the track sometimes, for a street car you don't need it.
when I was autox the car i ran some toe out, but it made the car a little nervous (darty) above 120MPH.
Go with the settings that solofast recommended.
best of luck
Last edited by 2K3Z06; Oct 18, 2010 at 02:59 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,003
Likes: 89
From: Indy IN
I didn't mean to say that you should run as much negative camber as I do if your car is a street only car. I run as much as I can get because it is a part time track and lots of autocross runs car. If it was a street only car I'd probably back off to something a bit more like AU N EGL was suggesting, I just woudn't go with the toe out on the street since it eats the tires too much. I don't think that I'd run as much camber as I do if it wasn't to try to keep from eating up race tires, but somewhere around -1 degree to -1.5 is plenty on the street up front and 1/2 a degree less in the back is a good aggressive street setup.
You can run more negative camber if you don't go to toe out in the front, and on the street I run 1/8" total toe in, and twist the tie rods one turn each side to toe out for track work when I change to race tires.
Toe out on the street also tends to make the car "tramline" or hunt when one wheel hits ruts in the road. Great turn in and very responsive, but the hunting and tendency to follow the road can get old. Good for keeping you awake if you are hauling the mail late at night, but it gets a bit tiring for everyday use. JMHO
You can run more negative camber if you don't go to toe out in the front, and on the street I run 1/8" total toe in, and twist the tie rods one turn each side to toe out for track work when I change to race tires.
Toe out on the street also tends to make the car "tramline" or hunt when one wheel hits ruts in the road. Great turn in and very responsive, but the hunting and tendency to follow the road can get old. Good for keeping you awake if you are hauling the mail late at night, but it gets a bit tiring for everyday use. JMHO
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Drifting
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,888
Likes: 230
From: Livingston County, Michigan
For the rear toe settings - I see some people posting a little toe-in and some others posting zero toe. My preference is to always run a little toe-in, but you could always get the alignment set to zero and then experiment. Adjusting toe by tweaking the rear tie rods one flat is easy to do and educational in learning what the response is. Just make sure to mark the tie rods at your zero setting and then make sure that you're twisting the tie rod correctly for toe-in or toe-out.
Last edited by acrace; Nov 6, 2010 at 11:04 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,888
Likes: 230
From: Livingston County, Michigan
Too much, yes. But it also depends upon how the car is loaded when you apply throttle. If you're coming out of a tight corner at a high g level (body roll) negative camber will help with putting the power down.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 346
Likes: 1
From: Austin, Taxes
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,003
Likes: 89
From: Indy IN
Just remember that alignment is like salsa, it's a matter of personal taste...... There isn't one setup that will be perfect for everybody, and everybody has to decide what trade offs they want.
More negative camber will tend to wear the inside of the tires, but the car will have more grip and will hook better on off ramps. Same with toe out, more toe out will make the car turn in better, but will wear the inside of the tires more. You have to decide what kind of compromise you want and are willing to pay for in terms of tire wear and that will be what works for you.
In my experience, toe out eats front tires more than negative camber, so I tend to run a bit of toe in on the street and toe it out on the track. Also, toe out makes the car tramline more, but does make the car a lot more lively, so the compromise is a more lively crisp turn in versus tire wear and some tramlining.
Big amounts of negative camber and lots of toe out lead to a lot of tire wear on the inside fronts, and a car that will do interesting things when you hit a road surface that has ruts in it
, but it will be pure pleasure on a winding road 
.
As the old saying goes, Ya pays yer nickel and takes yas choice.
More negative camber will tend to wear the inside of the tires, but the car will have more grip and will hook better on off ramps. Same with toe out, more toe out will make the car turn in better, but will wear the inside of the tires more. You have to decide what kind of compromise you want and are willing to pay for in terms of tire wear and that will be what works for you.
In my experience, toe out eats front tires more than negative camber, so I tend to run a bit of toe in on the street and toe it out on the track. Also, toe out makes the car tramline more, but does make the car a lot more lively, so the compromise is a more lively crisp turn in versus tire wear and some tramlining.
Big amounts of negative camber and lots of toe out lead to a lot of tire wear on the inside fronts, and a car that will do interesting things when you hit a road surface that has ruts in it
, but it will be pure pleasure on a winding road . As the old saying goes, Ya pays yer nickel and takes yas choice.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 346
Likes: 1
From: Austin, Taxes
I lowered my Z a few months back and measured it a couple days ago and found the rake was way off. Today I raised the front about half an inch and raised the rear appropriately to get the proper rake. I have some small tweaks to make but it already feels better.
Anyway, once that is sorted out I am going to get my alignment. I am thinking front camber -1.5, caster 6.9, rear camber -1.
I can't decide what to do about the front and rear toe. I don't want to eat the tires too quick but I only put about 5k miles a year on so if my tires last 20k miles on this alignment that is four years so okay by me. I was thinking 1/16" front and rear might be a good compromise. Should it be toe in in the front, toe out in the rear? Should I just go with 0 for the toe?
Anyway, once that is sorted out I am going to get my alignment. I am thinking front camber -1.5, caster 6.9, rear camber -1.
I can't decide what to do about the front and rear toe. I don't want to eat the tires too quick but I only put about 5k miles a year on so if my tires last 20k miles on this alignment that is four years so okay by me. I was thinking 1/16" front and rear might be a good compromise. Should it be toe in in the front, toe out in the rear? Should I just go with 0 for the toe?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 346
Likes: 1
From: Austin, Taxes
I noticed on the sheet from my last alignment they had everything listed as degrees. Do you think they would know what I meant by 1/16" or do you know what that is in degrees?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 346
Likes: 1
From: Austin, Taxes
