Alignment Question - Caster
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,724
Likes: 9
The way we look at it, folks buy a Corvette to really enjoy the entire ownership experience. These cars not only look great but are a real blast to drive. Our alignment recommendations are published not only for customers with race cars looking for a great alignment baseline, but for folks who want to get out there and have fun on the street as well.
In our experience it's not Camber that kills tires, it's Toe. The biggest thing you can do to extend the life of your tires is to get the toe properly set. Setting the alignment to Zeroes across the board for Camber and Toe will provide good tire life, but at the cost of handling and high speed stability. We do recommend just a hair of Toe In because at high speeds it really adds a nice stabilizing effect on the vehicle without effecting tire life too much.
Keep in mind that your alignment is a major contributing factor to how much grip the car will generate, as well as how much money it will cost in consumable tires. A performance alignment may cost a little more than taking the car to Firestone, but typically the results will be worth the extra money to do it right.
In our experience it's not Camber that kills tires, it's Toe. The biggest thing you can do to extend the life of your tires is to get the toe properly set. Setting the alignment to Zeroes across the board for Camber and Toe will provide good tire life, but at the cost of handling and high speed stability. We do recommend just a hair of Toe In because at high speeds it really adds a nice stabilizing effect on the vehicle without effecting tire life too much.
Keep in mind that your alignment is a major contributing factor to how much grip the car will generate, as well as how much money it will cost in consumable tires. A performance alignment may cost a little more than taking the car to Firestone, but typically the results will be worth the extra money to do it right.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,514
Likes: 235
From: Currently somewhere in IL,IN,KY,TN,MO,AR,MS,AL, or FL
If you don't want to or don't feel confident that you can do it yourself, find a shop that will do what you want. Making the measurements is fairly easy. Figuring out how much to tighten/loosen each adjustment and how each can affect the others takes some experience.
I found a great independent shop using the Tire Rack recommended installers. I trust independents for this more than national chains because an independent lives or dies by the quality of their work while a chain store can coast on the national reputation.
I found a great independent shop using the Tire Rack recommended installers. I trust independents for this more than national chains because an independent lives or dies by the quality of their work while a chain store can coast on the national reputation.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,514
Likes: 235
From: Currently somewhere in IL,IN,KY,TN,MO,AR,MS,AL, or FL
How do you know which was correct? The computerized systems are only as good as their calibration. Using the old school measurements you can see exactly what you are measuring and don't have to trust that someone else's measurement was correct. I agree that a properly calibrated professional system is far more accurate than eyeballing it but you are trusting that the machine is not out of calibration. But then, do you really need all that much accuracy? Does more than one significant digit of accuracy make any real world difference?
Pro
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 701
Likes: 17
From: Calabash, NC
A good alignment shop will be able to do it. The question really should be, do you know what caster does, and how it affects your car? By wanting to take caster out, I'd say no, you don't. It does NOT affect tire wear. It can cause a pull if it is not even side to side. The more + camber you have (think stretched harley) the more stable the car will be at speed, and the quicker the steering wheel will return to it's neutral position from a turn. However there MAY be an increase in low speed steering effort. The more - the setting (think 10 speed with the forks spun around backwards) the less stability, less steering effort and slower wheel return.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 510
Likes: 5
From: Pipe Creek TX
My recent alignment shows Caster on right front out of spec at 9.3 degrees (spec is 6.9 to 8.1). The left front is 8.9 degrees, also out of spec. I have a 2008 coupe with wide body mod, Z06 wheel sizes (18 front, 19 rear). I went with a Nitto Invo 345 on rear, stock size on front.
Drag racers have been using 8-10 degrees for years.
Everything is a compromise ; If your car feels good to you ; go with it !
