Alignment Recommendations
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,029
Likes: 2,719
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Any good alignment shop can pull up the Chevy specs for camber/caster/toe/etc, and set them to almost anything you prefer, if they work at it.
You need to decide if you want to go only for max tire life, or max cornering grip, or something in between. That will affect mostly your camber.
Max tire life usually means 0 camber, and the GS/Z06 may not be able to get to 0 without producing undesirable toe changes in the rear. Our local dealer gets as close as possible to 0 rear camber while keeping toe ok, then sets the same camber on the front wheels. There are also aftermarket parts you can buy that will allow setting the rear to 0 camber and 0 toe.
Be aware that the C7 is one of the very few cars with adjustable rear caster, and most people working on the car either don't know, or don't care. Including many dealers.
A normal alignment machine can't measure rear caster, it requires some special tools to measure and set. The numbers must be hand-written onto the final readings sheet.
Our local dealer didn't have the tools when we bought our 2017 Z51, but they knew about the procedure and immediately bought the tools when I asked for the rear caster to be checked.
Good luck!
You need to decide if you want to go only for max tire life, or max cornering grip, or something in between. That will affect mostly your camber.
Max tire life usually means 0 camber, and the GS/Z06 may not be able to get to 0 without producing undesirable toe changes in the rear. Our local dealer gets as close as possible to 0 rear camber while keeping toe ok, then sets the same camber on the front wheels. There are also aftermarket parts you can buy that will allow setting the rear to 0 camber and 0 toe.
Be aware that the C7 is one of the very few cars with adjustable rear caster, and most people working on the car either don't know, or don't care. Including many dealers.
A normal alignment machine can't measure rear caster, it requires some special tools to measure and set. The numbers must be hand-written onto the final readings sheet.
Our local dealer didn't have the tools when we bought our 2017 Z51, but they knew about the procedure and immediately bought the tools when I asked for the rear caster to be checked.
Good luck!
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,733
Likes: 403
From: Atlanta, GA
Hey Bryan, I live in Smyrna....and drive to Norcross JUST for alignment. Solo Motorsports. Multiple locations for Solo but I only hit the one in Norcross. The one alignment guy there is solid and will make sure you get what you want...his name if Vegas. Make sure to call in advance and make an appointment. I'd aim for being the first one of the day. He worked on my car for several hours to get it right. There was a Porsche after me...which clearly ran late. So, make sure you're the first. We were jacking around with my rear caster (using the tool I bought on here) which added to the time.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 70
Likes: 13
From: Bogart, Ga.
Hey Bryan, I live in Smyrna....and drive to Norcross JUST for alignment. Solo Motorsports. Multiple locations for Solo but I only hit the one in Norcross. The one alignment guy there is solid and will make sure you get what you want...his name if Vegas. Make sure to call in advance and make an appointment. I'd aim for being the first one of the day. He worked on my car for several hours to get it right. There was a Porsche after me...which clearly ran late. So, make sure you're the first. We were jacking around with my rear caster (using the tool I bought on here) which added to the time.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 70
Likes: 13
From: Bogart, Ga.
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From: Bogart, Ga.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 10,472
Likes: 1,761
From: North Texas
Could start calling local dealers or high end independent alignment shops to see who has the required rear caster tool. If they have the tool, then check their reputation. Chances are decent that if they have the tool, they probably know what they are doing.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,066
Likes: 9,834
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
To measure rear caster you need to have the adapter shown in the post above and a magnetic angle gauge. A saw blade angle gauge will work. It is best if the mechanic doing the job follows the same procedure GM has developed for using their gauge except changed due to gauge differences. Following the procedure (attached) will get the gauge zero'd and oriented correctly from side to side.
One thing about rear caster is DSC recommends a setting of +0.7 degrees. Jim Mero the GM Corvette Test Driver and Suspension Engineer recommends 0.0 degrees like the GM spec indicates. Jim is retired and a member of this forum now. He also says it should be 0.0 on each side.
One other thing. If using DSC's rear caster setting with the track alignment you will find that the rear toe is hard to set because you run out of adjustment range with the stock toe links. With the 0.0 degree setting the stock toe links have a sufficient adjustment range.
Bill
One thing about rear caster is DSC recommends a setting of +0.7 degrees. Jim Mero the GM Corvette Test Driver and Suspension Engineer recommends 0.0 degrees like the GM spec indicates. Jim is retired and a member of this forum now. He also says it should be 0.0 on each side.
One other thing. If using DSC's rear caster setting with the track alignment you will find that the rear toe is hard to set because you run out of adjustment range with the stock toe links. With the 0.0 degree setting the stock toe links have a sufficient adjustment range.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; Dec 1, 2020 at 02:37 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,733
Likes: 403
From: Atlanta, GA
LOVE that PDF info Bill.
DSC alignment also says only -1.5 camber for the rears...whereas our manuals say -2.0. I'm guessing that whatever magic the DSC does, it does it better with those recommendations. I recently installed the DSC. I'm driving Road Atlanta this weekend with DSC's specs. Next track days, I'll use the GM versions...see if it makes a difference.
DSC alignment also says only -1.5 camber for the rears...whereas our manuals say -2.0. I'm guessing that whatever magic the DSC does, it does it better with those recommendations. I recently installed the DSC. I'm driving Road Atlanta this weekend with DSC's specs. Next track days, I'll use the GM versions...see if it makes a difference.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 216
Likes: 47
From: NYC
To measure rear caster you need to have the adapter shown in the post above and a magnetic angle gauge. A saw blade angle gauge will work. It is best if the mechanic doing the job follows the same procedure GM has developed for using their gauge except changed due to gauge differences. Following the procedure (attached) will get the gauge zero'd and oriented correctly from side to side.
One thing about rear caster is DSC recommends a setting of +0.7 degrees. Jim Mero the GM Corvette Test Driver and Suspension Engineer recommends 0.0 degrees like the GM spec indicates. Jim is retired and a member of this forum now. He also says it should be 0.0 on each side.
One other thing. If using DSC's rear caster setting with the track alignment you will find that the rear toe is hard to set because you run out of adjustment range with the stock toe links. With the 0.0 degree setting the stock toe links have a sufficient adjustment range.
Bill
One thing about rear caster is DSC recommends a setting of +0.7 degrees. Jim Mero the GM Corvette Test Driver and Suspension Engineer recommends 0.0 degrees like the GM spec indicates. Jim is retired and a member of this forum now. He also says it should be 0.0 on each side.
One other thing. If using DSC's rear caster setting with the track alignment you will find that the rear toe is hard to set because you run out of adjustment range with the stock toe links. With the 0.0 degree setting the stock toe links have a sufficient adjustment range.
Bill
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 216
Likes: 47
From: NYC
LOVE that PDF info Bill.
DSC alignment also says only -1.5 camber for the rears...whereas our manuals say -2.0. I'm guessing that whatever magic the DSC does, it does it better with those recommendations. I recently installed the DSC. I'm driving Road Atlanta this weekend with DSC's specs. Next track days, I'll use the GM versions...see if it makes a difference.
DSC alignment also says only -1.5 camber for the rears...whereas our manuals say -2.0. I'm guessing that whatever magic the DSC does, it does it better with those recommendations. I recently installed the DSC. I'm driving Road Atlanta this weekend with DSC's specs. Next track days, I'll use the GM versions...see if it makes a difference.
Front Caster: +8.0
Front Camber: -2.8 degrees
Front Toe: 0
Rear Caster: 0
Rear Camber: -1.8 degrees
Rear Toe: In 0.1 (total)
Changing front camber to -3.0 degrees before Sebring.
GM/DSC specs are extremely mild and you'll eat those front tires up if you're going hard. Definitely more street biased. They're stealing so much potential lateral grip from those fat tires.
Last edited by Gucci Minh; Dec 2, 2020 at 12:10 PM.