Alignment question
This is after I slammed it with new aftermarket bolts.
I have a slight push when accelerating to the right that's causing me concern. Steering wheel about 1 degree to the right. Also, if i'm going 30-40mph and I brake to a stop, the steering wheel also pulls to the right about 2-3 degrees when I stop.
The shop couldn't diagnose it without charging, but I made them check again and they adjusted the toe to get the steering wheel a bit more center. Granted, they did not have the rear caster tool.
They said maybe a tire, but they're new or maybe a stuck caliper.
Could this be rear caster cause?
Also, with such negative camber, am I going to eat up the insides of my tires again or is the toe ok to compensate?
Also, looks like left rear is toed out. Might want to correct that. If right side is toed-in and left is toed-out, could push the car off.
If car is pulling and you suspect a tire, try swapping tires from one side of the car to the other just to see if it changes.
As mentioned above, front and rear caster need to be close to the same, or it can cause the car to steer in one direction.
I usually get it backwards, but I think on the front, the car will drift towards the side with the most positive caster.
Too much cross-caster can make a vehicle pull or lead towards the side that has the least (negative) caster.
Positive is toward the rear of the car.
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Jul 13, 2017 at 10:51 AM.
Also, looks like left rear is toed out. Might want to correct that. If right side is toed-in and left is toed-out, could push the car off.
If car is pulling and you suspect a tire, try swapping tires from one side of the car to the other just to see if it changes.
As mentioned above, front and rear caster need to be close to the same, or it can cause the car to steer in one direction.
I usually get it backwards, but I think on the front, the car will drift towards the side with the most positive caster.
Too much cross-caster can make a vehicle pull or lead towards the side that has the least (negative) caster.
Positive is toward the rear of the car.
As far as negative camber, I think they tried to get the specs as close to what I provided that DSC recommended for street and light track. I'm probably never going to track and will get this back in check the next time. Most important thing I want to fix is tire wear. The stock specs ended up chewing up the insides of my first set of tires at 10k miles. Probably due to lowering on stock bolts without proper alignment. But, dealer checked and it was "green and go" I guess.
This is after I slammed it with new aftermarket bolts.
I have a slight push when accelerating to the right that's causing me concern. Steering wheel about 1 degree to the right. Also, if i'm going 30-40mph and I brake to a stop, the steering wheel also pulls to the right about 2-3 degrees when I stop.
The shop couldn't diagnose it without charging, but I made them check again and they adjusted the toe to get the steering wheel a bit more center. Granted, they did not have the rear caster tool.
They said maybe a tire, but they're new or maybe a stuck caliper.
Could this be rear caster cause?
Also, with such negative camber, am I going to eat up the insides of my tires again or is the toe ok to compensate?
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Find a shop that knows what they're doing and follow the DSC street alignment specs exactly:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...d9b1d8b276.jpg
Personally I run the DSC 'Track' specs and I'm not experiencing any problems with uneven wear. YMMV.
Bish
Last edited by thebishman; Jul 13, 2017 at 03:09 PM.




Your pull could be the combination of small differences in each of the settings. Front toe doesn't cause pull but it will cause the steering wheel to look off center as the two front wheels balance the forces between them.
If camber is the cause of your pull, it will always pull to the side with more camber (from negative to positive). If your car has .5 degrees negative camber on one side and 1 degree negative camber on the other side it will pull to the .5 degree side (since -.5 is more than -1).
If caster is the cause of your pull, it will always pull to the side with less caster (from negative to positive).
Looking at your front camber and caster readings it looks like the right side has more camber (it is less negative) and it has slightly less caster as well. That should cause some slight pull to the right.
Take a look at your thrust angle. It is slightly toward the left side of the car due to the left rear wheel being toed out a little far or the right side rear wheel not being toed out enough. Basically, the rear wheel thrust direction is pointed slightly to the left which will cause the car to turn right under acceleration and to turn left when decelerating by lifting off the throttle.
Just driving down the road at neutral throttle the car will have a small tendency to want to rotate clockwise around a vertical line drawn through its center. However, is that tendency really large enough for you to notice? I doubt rear caster has anything to do with what is happening since you aren't turning the car. I drove my car on track with a track alignment for a year without knowing what the rear caster was. When I finally was able to measure it the caster was ~+0.4 on the driver's side and ~-0.5 on the passenger side. On the highway the car drove straight as an arrow with that setup.
Under acceleration the thrust angle may have enough influence to cause the car to turn more right and under hard braking the front tire alignment may do the same thing. However, these things are very small since the alignment looks like it is as close to dead nuts from a cross camber, cross caster and thrust angle stand point as a good technician can get it.
Major influences on your car's behavior could be to other things at the right front corner. Tire Inflation pressure, rolling resistance, etc. Brake caliper issue or a wheel bearing issue.
Bill
Your pull could be the combination of small differences in each of the settings. Front toe doesn't cause pull but it will cause the steering wheel to look off center as the two front wheels balance the forces between them.
If camber is the cause of your pull, it will always pull to the side with more camber (from negative to positive). If your car has .5 degrees negative camber on one side and 1 degree negative camber on the other side it will pull to the .5 degree side (since -.5 is more than -1).
If caster is the cause of your pull, it will always pull to the side with less caster (from negative to positive).
Looking at your front camber and caster readings it looks like the right side has more camber (it is less negative) and it has slightly less caster as well. That should cause some slight pull to the right.
Take a look at your thrust angle. It is slightly toward the left side of the car due to the left rear wheel being toed out a little far or the right side rear wheel not being toed out enough. Basically, the rear wheel thrust direction is pointed slightly to the left which will cause the car to turn right under acceleration and to turn left when decelerating by lifting off the throttle.
Just driving down the road at neutral throttle the car will have a small tendency to want to rotate clockwise around a vertical line drawn through its center. However, is that tendency really large enough for you to notice? I doubt rear caster has anything to do with what is happening since you aren't turning the car. I drove my car on track with a track alignment for a year without knowing what the rear caster was. When I finally was able to measure it the caster was ~+0.4 on the driver's side and ~-0.5 on the passenger side. On the highway the car drove straight as an arrow with that setup.
Under acceleration the thrust angle may have enough influence to cause the car to turn more right and under hard braking the front tire alignment may do the same thing. However, these things are very small since the alignment looks like it is as close to dead nuts from a cross camber, cross caster and thrust angle stand point as a good technician can get it.
Major influences on your car's behavior could be to other things at the right front corner. Tire Inflation pressure, rolling resistance, etc. Brake caliper issue or a wheel bearing issue.
Bill
Do you think I should just take it to the place that can do rear caster and tell them to fix it. I hate having to spend more money, but I might have to.
Last edited by EMINENT 1; Jul 13, 2017 at 05:21 PM.





Have the steering angle recalibrated and check it is all tight. Your alignment numbers should not cause a pull issue. Its happens to not tighten up one of eccentrics in the suspension enough and one bump could shift it out of spec. I've seen it happen many times. We mark them to easily spot movement or better yet install a AMT plate kit, problem solved!




Have the steering angle recalibrated and check it is all tight. Your alignment numbers should not cause a pull issue. Its happens to not tighten up one of eccentrics in the suspension enough and one bump could shift it out of spec. I've seen it happen many times. We mark them to easily spot movement or better yet install a AMT plate kit, problem solved!
If you have a fairly level garage floor (from side to side) you can use some cheap vinyl floor tiles from a home supply store to level the car from side to side and then use a 2 ft long digital level to check camber at each wheel. If the camber you read is close to what your printout reads that would indicate the cams haven't slipped.
Bill
Have the steering angle recalibrated and check it is all tight. Your alignment numbers should not cause a pull issue. Its happens to not tighten up one of eccentrics in the suspension enough and one bump could shift it out of spec. I've seen it happen many times. We mark them to easily spot movement or better yet install a AMT plate kit, problem solved!
If you have a fairly level garage floor (from side to side) you can use some cheap vinyl floor tiles from a home supply store to level the car from side to side and then use a 2 ft long digital level to check camber at each wheel. If the camber you read is close to what your printout reads that would indicate the cams haven't slipped.
Bill
The first thing I do is take a paint pen and mark the cam and bolt position on the frame to make sure nothing has changed over time.
I notice now when I accelerate the car wants to push to the left and when braking pull to the right still.
Will probably take it in within the next two weeks.
Last edited by EMINENT 1; Aug 12, 2017 at 03:30 PM.












