Is Caster Alignment Necessary?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 210
Likes: 65
From: Calabasas, CA
Is Caster Alignment Necessary?
Simple question, is it necessary to get my caster aligned when having a four wheel alignment (toe and camber) completed? I've called a few alignment shops and they were all surprised to hear that I wanted my caster aligned and seemed to indicate that all they needed to do was align toe and camber. They essentially were saying that as long as caster was aligned properly out of the factory, there is no need to touch it. I don't track my car and all I'm going for with the alignment is a slightly aggressive street setup.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 837
Likes: 388
From: Olathe KS
Yes, you should have the rear caster checked any time the rear alignment is changed. It should be set around 0.0 to 0.8, closer to 0.0 is better for typical street driving imho. They are probably saying that because they can't do it. You need a special tool to measure the angle for the rear caster which a typical tire/wheel shop won't have unless they do lots of C7s. Most cars don't have an adjustable rear caster and their hunter alignment machine won't measure it (only front caster) so they're probably not even tracking with what you are asking for. Take it to a place that can measure and set it properly.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 407
From: Mason Ohio
Agreed. 99.9% of alignment shops will tell you rear caster is not measurable or able to be set. The alignment machine cant read it. The tooling required is a fixture that slides into your rear spindles, and an accurate angle gauge.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,080
Likes: 407
From: Mason Ohio
You are not wrong. With that said, if a shop is telling you that front caster doesnt need adjusted or set, then run away from that shop.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,587
Likes: 873
YES! I would get rear caster verified always on these cars. Mine came from factory with + on the passenger, and - value on the driver's side. This lead to the car rear snapping hard to the driver's side on hard launches, very violently I may add and gave me unusual tire wear in the middle of the passenger tire as the toe distorted significantly under load because of this. This made my Z06 terrifying even with the traction control full on as it'd have to recover hard from this every single hard launch
Last edited by SladeX; Aug 30, 2021 at 05:55 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Simple question, is it necessary to get my caster aligned when having a four wheel alignment (toe and camber) completed? I've called a few alignment shops and they were all surprised to hear that I wanted my caster aligned and seemed to indicate that all they needed to do was align toe and camber. They essentially were saying that as long as caster was aligned properly out of the factory, there is no need to touch it. I don't track my car and all I'm going for with the alignment is a slightly aggressive street setup.
If you are talking about rear caster you will run into a lot of confusion about that since it isn't a common measurement/adjustment on production vehicles. I only know of 3 production vehicles ever made that have adjustable rear caster, the Pontiac Solstice, the Saturn Skye and any C7 Corvette. Rear caster changes with camber in the rear as well.
In the case of rear caster, measurement requires special tools that aren't part of an alignment machine and without those tools the shop can't properly set rear caster. If all they do is measure and then set rear camber they have no idea what happened to the rear caster when they changed the camber.
Even Chevrolet Dealers have issues with rear caster although it is specified in the Factory Service Manual and the measurement/adjustment procedure is described in the same manual. A lot of us purchased our own rear caster adapters and measurement gauges and use them to set rear caster. I have even loaned my tools to the dealer mechanic so he could adjust the rear caster for me.
Bill
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 210
Likes: 65
From: Calabasas, CA
Thanks for all the great feedback. I called the dealership and they confirmed they could do the alignment. Should I confirm with the technician that they have the necessary tools? It's Rydell Chevrolet in Woodland Hill, CA.
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Michael S. Palmer
Tech Contributor
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Here is the GM Bulletin Advising Dealers on how to set the Track Alignment, How to adjust Rear Caster and Camber starts on Page 3:
Page 1
Page 2
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Page 5
The procedure to adjust rear caster and camber is the same procedure called out in the Factory Service Manual. The only difference between this bulletin and the alignment described in the Factory Service Manual is the specified numbers for Camber, Caster and Toe.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; Aug 31, 2021 at 04:09 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
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From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)