Would someone advise me of the name of the alignment shop in the Kirkland area. I saw a favorable write up of it some time ago. I have a right rear tire that's wearing on the outside edge but the left side is evenly worn. Thanks much.

 

Speedware Motorsports

 

I've used Fordahl in Bellevue. I cannot say enough good things about the work they do. Nailing him down for an appointment is really hard, but if you do get in you're going to get the best alignment there is.

 

Oh, forgot this

http://www.fordahlmotorsports.com/

 

I used:

Omni Brake & Alignment
11908 124th Ave NE
Kirkland, WA 98034
425-823-1511

They have a drive-on, in the floor, alignment rack, so there is no lifting or ramp. So there shouldn't be any clearance issues with low cars. They let me sit in the car while they did the alignment. They put the alignment numbers "right on the money" like I wanted. That costs a little extra as they have to fiddle with it more and its not a "get it done as fast as you can" job. Total cost with tax for my car was $118 back a couple of years ago. I've been very happy with the results.

- Mark

 

If you don't mind sharing Mark, what numbers were you looking for and why. This might help some of us that are less knowledgable or new to preferred Corvette alignment numbers.

Thanks!
Mike

 

Could be Cantrell? Tru Line in Bellevue is also great.

 

I also used Omni. I had my new tires shipped straight to them and had them installed and an alignment done. I don't know much about alignment numbers, but the guy asked me if I wanted a factory alignment or a more aggressive one. Since I autocross a bit I went for the aggressive alignment. So far it seems fine.

 

Patrick at Omni Brakes and Alignment and Byron at Bellevue TruLine.
Byron setup my C6 Z51 to track alignment...

 

I used Cantrell Motorsports in Kirkland for the install of my Pfadt coilovers and they did a more aggressive "corner" alignment that has felt great. I've not noticed any additional tire wear as a result. Highly recommended.

 

I autocross my car a little bit on street tires, so I wanted to maximize handling without getting too crazy. So I choose the alignment numbers recommended by Pfadt for aggressive street/moderate track. I asked Omni to put the car at -1.5 degrees camber and 0 toe in for the front and -1.0 degrees camber and 1/16 inch total toe in for the rear. My rear suspension maxed out at -0.95 degrees camber on one side, so they set the other side exactly the same. My tires have been wearing evenly. I do notice that the car wants to follow road ruts quite a bit, so that's the only down side I've noticed from this aggressive of a setup. I like the way the car feels when autocrossing, so I'm happy with the results.

The reason I say to spend the extra amount to have them set the specs
"on the money" is that if you look at GM's alignment spec, it has wide tolerances that once in the range, a regular alignment shop would call it good enough. You could end up with camber amounts that differ quite a bit on each side of the car. Maybe it doesn't matter than much, but I figure having all the numbers symmetrical from side to side should result in the best wear and handling.

If you don't push the performance of the car and aren't concerned about getting maximum tire life, then good enough is probably good enough. I certainly don't worry about this with my daily driver commuting car.

- Mark

 

Thanks Mark! Great information and I appreciate your help.

 

Thanks for more good information Aaron.

 

I won’t speculate on the OEM alignment specs on the cars when they are released from the factory as I do not know enough about it. But if you are concerned about the alignment specs then consider these from PFADT Race Engineering. I had my new tires set on the specs for Pure Street and after about 9 months of use and approximately 6k miles I’m happy with the wear pattern. I recommend you do your own research or at least double check these settings with your tire/alignment technician. If you have a C6 with the Z51 options and your car has over 15K miles I highly recommend you take a good look at the inside edge of the front tires now.
Recommended Corvette Alignment Settings



Pure Street
Front
Camber -0.8deg
Caster 8.0deg
Toe 0.0in
Rear
Camber -0.5deg
Toe 0.0in

Dual Street/Track
Front
Camber -1.2deg
Caster 5 to 8deg
Toe 0.0in
Rear
Camber -0.8deg
Toe 0.0in
Notes
For using street tires and driving to and from the track This setting will work for R-compounds at the track





Dual Street/Track – Aggressive
Front
Camber -1.6deg
Caster 5 to 8deg
Toe 0.0in
Rear
Camber -1.1deg
Toe - 1/8in
Notes
For using R-compound tires, and minimal street driving. This setting will cause wear on the inside edges of street tires

Dedicated Track Car
Front
Camber -2.5deg or more depending on testing
Caster 3 to 6deg
Toe 0.0in possibly some toe out
Rear
Camber -1.9deg or maximum even settings
Toe 0.0in try a little toe in to settle the rear
Notes
Race tires, DOT or slicks
There is no substitute for testing!

 

 

Byron at TRU-LINE in Bellevue is the best there is, bar none! Been using him for over 30 years and he consistantly delivers an outstanding job. A true professional that really knows his stuff!

 

Like most things service related, the quality of your alignment comes down to the quality of the person doing the job. Our recommended alignment specs come from a lot of testing over the years and we're really glad that people are having success with them... but a quality alignment guy can be worth his weight in gold!

 

When did he move to Bellevue? I grew up in south Seattle and used him when he had his shop on the North end of the the International District for years and years. I think I last went to him there in the early 90's, but since moving to the eastside in 1988, just thought it was too far.

Be nice to go back to him. He's as good as they come.

 

hey guys, wanted to ask have any of you found some Street Only numbers for the C5 Z06, ?

I dont track my car and running these freeways lately are a pain with the tires grabbing the ruts. I want to pull some of the Neg Camber out of the car and also get better tire life.

I popped over to PFADT and did not see any pure street numbers for the C5, I plan to go to Omni as its a few miles from the house...is Patrick still there?



Peace, B.

 

I found stock z06 alignment specs posted at http://www.z06vette.com/forums/f4/st...c5-z06-108296/ but do not know where this person obtained them.