i just dropped my car on sportlines, does anyone have a recommendation as to the alignment specs i should take? or will stock alignment work fine?

 

bump i would also like to know b/c this sunday im dropping my balt on sportlines also

 

I've got my 2.4L dropped on Sportlines and honestly, I didn't need an alignment. Some people do, some don't.

 

Lot of places will check your alignment as part of a full vehicle inspection. They can tell you if you need an alignment or not.

I dropped with Sportlines and didn't, but I know people who had to get theirs aligned after.

 

well, i KNOW you need an alignment. my steering isn't off but by half a degree, but it's important to seat the springs in their right.

i've always been told to align after a spring change, or a hock change, etc.

 

depending on how far you slam your car, you can expect camber will become slightly negative, cant be changed without mods to the car anyway... toe in will change unless you raise the rack and whatever happens you should re-set toe. You can do it yourself with a tape measure and a flat piece of ground....

 

would you mind telling me how you'd change the toe on flat ground with a tape measure?

 

i just got my sportlines in today not in my car put in the mail and the paper says stock alignment specs

 

yes hang on i will look for it. Here we go posted this in March:

depending on your drop the bump steer ( the amount the toe-in changes as the wheels go up and down) can be not nice, so normally on a lowered car , I put a 1/4 to ˝ inch shim underneath the rack block mounts using the same bolts and away you go....the shim thickness it all depends how much you have lowered your car. Too low sucks anyway... i run cobalt ss s/c springs in a redline s/c (they are lower ) and its good. But when I cut these springs and go to 26 inch ground to fender height, well then you need to think about raising the rack. But remember too low takes away from the enjoyment of the car so be careful...

you can set the toe in yourself with a tape measure and some chalk.... you need level ground, a tire pressure gauge, a nice big piece of pavement chalk, and a jack and jack stands. Make sure the car has no junk in the trunk, a half tank of gas maybe, and always use the same weights, fuel fill and place to measure your toe in.

Go inside the car make the steering wheel straight with the front wheels straight and find a way to lock the steering wheel in place. ( Rope? a girlfriend maybe holding it steady? lol) Set the car tire pressures correctly, jack the front of the car (not on the oil pan lol) put jack stands under the car, and hold the chalk against the tire (you have to make sure the chalk is set against the ground and the tire, so it doesnt wave all over the place. A screw driver can do the same job you want to make a true circumferential mark on the tire tread.

While the car is jacked up on jack stands, mark the tire rods with chalk and unlock the locking nuts ( 21mm wrench i think) and a 13 mm wrench to rotate the tire rod when u are ready.

with me so far? now jack the car down, roll it back and forth and pushdown on the front a bit to settle it. Then measure across the front tires with your tape measure (get your other girlfriend to hold one end of the tape against the tire mark you have made and you hold the other end to the other mark. THen measure from left to right the distance between your tire circumferential mark. write it down (chalk on the road he he) then measure the back of the front tires from left to right.

You want zero difference. trust me , zero. some guys will want 1/8 total toe in (smaller distance at front than at rear by 1/8th) if it makes you happy adjust to that. Loosen off the tie rod end nuts, and rotate each tie rod exactly the same amount (1/4 turn each side will do at a time) then re tighten lock nut and check the measurement again.

move each tie rod the same amount. Make small changes. Lock the nuts each time. Roll the car back and forth in between each adjustment... If you have mixed up the tie rods by turning one farther out than the other, and get lost then measure the tie rod lenth from the steering rack inner boot clamp, and adjust to make them equal length, then turn each one equally to get to zero toe

there you go let me know how it works out for you

 

^^Wow, thats one way to do it yourself.^^

Personally I know that my experience is one of the rarer on the site seeing as how I'm a tech and have access to an alignment rack. However I'd take it to someone you trust and get it aligned. Take specific numbers and get the print out. When I set my alignment I put 1.0 negative degrees of camber and .10 positive degrees of toe in the front. Its not really possible to adjust the caster without being creative. In the rear I inserted full contact shims designed for a cavalier. They work but they need to be modified slightly. I dialed in .5 negative degrees of camber and .05 negative degrees of toe. These numbers are well within the stock alignment window. Thats the trick though, most techs will not put that level of effort into an alignment for just anyone. As long as the numbers are in the green its good. Thats why I recommend someone you trust.

 

good information but i caution anyone that shimming the rear wheel bearing is risky. It has assymetrical mounting bolts, and its simply not that strong in that area; the twisting beam can crack (and does) at the hub mounting flange plate reinforcements. With the slop in the standard suspension any camber put in at the front immediately goes wildly postive when side load is put into the FLCA as the bushings are so soft, and the out rib of the tire wastes away.

 

You raise interesting arguments, the rear mounting bolts being asymmetrical shouldnt have any effect long as the mounting surface itself maintains full contact. Which is the way the shim is designed. The only thing I can think that could be put under more stress would be the studs themselves because they are ever so slightly being "bent" to accommodate the directional change of the shim upon the hub. As far as the lower control arm bushings, yes they are soft and unfortunately we cant do much about that. The rear bushing that is the one that is going to deflect the most because of its design. Just a guess but taking into account the design and movement of all parts involved in a corner the outside wheel should gain more positive toe and also gain more negative camber under load. The tire is going to grip the road and the sidewall is going to allow the contact patch to deflect from a negative camber hopefully to a near zero camber. Thats why GM calls for around a full 1.0 degree of negative camber, they're factoring in the deflection already. If your wearing the outside edge you need to dial in more negative camber.

 

assymetrical bolts - narrow on the bottom too narrow to carry a shimmed load. the only camber gain is through wheel travel camber lost thru the bushing deflection the cure is a harder bushing or a spherical joint urethane cant work here...tire rolls over suspension deflects car pushes tire wears out on outer rib....GM dont really concern themselves with racing loads in production car builds...GM performance division does concern themselves and the car is great but yet they do not sell harder bushings...they do exist....so...live with it....?