Wheel Alignment Readings

[Anquetil]

Had a wheel alignment this morning, and was unimpressed with the drive afterwards, any thoughts on the results below...

Post alignment symptoms

- Skwermish rear end under extreme acceleration

- Steering wheel vibrations at 100+

- Seems to tram line

- Steering wheel now crooked to the left!

Had none of these problems before going in, even with f**ked tie rods.

Before After

FRONT L R L R

Toe -4.8 -4.7 0.8 0.8

Camber -1.69 -2.48 -1.72 -2.57

Caster 7.18 6.24 7.18 6.24

King Pin 15.39 15.14 15.39 15.14

REAR

Toe 7.8 1.8 0.5 0.4

Camber -1.25 -1.41 -1.17 -1.22

Thrust Angle 0.4 0.01

Track 0.1 0.11

[salad]

Vibrations caused by wheel balance, not alignment. Maybe one of the weights was knocked off accidently?

Crooked to the left is the wheel aligner not being able to do his job right.

Cant explain the other two... It should've tramlined real bad before with almost 5mm toe out each side!

You also need a camber kit to fix the big difference in camber you have.

[Sydneykid]

Had a wheel alignment this morning, and was unimpressed with the drive afterwards, any thoughts on the results below...

Post alignment symptoms

1. Skwermish rear end under extreme acceleration

2. Steering wheel vibrations at 100+

3. Seems to tram line

4. Steering wheel now crooked to the left!

Had none of these problems before going in, even with f**ked tie rods.

Before After

FRONT L R L R

Toe -4.8 -4.7 0.8 0.8

Camber -1.69 -2.48 -1.72 -2.57

Caster 7.18 6.24 7.18 6.24

King Pin 15.39 15.14 15.39 15.14

REAR

Toe 7.8 1.8 0.5 0.4

Camber -1.25 -1.41 -1.17 -1.22

Thrust Angle 0.4 0.01

Track 0.1 0.11

By the numbers, take it back and;

1. Get them to try some toe in on the rear(around 2 mm each side) , that will help with the stability under acceleration

2. Nothing to do with wheel alignment, maybe they left a wheel loose or knocked off a balance weight. gte them to check it

3. The tyres are most likely worn from the previous shit alignment settings, it might take a few K's to settle down

4. Get then to fix it, simple adjustment

Comments on the alignment results;

A. You need a front camber kit, the difference side to side is bad. Plus it simply has too much negative camber for a road car. Around 1.0 to 1.25 degrees negative is the target.

B. Excessive camber is usually a good indicator that it is too low. What are the heights onj all 4 corners, centre of wheel to guard? If it is lower than 350 mm front and 340 mm rear then it is too low for good handling and ride.

C. The rear camber is OK, does it already have a camber kit (aside from the limited adjustment standard adjuster)?

Hope that was of some help

Merry Xmas

[Anquetil]

Yeh she is pretty low, around 330 all round (S15), and it has been raised Though I think S15's are pretty low in comparison to Skylines. Its used to scrape at factory height.

Is it possible to center the steering wheel via the rack or something, without having to test and adjust the tie rods?

With the wheel balance, I'm wondering how they could knock the weights out, arean't they within the rim?

I installed new tie rods and ends the night before the alignment, and to be honest my alignment 'by sight' felt so much better on the road, plus I had no wheel shaking at 100km+.

The car has;

FRONT

17x8" 35+

Coilovers with camber tops

Heavy duty caster rods

Hardened tie rods & ends

REAR

17x9" 32+

Upper camber arms

Heavy duty toe rods

How do these settings sound?...

FRONT

Castor: Max

Camber: -1.25

Toe: 2 out

REAR

Camber: 1.25-1.5

Toe: 2 in

[Busky2k]

I would personally advise against implementing toe out on the front for anything but track work.

For my S14 with ZEAL coilovers I use;

F: -1 camber, 0 total toe

R: -0.5 camber, 1mm total toe

Works good for me. My height settings atm are 345mm (F) and 335 mm ®.