Did I mess up my alignment?

[wilsonp]

I just had my car aligned and after reading the FAQ and searching, I am still confused.

I set the Camber to -1.2 each side according to a few recommendations, but that is not factory.

What should I be worried about?

Also the guy couldn't figure out how to adjust Caster, but it was already 7.9/8 anyway, and the Hunter machine is in inches!

He couldn't adjust the rear less than -1.4 Camber so I just set that the same.

 

[Lud]

That is a lot of negative camber on the front. Unless you are thrashing it at the track you are going to wear the inside edge of your front tires very quickly.

Rear is in spec.

 

[wilsonp]

Originally posted by Lud:
That is a lot of negative camber on the front. Unless you are thrashing it at the track you are going to wear the inside edge of your front tires very quickly.

Rear is in spec.

The Tech Session by Don Erb in the FAQ recommended the -1.25 to -1.5 for street driving. A number of other posts did too, but I think I'll get it re-aligned when I take it to Acura - and hopefully have the steering wheel straightened.

I was going to do the less aggressive save tires alignment since I have all season tires (came with car) right now, but when the tech couldn't get above -1.4 on the rear, I went with the factory settings (I thought).



[This message has been edited by wilsonp (edited 04 December 2002).]

 

[Lud]

I believe Don's suggestions are to optimize the car for performance driving. If you are trying to optimize "regular" street driving, less camber up front will make your tires wear more evenly.

Your rear camber is OK... The less aggressive setting in the rear is to go closer to 0 toe.

 

[sjs]

I agree with Lud except that by reducing front negative they will likely wear more slowly that the rear. So unless you plan to buy more of the same tire you might as well save you money and let all four wear out together. (I always go through two rear sets per front set and my specs are roughly 2x of yours at both ends.)

 

[wilsonp]

Originally posted by sjs:
I agree with Lud except that by reducing front negative they will likely wear more slowly that the rear. So unless you plan to buy more of the same tire you might as well save you money and let all four wear out together. (I always go through two rear sets per front set and my specs are roughly 2x of yours at both ends.)

Yeah, the car came with the All Seasons on it (front ones brand new). I plan to get OEM tires come summer so as long as they last me through the winter...

Thanks, guys!