Car aligned but then coilovers adjusted...

[Chevy]

I am going through the process of getting my car legal in the state of hawaii and since it's modified have to go through a process called Recon to prove it's safe. They require stock suspension alignment but since i did the DSE coilover conversion i convinced them the DSE recommended specs would be best. I had to prove it had been aligned within 30 days so i had it aligned and then went to tech inspection.

Well, when i was at the tech inspection, they wanted the front end raised a little from where i had it. So, last weekend, i pulled the tires and calipers off, dropped the lower control arms to remove the coilovers, and raised the front end 0.300". How much does this effect the alignment, and do i have to have it re-aligned for top performance? Anyone know in what direction alignment will be off?

Thanks!

[MonzaRacer]

You should need to readjust toe at bare minimum but the camber can be changed some.

[chicane67]

WOW... that sucks to hear that you have to go through all that crap... just to adjust the coil-overs.

Does the 0.300" adjustment change the alignment ?? Yup, it sure does... but not enough that you could not drive it.

Does the 0.300" adjustment require it to be realigned for "top performance" ?? It should be. Like I said, it wont be too far off of what you had it set to... but it will none the less... be misaligned. It wouldnt be a bad idea to change it. Hopefully the alignment shop will work with you and just do a cheapy re-align... I know most shops would, given the short amount of time it has been since you got it done.

Its hard to say which way it whould have gone, not knowing what you had it set to initially... but I would guess that it rolled out a little more positive camber-wise... caster would be very, very little... and toe maybe a 64th.

Sure would have been A LOT easier if the shocks were mounted correctly... wouldnt it ??

[GetMore]

You will only have to go through this "recon" once, right?

I'm guessing, but I don't think it'll throw the alignment outside spec, so you should be okay.
Once you pass inspection drop it back down that .300", unless you like it higher.

[chicane67]

Excellent idea...

[Chevy]

WOW... that sucks to hear that you have to go through all that crap... just to adjust the coil-overs.

Does the 0.300" adjustment change the alignment ?? Yup, it sure does... but not enough that you could not drive it.

Does the 0.300" adjustment require it to be realigned for "top performance" ?? It should be. Like I said, it wont be too far off of what you had it set to... but it will none the less... be misaligned. It wouldnt be a bad idea to change it. Hopefully the alignment shop will work with you and just do a cheapy re-align... I know most shops would, given the short amount of time it has been since you got it done.

Its hard to say which way it whould have gone, not knowing what you had it set to initially... but I would guess that it rolled out a little more positive camber-wise... caster would be very, very little... and toe maybe a 64th.

Sure would have been A LOT easier if the shocks were mounted correctly... wouldnt it ??

Um, i followed the directions PERFECTLY, Chicane, honest! I'm POSITIVE the shocks were mounted correctly!
:angel:

[Chevy]

You will only have to go through this "recon" once, right?

I'm guessing, but I don't think it'll throw the alignment outside spec, so you should be okay.
Once you pass inspection drop it back down that .300", unless you like it higher.

Well, i actually have to go back there two more times at least, but technically, i'm not supposed to face double jeopardy on the front suspension set-up...doesn't mean i won't.

BUT, that being said, both front tires had witness marks on them from hitting the wheel well (they're 245r45 17s) and my front spoiler rubs on the ground quite a bit around town...so raising it a little probably wasn't a bad idea.

I called DSE to see if they could recommend an optimal setting, but they won't make a recommendation. The little card that came with the springs recommended a preload of 1 inch, so i started there...now they are proloaded about 1.4 in. I'm not entirely sure about where it is now versus where i'd really like it...i guess i'll have to drive it a little first. Since i just got the car assembled and it still isn't street legal i've been driving it like a granny so probably i won't know anything until i can get it to the SCCA track. But can't do that until it's street legal...

Alignment shop is Lex Brodie, not sure if they will give a discount on another alignment within 30 days. They are a chain here on the island but it's a small chain and they treat you pretty good. Good thing, because I guess i'm going back.

[chicane67]

Um, i followed the directions PERFECTLY, Chicane, honest! I'm POSITIVE the shocks were mounted correctly!

I know... I know... the sarcasm wasnt directed towards you. But maybe it was towards those who cant even give you a "starting point" for a simple alignment.

Sound kinda suspect to me. :hmm:

[Chevy]

I know... I know... the sarcasm wasnt directed towards you. But maybe it was towards those who cant even give you a "starting point" for a simple alignment.

Sound kinda suspect to me. :hmm:

Just playing with you Chicane, i know who you were directing it at. :naughty:

Honestly, this is my first project car so i don't have a point of reference as to how good the product is relative to others out there. They really weren't that hard to adjust, but would have been a hell a lot easier if you could just reach in with a spanner and move it up or down. And it would be nice if they gave a little more guidance, but if they did i'd prolly just follow it and never learn anything...

[Van B]

I know... I know... the sarcasm wasnt directed towards you. But maybe it was towards those who cant even give you a "starting point" for a simple alignment.

Sound kinda suspect to me. :hmm:

Or to the company who doesn't tell you that you will have to break the ball joint every time to adjust ride height.

[BRIAN]

Is that true that DSE won't give you alignment specs?? Is this because you altered from their optimal height??? Sounds odd they have been helpful on the phone when I have called with questions.



If they are brand new screw them up the extra heght as they will settle back down anyway.

[Van B]

They gave me alignment specs.

Camber -.5* to -1.0*
Caster +2* to +4*
Toe 0 to 3/32 toe in

[Chevy]

Is that true that DSE won't give you alignment specs?? Is this because you altered from their optimal height??? Sounds odd they have been helpful on the phone when I have called with questions.



If they are brand new screw them up the extra heght as they will settle back down anyway.

No, i want to be clear to those following this thread--they DO provide alignment specs (as Van pointed out) but they DO NOT provide a recommendation for ride height. The problem is that if you set up your car and have it aligned but then need to change ride height for any reason (like you have the hot rod police up your bottom as we do here in Hawaii) then you need to have the car re-aligned. And, as Chicane pointed out, you have to drop your LAA every time you want to change ride height.

They are always courteous and helpful when i call, that hasn't ever been an issue as far as i know. There are, however, some that think the design is not all it's cracked up to be. But opinions vary widely even amung people who really know what they are talking about, and isn't that the point of a forum like this?

I don't claim to be experienced enough to know the quality of their product versus others and have not had them on the track side by side. What i can say is that they have been helpful, but it would have been easier for me if i: A) didn't have to drop the ball joint out of the LAA every time i wanted to change ride height, and B) would have had more guidance from them regarding ride height before having the car aligned.

But then i'm sure there are drawbacks to the competitive products as well.

For those of you still following the original content of the thread, i just found out i have to do some travel for work so i'll have to re-schedule my follow-up Recon inspection and then after that i'll have it re-aligned. I'll post here how much it was off for those of you interested.

Thanks again for the input from everyone.

[ItsA68]

this is probably a stupid question, but who's coilover kit requires that you drop the LCA every time you want to change the ride height? That doesn't even make sense to me... :confused: I just ordered the ATS kit yesterday, and didn't even ask the question, as I assumed it would be easy to do without taking anything apart....

[Van B]

this is probably a stupid question, but who's coilover kit requires that you drop the LCA every time you want to change the ride height? That doesn't even make sense to me... :confused: I just ordered the ATS kit yesterday, and didn't even ask the question, as I assumed it would be easy to do without taking anything apart....

DSE kit for stock subframe.

[hotrdblder]

worst design ever, what the hell is th point of a coil over anyway?

[chicane67]

I just ordered the ATS kit yesterday, and didn't even ask the question, as I assumed it would be easy to do without taking anything apart....

Well... if it's designed correctly, you dont have to take anything apart to adjust the package.

Thankfully... the ATS Chicane LM kit was designed correctly. Or my name isnt Chicane... :fingersx:

I didnt do it though. Shane was the master squirrel on this one.

[ItsA68]

I learned quite a bit just talking to the ATS guys for a few minutes when making my order. Got good direction for my car project, a tip on who to use locally for some work I need on my car, and a pointer toward the correct welding machine. I should call them more often! :D I can't believe I've been reading this board for this long, and didn't realize that the DSE setup needed to be taken apart for adjustment. I need to spend more time here. Have recently been getting back into my project, and lurking more, but never knew this. Since I already had the tall ATS spindles, It wasn't recommended to go the DSE coilover route anyway, Unless I was going to move the UCA mount points back to stock, which is more work. Prolly best to stick with one company for the whole schebang anyway. I'm sure DSE had some reason to do their coilover setup this way, and most likely folks don't adjust it often once its installed anyway.

[chicane67]

Yeah... Kyle has his reasons and his stuff works increadibly well... its just a pain to adjust.