I put in my new Pro Touring Fbody Upper Arms and the passenger side which already had like 3/4" of shims under it now with the car on the ground and the shims that were in the stock arm in the same locations with the new arms the tire is obviously tilted out at the top. That is Positive caster right.. Seems like dave told me to set it at -1 .... The shaft is offset on the arms so do I need to roll the shaft 180 degrees on the studs and put it back to get rid of some of the shims ? I am taking it to the alignment shop tomorrow and was hoping to get a an answer on this so if I need to flip it I can do it myself here and save them the trouble and me the added expense...
NOT A TA
12-03-2009, 07:12 PM
I put in my new Pro Touring Fbody Upper Arms and the passenger side which already had like 3/4" of shims under it now with the car on the ground and the shims that were in the stock arm in the same locations with the new arms the tire is obviously tilted out at the top. That is Positive caster right.. Seems like dave told me to set it at -1 .... The shaft is offset on the arms so do I need to roll the shaft 180 degrees on the studs and put it back to get rid of some of the shims ? I am taking it to the alignment shop tomorrow and was hoping to get a an answer on this so if I need to flip it I can do it myself here and save them the trouble and me the added expense...
Did you bounce the car and roll it a bit? Sometimes when you just lower it the tires will be like that.
If you bounced and rolled then it sounds like you need to flip the control arm shafts. you should have less shims with the offset shafts.
rixtrix1
12-03-2009, 09:11 PM
If shafts are offset, you need to put the offset to the inside of the car, i.e. the bushings are more to the inside of the mount than the shaft. Tire tilted out at the top is positive "camber". Your spec is probably on the negative, or tilted in at the top, and yes, you need to roll the car back and forth several feet when making an adjustment to settle the suspension, unless you have the front wheels on turntables( for which a good jounce on the front will settle the suspension. You will still need to install more shims on the rear bolt than the front to put more positive "caster" in the suspension. Probably need a couple 1/8" shims in the front and 4-5 1/8" shims in the rear to start. Toe-in needs to be roughed in fairly close to give you an accurate picture od where the wheels are actually sitting. Just runa tape measure from the same tread groove on one front tire to the other, take a reading, then repeat on the rear. The difference is close to you toe-in , or toe-out. Make sure you have the steering wheel centered and held in place when adjusting. You can also sight down each side of the car and compare each front tire to the rear one to see how well the tires are centerd off the vehicle centerline. If the toe is off, adjust the tire that looks to be the most different. When you get the front measurement to be about 1/16" less than the rear and each side looks about the same, you probably have it kinda close. Make sure to roll the car back and forward after all adjustments. Only take a reading after a forward roll, as this is how the car goes down the road( or track ). Note: this is just a quickie, backyard synopsis of an alignment, but should get you close. Hope this helps a little. Good luck!
I took it for a short test drive before taking the picture. I guess I'll end up paying to have it done thanks for the insight on the deal. It I'd toed in about 1/8th inch now I think.