For guys on coilovers...

[BMAC96GT]

For those that go really low, how do you get it aligned? I'm currently on Eibach sportlines w/o isos, tokico shocks/struts, MM cc's, and steeda bumpsteer kit and x2 ball joints.

I took it to get it aligned and I had to put boards underneath the front wheels to get it on the lift and when it was on the lift, the mid pipe and bottom of the engine cleared the jack on the lift by less than a centimeter.

I want to go lower with coilovers eventually but don't know how I would get it aligned lol

Thoughts?

 

[Ferocious]

I don't have my specs in front of my but I'm currently a very tiny bit of toe, max caster, and about 2.5 degrees of camber. The car drives perfectly straight and the tires wear just fine. That's all with just coilovers and cc plates, no bumpsteer, balljoints, control arms, or nada.

 

[BigBore96]

The chin spoiler is going to cause an issue. If you lower further I'd remove it and reinstall after.

How low does your exhaust hang? do you have a side picture? My car sits low and I didn't have any issues with exhaust being too close.

 

[Milehigh JDF]

I took my front bumper off and had just a tiny bit of room to clear the condenser. Once I was on the lift car caught the air jacks and dragged them all the way to the end and back. No damage was done to either it was just a pain in the ass listening to screeching as I was trying to get it on and off. Total alignment took 2 hours with 1.5 being spent getting on and then back off. Perks of working at a shop is I can just do it at the end of the day.

I would look for a shop with an in-ground alignment rack so that you don't have to worry about driving up the ramps.

 

[OnyxCobra]

well just cause you have coilovers doesn't mean your car is slammed on it's face. that's not really the purpose of coilovers. but i'd say you do have to be careful, make sure your exhaust is tucked up as high as possible.

 

[RichV]

I don't have my specs in front of my but I'm currently a very tiny bit of toe, max caster, and about 2.5 degrees of camber. The car drives perfectly straight and the tires wear just fine. That's all with just coilovers and cc plates, no bumpsteer, balljoints, control arms, or nada.

I assume you mean -2.5 deg of camber. Either that's not right, or you don't have enough miles on your tires at that setting. -2.5 will tear up tires, guess it makes a difference on the brand too.

 

[Ferocious]

I assume you mean -2.5 deg of camber. Either that's not right, or you don't have enough miles on your tires at that setting. -2.5 will tear up tires, guess it makes a difference on the brand too.

Yeah I meant -2.5 which still is absolutely nothing. My toe angle is almost dead on with what it's supposed to be. I always read that toe affects tire wear more than camber anyways. I've had these tires for about a year and a half and the wear is almost dead even all the way around.

 

[Milehigh JDF]

Yeah I meant -2.5 which still is absolutely nothing. My toe angle is almost dead on with what it's supposed to be. I always read that toe affects tire wear more than camber anyways. I've had these tires for about a year and a half and the wear is almost dead even all the way around.

I'm at -2.3 and wore almost a 90° angle into my summer tires (they were at half life already) after only a few months. I'd be amazed if yours doesn't have some sort of wear marks.

 

[RichV]

You can actually measure it relatively easily. Grab a straight edge from top to bottom of your tire while wheels are straight, use a smartphone level app.

 

[slow90coupe]

Yeah camber doesn't have as much of an effect as bad toe does. I've got -4.5 degrees of camber on my BMW and -3.5 on my WRX, both wear tires pretty good. If toe is zero, your tires will last a good while, and of course you can flip them and make them last a lot longer.


As for getting the car on the lift, raise the coilovers up until you clear the lift, then align it, then lower it back down to your preferred height after.

 

[BMAC96GT]

At slow90coupe, wouldn't lowering the car after the alignment mess with the camber setting you just had it aligned for? I guess you guys said that toe is more important for tire wear than camber then right?

 

[RichV]

Toe is important, but I don't give a shit what you guys say, anything greater than -1 kills tires. Not sure why the hell you'd need more than that on a street car. I guess it's a about the stance.

 

[OnyxCobra]

yes changing the height on coilovers does mess up the alignment. you'd have to have it set to the height you want before aligning the car.

 

[slow90coupe]

Adjusting the height after the alignment will mess with the camber.

 

[OnyxCobra]

Adjusting the height after the alignment will mess with the camber.

and toe.

 

[whiplash473]

For those that go really low, how do you get it aligned? I'm currently on Eibach sportlines w/o isos, tokico shocks/struts, MM cc's, and steeda bumpsteer kit and x2 ball joints.

I took it to get it aligned and I had to put boards underneath the front wheels to get it on the lift and when it was on the lift, the mid pipe and bottom of the engine cleared the jack on the lift by less than a centimeter.

I want to go lower with coilovers eventually but don't know how I would get it aligned lol

Thoughts?

My old man's friend's wife's brother (yes, that's a serious description) owns an frame/alignment shop that I go to for everything. All of their racks are in ground since they do a lot of RV's, fire trucks, etc so rolling up with either my car or truck isn't an issue since it's literally level with the ground. I'd say see if you can find a shop that has in-ground racks like that around you.

 

[gtsn95]

Lol mine is slammed and had to learn how to do alignment myself

 

[Wichers123]

Toe is important, but I don't give a shit what you guys say, anything greater than -1 kills tires. Not sure why the hell you'd need more than that on a street car. I guess it's a about the stance.

Camber changes the way the tire wears (inner/outer wear vs whole tire wear)not wears the tire. Toe is the only factor in how fast a tire wears.

 

[white95]

I've had these tires for about a year and a half and the wear is almost dead even all the way around.

Steven!! You drive your shit less than I do!!

 

[RichV]

Camber changes the way the tire wears (inner/outer wear vs whole tire wear)not wears the tire. Toe is the only factor in how fast a tire wears.

Again, incorrect toe does wear the tire.

Contact patch dictates where the tire wears as well.