Well I finished upgrading to LS1 brakes yesturday. Took it in for the alignment it obviously needed. It needed an alignment BEFORE I even put the LS1 brakes on. Took it to tires plus. Basicaly they cant align it becaue they have maxed out the adjustment. The right caster is a 6.48*(spec is between 4.30 and 5.30) and the left caster is at 1.06* Both are maxed and cannot be adjusted. Toe on the right is .12*(spec is -.10 to .10) and toe on the left is -2.70* . Anyone have any suggestion? Im looking into the knuckle being bent right now. Once again all adjustments on the car are maxed.

Specs
(sorry low quality, trying to make sure it will load fast)

EDIT: Forgot camber. Left -2.69* (spec -.10* to .90*) and right
-.41*

 

You must have a bent knuckle. I have heard of this problem only once before and it was do to a bent part.

 

Midas is whining about doing my alignment right now too.

They are complaining because they have to guess.

Make sure the hub is flush with the steering knuckle.

 

My alignment is not perfect on mine too. The first time i took it to Big O and they spent all afternoon with it and couldn't get it right. After that i found a performance alignment guy that has one little garage. He was able to get one side perfect and the other just slightly out. He said it was due to the Hypercoil lowering springs but that shouldn't be the problem. I also put 01 lower and upper A arms on it but im not sure if that helped or not.

 

A spindle may be bent but I would still take it somewhere else for a 2nd opinion first. Preferably to a suspension specialist vs. a tire shop. Most people at tire shops are barely qualified enough to change oil let alone do an alignment.

IMO it looks like they didn't know what the hell they were doing.
If nothing else they should be able to get the toe straight. All you have to do there is twist the tie rod in the appropriate direction and with over an inch of adjustment on each side I have a real hard time beliveing thats maxed out.

 

My alignment is in specs and about as perfect as you can get it. But I dont go to MIDAS....take it to a frame shop, someone who does this for a living and is reputable. Rule of thumb...if it has muffler, brake, shock, battery, or tire in the name, dont go there. They are 99% of the time hacks. This is my opinion, but I deal with these people everyday in my line of work. My advice....take it to a frame and chassis shop.

Q

 

It takes a good amound to bend either-
i'm sure you would know have known as soon as you hit that mountain

 

When I did the swap, I got one knuckle that was quite badly bent. It is not something you will notice when the knuckle is in your hands. Once it is on the car and the wheel is installed, you may be able to notice, or it may take an alignment specialist to notice it.

So, look for bent knuckles.

 

How could I check for bent knuckles? Im using the LS1 hub. And me and my bro noticed as we got it home they didnt pop the hood(not saying they should of) and I have a STB.....more importantly an adjustable STB. There is a good possibility I had it over tightened. And remember I said my alignment was messed up before the LS1 brakes. I had tried to get an alignment before the LS1 brakes but they said I needed a new hub...which I replaced....aquired my ls1 setup....then I got into a car accident in another car(I was messed up good) so I put my Z into early storage(early september). So the brake upgrade may or may not have anything to do with it.

 

*cough*

 

Update: There is a 1/4 of an inch change in the distance between the inner lower edges of the rim when I remove the STB. These measurements were taken with the weight of the car on the wheels.

 

Take the car to somebody who REALLY knows the stuff, not a 18 year old kid. (No offense to the 18 year olds) Tell the mech. the whole story, including the part about how these knuckles should be NO different from the originals, in terms of alignment concerns.