I am replacing the worn out tie rods on my car this weekend, and because I will be paying for an alignment I would like to get something more lively. Its a street driven car, that will see some auto-x action when I can afford new tires.

So what should I ask for as far as a street oriented performance alignment? (I know this will contribute to tire wear, but I'd prefer not to go too crazy)

Thanks

 

camber 0 to -.50 both sides
caster 4.00 left 4.50 right
total toe 0.03

 

Does anybody agree that this is a good setup?

Pardon my ignorance, but why have more caster on the right side than the left?

Thanks

 

Here's what I've always used on my f-bodies:
max negative camber you can get up to -1 degree
max positive caster you can get
0 to 1/16 toe in
Keep all settings equal on both sides (some folks like to vary the side slightly for driver weight, but if you really want it done right have it aligned with you sitting in the car).

The toe will affect how "quick" the steering is, but will also affect how much the car follows ruts. Toe in, will minimize following ruts, while zero toe will make the steering react quicker. Personally, I think zero toe is very acceptable for a street car and keep mine set there (even with the horrible roads we have in Oklahoma).

Unless you have substantially lowered your car or have installed aftermarket A arms, you will not be able to get past .5 to 1 degree of negative camber, and will be limited to about 3.5 to 4 degrees of positive caster.

 

i own a suspension/alignment shop. this is all i do. you want caster to be higher on the right to offset the crown in the road which leans to the right. with all angles equal, the car will drift right because of the road crown. you can check on the ls1tech and ls1 boards and you'll see this is what the guys that autocross use also. some will use more negative camber and the highest caster they can. but, in the ls1 cars, the power steering pump can sometimes whine from the excessive pressure from having the caster above 5*. jim mueller can verify this. we tried it on his 98 z28. steering was real stiff as it would be, and the pump started whining. so, we reduced it to 4.50*. the specs i gave you is what i use on my 99 formula and 00 formula.

also, with jim in his car, the camber went up .05 on the left and down .05 on the right. not alot of change.

 

thanks for the explanation mrr23. that is what i will go with.

 

no prob