HS alignment data

[AnimalMother]

Post your HS alignment numbers or printouts please.

I've done a few "driveway-diy" alignments to see what works. I'm curious to see what other HS'ers are doing. I am aware of the alignment limits of the FiST... so this should be short.

I don't need your opinions, or a brief on the rules, or instructions on how to search, or tips on anything really... just the data from those that actively autocross competitively, within HS, thank you.

 

[2fast]

I got a lifetime alignment at firestone so i can fuck with it whenever i feel like.

as of now i went to .1 total TOE IN up front with as much camber and caster as i could get from the strut mounts.

so .05 a side of toe in. I went this route as i still daily this car and didn't want to ruin the tires put putting around town.

i have since taken 1 3rd, 2 2nds, and a 1st in pax in the events since the alignment and re71's

 

[AnimalMother]

What is your camber and caster?

 

[Reaper]

It sounds like you already know there's hardly any alignment to be done within H-Street rules. All you can do for camber is take the slop out of the bolts. No big deal, and not worth taking a measurement.

You're just going to be dealing with toe out and tire pressures. I use 1/8" out if I'm driving to the event and have played with 1/4" and 3/8" out when trailering. Didn't do much for me -- always just came down to my driving. For my 205/45-16 RE-71R's I use between 35 and 40 front and +5 to +10 rear. Slippery tracks get the lower end, high grip tracks get the higher end. Other tires likely need something different.

 

[awwwww_shift]

-1.2 Camber up front
1/16" toe out in front
Fiesta titanium fsb

35F 42R cold pressures. Adjust as tires heat up and balance changes. 205/50-16 RE-71R's on Sparcos.

Basically, slam as much negative camber into the front as you can, and adjust toe based on your sway bar setup for overall grip.

 

[AnimalMother]

-1.2 Camber up front
1/16" toe out in front

Thank you.

 

[M-Sport fan]

-1.2 Camber up front
1/16" toe out in front
Fiesta titanium fsb

35F 42R cold pressures. Adjust as tires heat up and balance changes. 205/50-16 RE-71R's on Sparcos.

Basically, slam as much negative camber into the front as you can, and adjust toe based on your sway bar setup for overall grip.

You were able to get an (even on both sides) 1.2* negative front camber out of a STOCK, non-bolted/slotted front FiST strut setup??

 

[awwwww_shift]

You were able to get an (even on both sides) 1.2* negative front camber out of a STOCK, non-bolted/slotted front FiST strut setup??

Actually had 1.5'ish on one side, but decided to even things up for better results. No bolts, no grinding. OTS Koni Sport struts.

 

[Reaper]

Not saying it's the case here, but if it were shown that an OTS Koni gave better camber than OE, it would be found illegal.

From 15.5C (shocks): "This does not allow unauthorized changes in suspension geometry or changes in attachment points"

 

[awwwww_shift]

Not saying it's the case here, but if it were shown that an OTS Koni gave better camber than OE, it would be found illegal.

From 15.5C (shocks): "This does not allow unauthorized changes in suspension geometry or changes in attachment points"

The replacement shock does neither. That rule was to prevent additional gains to be had from upper strut mounts being altered, or lower mounting being altered.
FWIW, all of the local autox FiSTs are around this 1.2-1.3 number.
YMMV.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I wonder what is the camber 'spec range' stated right in the factory tech shop manual for the factory struts (whether or not they could even reach that 'max', but still 'in spec' range or not)?

 

[Reaper]

http://www.4dsonly.com/AlignSpec.html

Pretty wide on front negative camber. But they didn't give us any legal way to get there.

 

[M-Sport fan]

http://www.4dsonly.com/AlignSpec.html

Pretty wide on front negative camber. But they didn't give us any legal way to get there.

THANKS!!

I just wanted to make sure that -.5, or even -.75 is fully possible on the factory struts when I tell a shop what I want it set to, evenly.

 

[Solort]

I would max out the camber at home, then either adjust the toe yourself ( I have a toe bar that is accurate to 1/16 inch total toe) or get someone to adjust toe and leave your camber alone.

I do all my own autocross alignments with toe bar and camber gauge.

 

[awwwww_shift]

I would max out the camber at home, then either adjust the toe yourself ( I have a toe bar that is accurate to 1/16 inch total toe) or get someone to adjust toe and leave your camber alone.

I do all my own autocross alignments with toe bar and camber gauge.

This depends on your driving style and how the car reacts to the difference in "Max Camber". I'll always lean towards getting an actual alignment, as I've experienced 1+ degree split on some cars between sides, and that makes things very interesting trying to compensate for that difference in other setup adjustments.

Also, one other thing to keep in mind when swapping shocks, is that most aftermarket shocks have some camber adjustment built into their construction, to account for every car being different. So while I may have seen -1.5 on my car, that may translate to -0.9 on your car with the same shocks. Until you get to coilovers, or a class that allows for more variation in adjustment methods, my luck has always been max out both sides, then adjust down the higher number to make them more equal.

 

[Solort]

This depends on your driving style and how the car reacts to the difference in "Max Camber". I'll always lean towards getting an actual alignment, as I've experienced 1+ degree split on some cars between sides, and that makes things very interesting trying to compensate for that difference in other setup adjustments.

Also, one other thing to keep in mind when swapping shocks, is that most aftermarket shocks have some camber adjustment built into their construction, to account for every car being different. So while I may have seen -1.5 on my car, that may translate to -0.9 on your car with the same shocks. Until you get to coilovers, or a class that allows for more variation in adjustment methods, my luck has always been max out both sides, then adjust down the higher number to make them more equal.

I have found that most places that do alignments will not do all the tricks necessary to max neg camber on our "net build" suspensions. I used to big discrepancies in older cars, but if you start out with a straight car with unmodified struts and towers, that max camber on both sides will be close to each other. And I want the most neg camber for my SCCA Street class car i can get ( which is usually very little). For autocross, most on each side (even with up to 0.5 difference) works best for me. Road racing may be different. But, to each their own. I will never leave my alignment in the hands of the "technician of the week". That's why I do my own with camber and total toe measurements. Cheers!

 

[Reaper]

^^Agree. For those who want to play but have no tools, I recommend the LongAcre toe plates, $50-ish

https://www.amazon.com/Longacre-795...494944818&sr=8-1&keywords=longacre+toe+plates

 

[awwwww_shift]

I have found that most places that do alignments will not do all the tricks necessary to max neg camber on our "net build" suspensions. I will never leave my alignment in the hands of the "technician of the week". That's why I do my own with camber and total toe measurements. Cheers!

If you haven't found a shop you trust with your car, I can understand this. I'm fortunate enough to have quite a few top caliber shops within a quick drive for me, whom I trust with my car.
That said, a good tech is hard to find in most areas. I got lucky finding the people I have in the MKE motorsports community.

 

[M-Sport fan]

If you haven't found a shop you trust with your car, I can understand this. I'm fortunate enough to have quite a few top caliber shops within a quick drive for me, whom I trust with my car.
That said, a good tech is hard to find in most areas. I got lucky finding the people I have in the MKE motorsports community.

Some of us do not have the allowed space where we live to do this ourselves, let alone the; skill set, tools, etc., to get this job done correctly.

So we are forced to find a trustworthy, performance oriented shop to do this for us, and pay whatever it takes to get the settings we want. (I am sure that R/T Tuning near me gets at least $150.00 for a 'performance alignment.)

 

[awwwww_shift]

Some of us do not have the allowed space where we live to do this ourselves, let alone the; skill set, tools, etc., to get this job done correctly.

So we are forced to find a trustworthy, performance oriented shop to do this for us, and pay whatever it takes to get the settings we want. (I am sure that R/T Tuning near me gets at least $150.00 for a 'performance alignment.)

Looking at their website, the $95 jobber is all you need. there is no rear adjustments, and you're not "lowered", so oem it is. And a shop like that should be able to set your adjustments to anything you'd like(within reason of course). And to be honest, $100 for a quality alignment is money well spent.

Once you add a coilover setup to the mix, $300-$400 depending on the area is reasonable for a corner-weight adjustment and alignment.

Hope that helps.