Alignment question with pic
#16
I had the same problem at Sears. Their alignment machine would only allow them to adjust to the middle of the spec range. I was determined to achieve alignment for the best tire wear. After the 4th try, they put it on their old alignment machine and got it right. They can override the new machine, but no one there knew how to do it. I have SPC camber arms in front. SCP camber and toe bolts in the rear. I didn't need adjustable camber arms in the rear since i only have z-springs in the rear-1/2" drop. No drop in the front, but my tires were wearing very fast on the inside.
#17
It looks like they did an OK job to me? Overall your alignment angles all look good. Just be aware, give or take .5 degrees negative camber will cause some abnormal tire wear over time depending mostly on how much you drive and your driving style. If nothing else the little bit of extra negative camber will help some with handling. The negative camber you are seeing on the front and rear can only be corrected by installing some after market arms. There is no positive camber adjustment in the stock components, which is why camber looks exactly the same in the before and after alignment sheets. Personally I would consider adding some after market arms eventually, but your camber is definitely not bad enough that it needs to be done immediately.
I think your caster is fine too. If you look at the alignment sheets for both before and after, you will notice the caster is off almost porportionally from the center line equally on both sides of the car. When you are a tech performing an alignment, there are some steps you take to make sure you get acurate readings. One of the steps is after the car is on the rack, you actually need to grab the bumper (or something less breakable on a G35) and jounce the vehicle a few times to set the suspension. You do this on both the front and rear of the car. This is done so that when you take your alignment readings the suspension is resting in its most natural position. Often times techs are in a hurry and fail to do this, or just don't know to. Bottom line if you are worried about your caster angles I wouldn't be. Caster will not contribute to tire wear nearly as much as toe and camber will, especially as it is on your car currently.
I think you got an average OK alignment just like the the other 20 guys that probably had their cars done that day did. Nothing more and nothing less. Overall your wear angles look good for a lowered car on stock suspension arms.
I think your caster is fine too. If you look at the alignment sheets for both before and after, you will notice the caster is off almost porportionally from the center line equally on both sides of the car. When you are a tech performing an alignment, there are some steps you take to make sure you get acurate readings. One of the steps is after the car is on the rack, you actually need to grab the bumper (or something less breakable on a G35) and jounce the vehicle a few times to set the suspension. You do this on both the front and rear of the car. This is done so that when you take your alignment readings the suspension is resting in its most natural position. Often times techs are in a hurry and fail to do this, or just don't know to. Bottom line if you are worried about your caster angles I wouldn't be. Caster will not contribute to tire wear nearly as much as toe and camber will, especially as it is on your car currently.
I think you got an average OK alignment just like the the other 20 guys that probably had their cars done that day did. Nothing more and nothing less. Overall your wear angles look good for a lowered car on stock suspension arms.
Last edited by Silver tiburon; 06-19-2011 at 09:19 AM.
#18
It looks like they did an OK job to me? Overall your alignment angles all look good. Just be aware, give or take .5 degrees negative camber will cause some abnormal tire wear over time depending mostly on how much you drive and your driving style. If nothing else the little bit of extra negative camber will help some with handling. The negative camber you are seeing on the front and rear can only be corrected by installing some after market arms. There is no positive camber adjustment in the stock components, which is why camber looks exactly the same in the before and after alignment sheets. Personally I would consider adding some after market arms eventually, but your camber is definitely not bad enough that it needs to be done immediately.
I think your caster is fine too. If you look at the alignment sheets for both before and after, you will notice the caster is off almost porportionally from the center line equally on both sides of the car. When you are a tech performing an alignment, there are some steps you take to make sure you get acurate readings. One of the steps is after the car is on the rack, you actually need to grab the bumper (or something less breakable on a G35) and jounce the vehicle a few times to set the suspension. You do this on both the front and rear of the car. This is done so that when you take your alignment readings the suspension is resting in its most natural position. Often times techs are in a hurry and fail to do this, or just don't know to. Bottom line if you are worried about your caster angles I wouldn't be. Caster will not contribute to tire wear nearly as much as toe and camber will, especially as it is on your car currently.
I think you got an average OK alignment just like the the other 20 guys that probably had their cars done that day did. Nothing more and nothing less. Overall your wear angles look good for a lowered car on stock suspension arms.
I think your caster is fine too. If you look at the alignment sheets for both before and after, you will notice the caster is off almost porportionally from the center line equally on both sides of the car. When you are a tech performing an alignment, there are some steps you take to make sure you get acurate readings. One of the steps is after the car is on the rack, you actually need to grab the bumper (or something less breakable on a G35) and jounce the vehicle a few times to set the suspension. You do this on both the front and rear of the car. This is done so that when you take your alignment readings the suspension is resting in its most natural position. Often times techs are in a hurry and fail to do this, or just don't know to. Bottom line if you are worried about your caster angles I wouldn't be. Caster will not contribute to tire wear nearly as much as toe and camber will, especially as it is on your car currently.
I think you got an average OK alignment just like the the other 20 guys that probably had their cars done that day did. Nothing more and nothing less. Overall your wear angles look good for a lowered car on stock suspension arms.
#19
#20
Yes it does slightly. Although in theory only adjusting the toe should not affect your camber adjustment, in real life in your case it does. The reason for this is because of the position the lower control arm attaches to the rear wheel hub on the G35. The toe bolt, when rotated, actually forces the rear part of the wheel hub in and out by pulling or pushing on the lower control arm. The point where the control arm is actually mounted to the hub is to the back side of the hub, making the wheel pitch in and out in the same motion as the front wheels do as you turn the steering wheel. If you look closely though, you will notice the point where the lower control arm mounts to the hub is not only behind the center line of the wheel, but it is also below it. Because of this, the camber pitch is changed slightly when the toe bolt is rotated and the lower control arm is moved laterally. This can be fixed by adjusting both camber and toe, and then double checking your alignment angles after adjusting both together. The tech here however probably did not do this. I would assume by looking at your alignment sheets he simply adjusted the toe and left the camber be. Either that, or he attempted to adjust the camber and could not because the adjustment was already max'd out due to yourr suspension drop. Either way, the negative camber you have on the rear is nothing to be really worried about. Just as I said about your front camber, I would expect that you will experience some premature inner tire wear based on the frequency and way you drive. Otherwise, overall it looks good from what is on your sheets.
Last edited by Silver tiburon; 06-19-2011 at 11:18 AM.
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