Alignment basics

[BlkWRXWag]

Just bought a new '06 STI. The car pulled to the left--and I am not talking about torque steer.

The dealer "swapped tires left to right" and this seems to have eliminated the problem.

My question: Didn't I just put a defective tire on the other side of my car? Should I insist on new tires if it was a tire problem causing the pull?

I would be grateful for any advice and experiences from the greatest group of car owners on the PLANET!

Thanks everyone.

David

I would not be happy with that. When I bought my 06 STI, I insisted that they align the car to my specs before I picked it. Have them align it and give you the numbers Ask for max. camber up front and zero toe all round. Insist on seeing the print outs. If the car still pulls, get those tires checked and insist on a new set if necessary. The car should be perfect when you leave the lot - anything else is unacceptable

[Big Sky WRX]

I'd closely examine the tire for any undo wear (this would be indicative of possible alignment problems)- also keep a eye on the tire that swapped into the new location- to insure it doesn't wear funny.

If the tire was defective- usually you'd have problems on both sides.

[dsheehan]

Thanks for the reply Big Sky and everyone for the help and advice...

You guys are great.

[Jje121]

Big sky I am a noob to this suspension stuff. I will be putting H-techs on my 03 sedan. My question is will I be able to use the factory alignment specs or will I have to change them?

[qoncept]

Big sky I am a noob to this suspension stuff. I will be putting H-techs on my 03 sedan. My question is will I be able to use the factory alignment specs or will I have to change them?

I'm not entirely sure of your question but it looks like you might actually be asking if you need to get an alignment? Yes, you should get an alignment. It won't be in factory specs anymore afterwards.

If you were in fact wondering if you could still use factory specs, yes, you can always do that. Doing that will give you roughly the same handling characteristics you had before, though -- huge understeer. Most alignment shops will insist that you align to factory specs, and a lot of them are monkies that don't understand you'd ever want it aligned any other way. I've gone through hell trying to find a place that would even align my car the way I wanted. Even "Just give me 0 toe and don't touch the camber" doesn't work.

Edit: Depending on the drop, you might not be able to get the rear camber within factory specs -- you'll have more negative. Camber bolts will get you there. I chose to just live with more rear camber because I had plenty in the front.

[Jje121]

I'm not entirely sure of your question but it looks like you might actually be asking if you need to get an alignment? Yes, you should get an alignment. It won't be in factory specs anymore afterwards.

If you were in fact wondering if you could still use factory specs, yes, you can always do that. Doing that will give you roughly the same handling characteristics you had before, though -- huge understeer. Most alignment shops will insist that you align to factory specs, and a lot of them are monkies that don't understand you'd ever want it aligned any other way. I've gone through hell trying to find a place that would even align my car the way I wanted. Even "Just give me 0 toe and don't touch the camber" doesn't work.

I knew that I had to get an alignment. Sorry about the confusion but you did answer my question. I wanted to know if it had to be aligned different from the factory specs. Thanks for your help..

[Big Sky WRX]

Don't ever take a car (sports) to a shop and say get it in spec. "Spec" is a very loosey-goosey wide range of specs- you could have toe in on one side- toe out on the other and be in "spec".

For a daily driven car- have them get the front camber to about -1.0-easily accomplished w/ the oe eccenbtric bolt. Have them set the toe to 0 front/rear. The rear camber is non adj, but is very liveable at ~ -1.5ish.

The KEY is to tell them you are very picky and want cross camber and cross toe very, very close to 0.

Always, always request a before/after printout.

[HOMICIDE_WRX]

I just put S-Techs on my ride about a week ago - How long do I want to wait to allow them to settle before I go and have an alignment done, and do I want the same specs?

1.3 to 1.5 in the front (Or as much as I can get with OE bolts) 0 cross camber
and
1.0 to 1.3 in the rear and also 0 degree cross camber?

[BlkWRXWag]

I just put S-Techs on my ride about a week ago - How long do I want to wait to allow them to settle before I go and have an alignment done, and do I want the same specs?

1.3 to 1.5 in the front (Or as much as I can get with OE bolts) 0 cross camber
and
1.0 to 1.3 in the rear and also 0 degree cross camber?

The cheapest and most effective method would be to uninstall those crappy springs, put some decent ones in and then get the car aligned. That will save you the price of an alignment when you discover how crappy your ride is and you need to change springs.

Max camber up front, zero toe all round.

[HOMICIDE_WRX]

I dunno what everyones gripe is with regards to the S-Techs because so far I haven't experienced any problems with them at all.

I mean if you're used to driving a lowered vehicle then you should have no worries. I haven't heard any abnormal squeaks or anything.

[BlkWRXWag]

I dunno what everyones gripe is with regards to the S-Techs because so far I haven't experienced any problems with them at all.

I mean if you're used to driving a lowered vehicle then you should have no worries. I haven't heard any abnormal squeaks or anything.

Don't confuse riding on your bumpstops with performance

[HOMICIDE_WRX]

So are you saying the QUALITY of these springs is bad or just the ride?

[BlkWRXWag]

There is nothing wrong with the quality - Tein makes excellent products. These springs are designed as "Show" springs and therefore drop the car really low. That's great for a car show, but they are too soft for performance. The car will ride on the bump stops and the camber curves will be all messed up as the control arm goes past horizontal. Maybe your car is a show car, in which case you chose the right springs. If you were looking to improve the performance of your WRX, you bought the wrong ones.

[HOMICIDE_WRX]

DAMN!

Yeah it's a daily driver but with performance in mind. What's a good option for springs then if I want a good drop but with optimum performance?

[BlkWRXWag]

DAMN!

Yeah it's a daily driver but with performance in mind. What's a good option for springs then if I want a good drop but with optimum performance?

Difficult to say not knowing what car you have, but start reading up on Prodrive, Eibach, Tein H-Tech, Swift and Cobb.