Alignment basics

[Big Sky WRX]

I think that is a much preferable option. With plates there is no need to mess w/ rear camber IMO (unless you have a bad cross problem). It won't be overly aggressive for street driving.

As long as toe is at 0, even a little higher than -2.0 camber shouldn't be a concern for tire wear (I advocate frequent rotations to save on wear too- 3000 miles is what I do)

[HighRevRacer951]

ok, i jsut got some hotchkis springs and im going to be putting them on this weekend and getting my alignment done also, so if i go max camber in the front and -0.5 in the back with 0 cross toe and and 0 toe all around i will be cool for everyday driving? (weekend mountain runs)

[Big Sky WRX]

That's too little camber in the rear, -1.0 at the lowest and I'd recommend that only if autoxing- otherwise I'd leave the rear camber alone

[mig29]

Hello all,
I was considering upgrading the suspension for my 04 WRX sedan and was thinking of STI V8 take-offs. I do believe the V8 is appropriate for my year?

Would this setup be better than installing the STI pink springs on my current Struts? My main goal was to obtain a slight drop and increased performance for daily driving and some track events.

My second question is for an alignment should I obtain new camber bolts for this setup or would I be able to use the OE ones and obtain appropriate settings. From the posts I should be able to obtain a front camber of -1 and a rear camber of -1.5 with 0 toe all around using the OE bolts.

Thanks for the help,

[Big Sky WRX]

yes v8 is correct, but only from a USDM 04 or jdm 03/04- the newer STi's have gone to a 5x114 wheel and changed the hub around and subsequently the struts- they will not fit on a WRX.

the v8 setup gives you alomst identical springs (rates and lowering), but better dampers than stock- so yes performance wise the oe STi setup is a step from the WRX pinks/oe struts

Your correct those numbers are attainable w/ oe components- no need for camber bolts.

[mig29]

Thanks for the help Big Sky!

[rtstone]

I just want to say thanks for all the advise in this thread, I got my alignment done this morning and I can say that from just the 20 minute drive home I can notice a signifigant improvement in stability and turn in. I had everything just eyeballed from when I installed my H-Techs about a week and a half ago. I have just the stock bolts up front and the H&R adjustable camber bolts in the rear.

Here are the numbers

Before:

Left Front
Camber -0.5
Toe -0.25 in

Right Front
Camber -0.6
Toe 0.11 in

Left Rear
Camber -0.3
Toe 0.01 in

Right Rear
Camber -0.2
Toe 0.06 in

After:

Left Front
Camber -1.2
Toe 0.00 in

Right Front
Camber -1.2
Toe 0.00 in

Left Rear
Camber -1.1
Toe -0.01 in

Right Rear
Camber -1.0
Toe -0.02 in

I paid $80 @ R.W. Tire in Bordentown, NJ.

[Big Sky WRX]

they did a great job!

[wrx wagone]

they did a great job!

+1

A bit more front camber would be nice, but that is probably about right for the stock cam bolts.

[99SR20DE-Ltd]

How close is close enough when specifying 0 cross camber & toe? I asked for max negative camber, 0 toe. The car is a stock 05 WRX sedan.

Before:
Left Rear:
Camber: -1.65
Toe: -0.13

Right Rear:
Camber: -1.13
Toe: -0.19

Left Front:
Camber: -0.89
Toe: -0.29

Right Front:
Camber: -0.06
Toe: -0.31

After:
Left Rear:
Camber: -1.68
Toe: 0.00

Right Rear:
Camber: -1.20
Toe: 0.01

Left Front:
Camber: -0.86
Toe: 0.01

Right Front:
Camber: -0.09
Toe: 0.01

[wrx wagone]

Your front camber is horrible. Was the car hit or something? -0.09 is damn near vertical.

-1.0 to -1.5 is desirable for the front end of that thing. I'd talk to the guy that did the alignment and ask him what the deal was that he couldn't get anymore camber out of it.

The rear isn't great on cross camber but it isn't adjustable so it is about what I would expect for the rear end of the car.

[99SR20DE-Ltd]

Car was never hit. I have a feeling that they only adjusted toe. I was also surprised to see -1.68 for the rear. I didn't think that it could go that far without rear camber bolts.

[wrx wagone]

Car was never hit. I have a feeling that they only adjusted toe. I was also surprised to see -1.68 for the rear. I didn't think that it could go that far without rear camber bolts.

I agree it is a bit high, but I've seen close to that out of the rear end of my car.

I also think they only adjusted the toe. I don't think they touched the camber on the front end of your car.

[Big Sky WRX]

that is not a good alignment- they didn't do d1ck in the front- maybe they don't know you have to loosen the lower bolt too???

I'll give them credit on their toe adjustments though- there they did good.

The rear- it's the -1.1 that is odd- oe spec is right -1.5, so the -1.6 is not unusual. That's too much cross in the rear however IMO- I'd consider getting camber bolts to "fix" that.

While they are fixing that they can redo the front (this time have them loosen-fully- the lower strut bolts too) or maybe actually do it for the first time You should be able to get a min of -1.0, most get closer to -1.3

[efmd3]

well i'm finally going to get my alignment problems handled.
I had bad tire wear on my right front tire's outside sidewall, so i went in for an alignment, guy couldn't get the cross camber anywhere near 0 and said he thinks i have a bent strut...great.
so i buy 4 new struts and put them on, i just eyeballed all the measurements and will be getting aligned shortly.
So now I have a set of KYB AGX struts with eibach springs and a set of of fairly new OEM struts. I still have quite a bit of noise in the front suspension, but i believe that to be my swaybar or endlinks (which i cannot get off for the life of me ...HELP! )
anyway, i have my alk, camber plates for the front, and camber bolts for the rear on the way. I plan to:

max out front negative camber with NO cross camber
either 0 toe or .01 toe in for the front
add some caster, and again NO cross caster
set rear camber to -1.0
either 0 toe or if i decide to toe in the front, .01 toe out in the rear.

am i missing anything, or will i find this to be a suitable set up?
if this doesn't suit me, its another set of camber plates but for the rear and maybe some more camber bolts.

BTW I want to run some 15x7 or 16x7-8's with dirt tires and another set with 235's for track days, will i be able to do this without rubbing???