Meeyatch1 said:
I will check the measurements, but this was the alignment that the shop gave me, and I assumed it was the best they could do. Is it possible that this was all that they could adjust? What is the Comptech fix for this (or any other fix)?? I would like to get this corrected if I can because the tires are getting expensive to replace every 2 months!!
(** Recommendations for a shop in the Midwest to fix this??**)
Having raced in the Speed World Challenge Touring class (2003), I will add my $0.02 even though it is a little off subject. I learned a heck of a lot of info that year on suspension setups.
To start off, before you do anything, you must make sure that you are taking measurements (and making adjustments) on level ground or else your measurements will be off. Driveways are not a good place to check (or make) adjustments.
For the race setup, we set our car up at 1/16 to 1/8 (driver's preference) of an inch toe out, up in the front. The rears stayed at zero toe. We did this on our Type R Integra and did the same setup on the BMW team that we partnered with. How do you measure this? You take a tape measure and measure the outermost groove of the front side (at the highest point before anything obstructs the full extension of the tape measure) of the tire and measure the same spot behind the tire, at the same height and groove. Do the same for front and rears. Remember that changing camber also affects toe. If anyone is interested, I'll show you guys how to square off a car using string if you ask me at any upcoming meets. The difference in the two numbers will tell you if you are toe out or in (ie: if the front measurement is a smaller # than the rear #, you are toe in and vice versa). A little toe in will slow the car minimally and you won't even feel it. It also keeps the car driving straight even if you take your hands off the wheel (I don't suggest doing that). Toe out will cause the car to feel a little loose and kind of unpredictable in which way it wants pull (either left or right) but once you carve a turn, get ready for some g forces.
NSXT is correct about checking ride height from the 4 jack points. If you make any adjustments to your suspension while the car is jacked up, roll the car a full tire's rotation back and forth (when the car is on the ground) so the wheels will correct itself to the adjusted settings.
Aggressive negative camber will affect wear on the inner part of your tires as will negative/positive toe. I guess you'd be safe up till -1 degree of camber but the specified range of -.2 till -.5 camber and zero toe (for the fronts) will give you the most delayed and even wear. My preference for the rear is -1 degree of camber and zero toe for my street car. There were some tracks that we ran -4.5 degrees of camber up front on the Type R (of course, we used adjustable camber kits).
Meeyatch, your back wheels have too much negative camber (is it noticeable from eyeballing it?). I don't see why your alignment guy didn't zero out the rear toe, it was the only adjustment they made back there. Seems like they didn't even spend 30 minutes trying to align your car. I probably could have done better with your car in my driveway. :biggrin: I'm j/k! I would take the car to someone who has experience aligning lowered cars. We use a shop out here in NYC who specializes in lowered cars with even an inch of clearance.
Contact Tommy at
RPM NYC . We bought a lot of adjustable racing suspension parts from a company in Europe. This European company made quality racing parts that didn't exist on this side of the pond for our Type R and other car applications. I'm pretty sure I saw NSX parts listed but this was a few years back. They should have adjustable upper control arms for the front and rear of our cars. Good luck and I look forward to meeting you at Bridgewater Acura on 4/17. :smile:
