School me about alignment pls

[vijen6]

Haven't driven my car in about 2 months, and now it veers slightly to the left. I haven't driven my car in a few months, and don't remember it doing that before so its a little strange.

It also need new tires so its a good time to get alignment done.

This car is a toy. I drive on the street roughly about 2000 - 3000 miles a year to Starbucks and the occasional back road, scenic drive. The rest of the driving this year is going to be spent at AX and track events ( I'm a newbie to both ).

I'm putting on new Nitto NT05 ( 275/30/19 in the back and 245/35/19 in the front ) with stock suspension.

What is the best alignment setting for me ? Should I ask for anything special when getting my alignment ?

I realize those are generic questions but I'm pretty clueless re: suspension.

Thanks!

[rdc8118]

Can't offer much on alignment but I'd check the tire pressure first. Pulled mine out of it winter hibernation and one of the tires was about 8lbs lower then the rest causing the car to pull slightly to the right. Turns out there was a nail in the tire causing a very slow leak.

[vijen6]

Actually that might make a lot of sense .. one of my tires did get a plug right before I put her away. Will double check that.

Still looking for some alignment advice though in case its not the leak issue.

Thanks!

[thstone]

If you're new to AX and track, then a standard alignment should suffice.

Once you get some experience and are comfortable driving faster/harder you'll need to get a "track" alignment with the maximum negative camber possible (typically around -1.25 degrees or so in the front).

Without this you will see very high wear on the outer 1/3 edge of the tire. See this thread for what can happen: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-racing-forum/33823-need-more-negative-camber.html

The issue is that as you turn hard, the camber of the outer wheel increases and thus, places more pressure on the outer edge of the tire. The additional negative camber from the track alignment will set the top of the wheel inward to start and thus, will allow the outside wheel to stand up straight (as the camber increases) when turning and use the entire surface of the tire rather than just the outside edge.

When you get really good on the track, the stock alignment (even with max neg camber) will still be insufficient to mitigate the increase in camber during turns and then you'll either need adjustable camber plates or adjustable lower control arms to reach the level of negative camber needed to keep the tire flat during hard cornering.

[vijen6]

Thanks thstone. Saw that thread too. You certainly punished those tires.

I assume with normal alignment my camber will be 0, and with max negative camber -1.25, the tire wheel will look somewhat like this /----\ which causes premature wear on the inside of the tire if you're not turning hard enough to transfer enough weight to the outside. Is there any reason I shouldn't just get 'max negative camber' beside the reason above ? I'm not planning that many street miles.

Or perhaps I should just ask for "a little bit of negative camber" .. perhaps -.5 or -.75 ?

Also is camber the only adjustment ( and only applies to the front ) ?

And if I recall correctly, I've seen people at AX measuring the inside / center / outside temp of their tires .. never understood why .. but I'm guessing now that its to determine how much tire they're using and if they need to add / remove camber ?

Sorry for all these questions .. as I said .. I'm a newb .. LOL

[Topless]

vijen6,

Stock suspension prevents extreme alignment settings. I could only get about -.8 camber on the front and -1.5 in the rear.

I would probably shoot for -1 degree camber F if possible, -1.2 degree camber R, and zero toe F, 1/16 total toe in R. This would make the most of your stock setup without inducing unusual tire wear.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by vijen6

And if I recall correctly, I've seen people at AX measuring the inside / center / outside temp of their tires .. never understood why .. but I'm guessing now that its to determine how much tire they're using and if they need to add / remove camber ?

Yes, measuring tire temp across the tire will tell you how much of the tire is being used and give an indication if more or less camber is needed.

[ChrisZang]

It's probably too late to warn you but the NT-05 are the fastest wearing tire I ever had on my car, they stick phenomenally, but they wear even faster!

[greenheckler]

I think this is relevant to this thread. Does anyone recommend taking the car to chain stores such as Firestone or Discount Tires to do the alignment? They say they have the specs. Or should it be done by my Indy?

[vijen6]

Hopefully those NT last me a season of AX .. given the rain lately and canceled events .. it should be no problem =D

[Topless]

Originally Posted by greenheckler

I think this is relevant to this thread. Does anyone recommend taking the car to chain stores such as Firestone or Discount Tires to do the alignment? They say they have the specs. Or should it be done by my Indy?

My first alignment was done at a local tire store with an "experienced" alignment tech who was known for getting good results. Ask around within your local PCA or other car club. They don't have to be a Porsche expert to get it right on a stock car.

Once I went with coilover suspension I wanted a complete competition setup and corner balance which required a more sophisticated shop.

[deptotpr]

It's not necessarily the 'place' you take it, it's the mechanic who works there