Alright guys, I took my car into be aligned today, and they got the rear perfect, they got the toe set right on the front, but they said that they could not get my front caster/camber right. Now I installed C/C plates, so I know there has to be enough adjustment.

Any thoughts on this? They said that for an extra $100 they could "turn my strut" and that would give them the adj they need to get it in spec. Do you guys know what that means, because I don't see how spinning a circular object is going to help, much less how to do that on this car since it is held in place by two bolts, one above the other, preventing it from spinning.

Also when adjusting caster/camber do I need to have the weight off the front wheels or do I adjust it with the weight on them? I mostly think they might not know how to adjust it using these plates, and want to see if I can't get it closer to spec myself then take it back for them to finish it off.

thanks!

 

Did you get your front back into alignment yet. I am curious as to why they couldn't get into spec with the CC plates

 

they're trying to rip you off. Complain to the BBB and go somewhere else. You may have them installed in negative orientation which will net only a bunch of negative camber and they'd have trouble getting teh caster all the way back.

If that's the case, then just swap the CC plates to opposite sides and you'll be in positive orientation and they'll be able to dial in more positive camber and shove the strut tops back for maximum caster.

 

IIRC he has the Stang Suspension CC plates which don't have that option and that is why I'm a little confused

 

I am pretty sure it's back into alignment. I haven't bought a camber gauge to confirm yet. But yeah, they didn't know what they were doing, since when I got home and inspected the plates with my friend who helped me install them, we re-cheked to insure they were in the proper orientation, which they are, and noticed they had the things pushed almost to full negative camber(which is why they were unable to get them properly aligned; as they kept telling me I had too much negative camber, well duh! move it towards the positive camber setting!). So we loosened the bolts, adjusted them to what we felt was a reasonable amount(I know not the most accurate, but I am not paying another alignment shop just yet) and re-torqued them down. I did some basic testing to see of the insides were wearing significantly faster than the outside of the tire, and thus far they appear to be wearing equally. I tested by placing pieces of tap across the contact patch, as well as using a marker to mark the tire and drove around, checking every mile or so to see how they appeared to be wearing.

so yeah, that's the update. I plan to pick up a camber gauge this summer and try to see if I get them alot closer to spec, but I refuse at this point to trust any shops around my area, and figured if one place could do it, it would be ford, but I was proven very wrong.

My camber was initially -1.7 and -2, and from what other guys on SVTP are running on mostly street driven lowered stangs that have a slightly more aggressive camber setting they said I should try to get them to below -1.4 which I am pretty sure they are after re-adjusting them myself.

red, do you happen to know what your settings are, I know you are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to suspension stuff and what not. Just seeing what you might recommend.

 

Wow so let me make sure I understand this correctly. They had the plates set for the maximum negative camber and then they told you they couldn't dial in any more positive camber? If that's the case I would have taken it back to the dealership and had them re-align the car for free.

 

yeah pretty much thats what it was like. I would but its not worth the effort or my time to take off work and drive 45 mins there and then 45 mins back, plus the 2 hours or so it will take them( once I wait my turn to be served and what not). So whatever, that is why I am going to buy my own camber tool and just tweak it to where I want it.

 

I run -1.6 camber and all the caster I can dial in, which never matches side to side. On the street that's a decent setting that corners nice. A little less camber will be a good idea if you haven't done any major front end work.