custom alignment might have some data from other AWD autocrossers. the
rules for AWD alignments may differe from the traditional ideas for FWD and
RWD.
-james c
OSP - Often Speaking Proudly
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael R. Clements" <mrclem@telocity.com>
To: "'J C'" <veloimpreza@yahoo.com>; <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:44 PM
Subject: RE: Educate me on alignment
> Factory alignment specs are notoriously broad. Your car can can be "in
> spec" but be nowhere near consistent, let alone anything approaching
> what is good for autocrossing.
>
> When aligning for autox yet keeping within factory specs, you usually
> want the most negative camber all the way around & the most positive
> caster up front. As for toe-in, it depends on the car. In the rear, more
> toe-in usually reduces power oversteer. In the front, less toe-in tends
> to make the steering more sensitive.
>
> You should think about how your want your car to be different from what
> it is right now. Do you get too much push, or too much oversteer? Is the
> turnin too fast or too slow? How even is your tire wear?
>
> For example, my car turns in too fast and the steering gets darty at
> freeway speeds. Also it has too much power oversteer. So when I get my
> alignment done next, I'm going to reduce the positive caster up front
> from its current +7 degrees, down to maybe +5 or so. Hopefully that will
> slow down the steering and make it a bit less twitchy. And I'm going to
> add a bit of toe-in on the rears to reduce the power oversteer.
> Hopefully that will let me get more power down while cornering. The tire
> wear looks fairly even, so I'm not going to change the camber.
>
> This is based on my own personal experience. Your mileage may vary, salt
> to taste.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > [mailto:owner-ba-autox@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of J C
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:02
> > To: ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Educate me on alignment
> >
> >
> > Okay, I've heard a few other WRX drivers mention that
> > a performance alignment makes a really big difference
> > so I scheduled an appointment at Custom Alignment in
> > Mountain View as I've heard the name mentioned here a
> > number of times. My question is as follows:
> >
> > Should I get a four wheel or just front end alignment?
> >
> > The car was aligned to factory specs by the dealer not
> > too long ago and there's not much that can be adjusted
> > on the rear of a WRX to my knowledge. I know this is a
> > somewhat loaded question but does anyone know how much
> > the toe settings for the rear would differ with a
> > performance based alignment vs. the factory specs?
> >
> > Is there anything else I should consider or be aware
> > of? This car is a daily driver so whatever I have done
> > needs to be tolerable while driving to an autocross
> > :-).
> >
> > Thanks, Joe "Doing Suspension Noodling" Ciarcia
> > Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax
> > http://taxes.yahoo.com/
|