anthony714

iTrader: (5)

need an alignment shop who will set my specs to what i want and not "get it close".had firestone trying and he couldnt get the right caster close.said it was all the way which it was but i have an 87 so it sholdnt be a problem.i felt there was adjustment to be had in the strut to spindle area. anyways someone throw me a shop that knows what i want.prefered as far north as possible but will drive south just no to indy yet,well at least not till the borman opens.. btw anyone recomend spec for an alignment?if it matters its a street car with 17 and 275s..

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

obviously if there's no more adjustment then it won't be perfect. The slots are only soo long. There is no adjustment on the strut to spindle area, just the mount on top.

anthony714

iTrader: (5)

if theres no adjustment in the strut spindle area why are the holes elongated ????

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

No strut that fits these cars should have any elongated holes on it. The spindle/strut mount angle is fixed on every strut.

The only adjustments on these cars is at the strut mount on top of the strut tower. Those holes are elongated and can be adjusted to adjust camber. However, I don't see how one shop is going to get them to move further than another shop if its already pushed as far in one slot as possible.

Has the car ever been in accident? Hit any curbs? Could have a bent spindle, or could have slight play in the wheel bearings? Could just be GM's manufacturing tolerances, too.

nape

iTrader: (1)

What specs are you trying to get to?

Contrary to popular belief, there is a small amount of play in the strut to spindle bolts, at least with the Koni Yellows I'm running. I don't want to say it's negligable, but there's not a whole lot to gain there.

If you want more adjustability, J&M Products (hot-part.com) makes a good set of camber plates. They just changed their design and the new one looks to be better then the old one, albeit a little more expensive.

If you don't want to that, you can slot the holes more. I would drill a hole in line with the slot then use a small die grinder like a Dremel to continue the slot through the hole you just drilled.

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Hmm, well I knew there was a small amount of play in the bolt holes, but its obviously not there for adjustability. However, I suppose if you were trying to get all you could, that'd be a possibility.

anthony714

iTrader: (5)

right,my kybs strut are slotted and if you loosen the 2 big bolts the spindle can flop back and fourth,not sure how many degrees that matters. the car as far as i know wasnt in a crash but i bought it used 2 years ago so the history is unknown.there was minor damage to the r/f but nothing structual except very little tweaking of the core support. the strut housing/wheel well housing seems to be orginal. the angle i was trying for was 4 caster l,4.5 caster r.-.5 caster l/r and 3/32 toe per the post i read here.he couldnt get the caster to 4 and 4.5 but was able to keep the .5 diff between left and right.i think it was 3 and 3.5.. he got the l side camber at -.05 but right side only went to +1 camber...i would have liked it 0 or -.05 then i would have made both equal....
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been 15 years since i drove a iroc,i have 275s up front,i know when you turn the wheels tight close to lock the angles get screwed up and the radius on these cars cars but is it normal for the tires to feel as if theyre locking up,like theyre scrubbing? this happens at low speed and tight turns.i know when you turn the front wheels will be pointed in different directions.is it just me and not use to the old school wide tires?have i fallen in love with the cushy ride of an suv?

nape

iTrader: (1)

Is the +1 camber on the right side supposed to be .1+? If so, you can loosen the spindle bolts and pull up on the brake rotor to see if you can get it too the other side of the slot. The slots would effect camber, but I don't think that much. I would guess the RF spindle is bent if it's been hit in the front before enough to bend the core support. The bend likely won't be noticable, so don't think you can look for one.

Also, don't be **** with 3/32" toe. Set it to 1/16" and you won't notice a difference, and the alignment tech won't think you're a douche bag who found stuff on the internet. I've driven the race car with 1/8" - 1/2" toe out and didn't notice a handling difference, it's all about tire wear.

The front tires might be touching, some people have rubbing issues with stock wheels, going to a bigger size might cause it. Look in the wheel well to see if you're rubbing.

anthony714

iTrader: (5)

The front tires might be touching, some people have rubbing issues with stock wheels, going to a bigger size might cause it. Look in the wheel well to see if you're rubbing.

theyre definetly rubbing on the sway bar and also i think the left side fender well.you think its just rubbing that im noticing? maybe i should go back to 255s.....

as far as a bent spindle if i read you right you said i might not be able to notice it bent?should i just replace it is what youre saying?

let me ask you this,i got the 275s,lower 1 inch springs.street car..what alignment specs you recommend...and why hasnt anyone named a shop i canuse?

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Because I use Firestone and you don't like them

9D1BURD

Are you by chance the anthony from the MFBA boards?

88blkiroc

I use the firestone by me as well. What size rim are you running the 275's on BTW? Both my Formula and IROC rub up front with stock 16" rims and 245's.

MaNiAk86

iTrader: (2)

i got my car aligned after i lowered it and replaced the steering components at Thailmans's alignment in northfield. very top notch shop they set up bmw race cars mostly but do public work as well. you just have to call for an appointment.

the guy gave me a lil extra negative camber for some more grip in the turns and there is alot more adjustability in the stock cc plates. and the car handle very well as ive autocrossed since and wow what a difference

and dont worry about your car scraping as it goes on the lift cause they are sunk into the flor to accomadate the racecars.

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

the firestone that 88blkiroc is talking about is the shop that did mine and I am happy with how it turned out.

nape

iTrader: (1)

255s might help, or you could try an 1/8" spacer to see if pushing the wheels out helps if it's really close.

Spindles are usually pretty cheap, so trying another one isn't a bad idea. These cars have been on the road so long that you never know what they've been into. I used a different set of spindles when I changed to LS1 brakes and now the LF maxes at -2* camber when I used to be able to get -3*+ and the RF had 1 1/8" toe out. I had to cut the tie rod and sleeve to get it straight.

No clue on alignment specs for a street car, I've never really had a dual purpose car. I've got a daily beater and a race car so there aren't any compromises.

anthony714

iTrader: (5)

88 im running 17x9s

i also have the ls1 upgrade with the modified spindles which is why i wasnt to thrilled with th eprospect of of installing a new one,didnt want to go have to replace it but i guess i might?

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

What offset are your wheels? What spacers (if any) are you running? Keep in mind, the LS1 brake upgrade pushes your wheels out a tiny bit on each side just by itself (without spacers).

anthony714

iTrader: (5)

well dont laugh but i have 17 x 9 cobra wheels,yes cobras,i wanted a iroc looking wheel and a 17 but with the 275 i needed a 9 inch rim so those fit the bill.to correct the offset i got a set of skulte adaptors ,3/4" wide.the cobra wheel has i think a 39 mm offset.we set it up with skulte to get the stock offset and thats what we came up with a 3/4 spacer/adaptor. id say the wheels are in the stock locations.

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Did you tell Skulte that your LS1 brake conversion kicked your wheels out a little bit more on each side? I don't remember how much, something slightly over 1/4" I believe.

anthony714

iTrader: (5)

yes and no,i didnt the first time and learned the hard way.i failed to mention i had ls1 so he redid them to account for the ls1 and reduced them by the thickness of a ls1 rotor.about 3/10" and that brought it back

DuronClocker

iTrader: (1)

Ah okay, cool, so they should be in the right spot for sure then. Like said though, stock tires can rub on these cars, and you're running a 1" wider wheel with tires that are a little over an inch wider than stock at the same wheel height.

I ran 245/45R17 tires on 17x8.5 C5 wheels with 2" spacers and C4HD brakes with DropZone lowering springs (SLAMMED) and Koni red struts and never had any rubbing issues. Guess I got lucky. Can't say the same for the 275/40R18s in the back on the 18x9.5 wheels though, the left one would rub on hard right turns. Needed an adjustable panhard rod bad and never got one on and adjusted properly before I got rid of the car.

neagan

iTrader: (7)

Wow! I'm glad I accidently located your old post!!

I had replaced my entire suspension, brakes, etc and found my front tyres now rub where they didn't before. They hit the inner fenderwell AND the bottom of the front struts contact the sway bar end links; catching the bushings in sharper turns.

I'm curious to know if the 1/8th inch spacer actually worked best for you all?? I switched out sway bars, shortened the end-links, had 4 alignments done and have been getting really frustrated. I do run the stock 16" wheel and the 245/50/16 tires.

I'm just curious what you each finally ended up doing to kill this problem.
Thanks, Nitro-Nicky

3.8TransAM

Couple things I noticed and ones a biggie.

If u line up 245/50-16 from 10 manufacturers, u will get 10 diff size tires in height and width. If u think I'm crazy line them up and check them.

Also from a tire wear to handling issue on a real street driven car with stick style suspension, use the specs listed on the fact page here. I have used them for 1000's of miles and not had issues. If its possible and u have a good alignment guy do shoot for the 3/32 vs 1/4 inch. That keeps them straight when u are going forward. the 3/32 for me was the difference between feather edging the outside of the tires and not like it would when u had 1/4 inch or more. Not terribly, but it was still there.

The stock specs are way conservative to account for stupid people in the simplest terms lol

If u cant get the alignment in spec, u need to take it to a more knowledgeable shop and have the thrust angle checked too of u have any other issues. U would have to whack something on the car pretty good to knock it out of the correctable range so it might pay to have someone check it out or even talk to a respectable body shop to check out

neagan

iTrader: (7)

Thanx for mentioning that, as I'm going back to an alignment shop tomorrow for verification and see if the spacer plates do the job. I've had the toe set at zero and it feels like she's trying to spread her legs, so to speak, when there's a bump in a curve; even a gentle one.

I'll also double check on the thrust angle issue. Other than that, it sure wants to cut corners like a slot car, although I do NOT like the light compression characteristics of my rear red Koni's. Perhaps I'm getting to much weight transfer since I havn't adjusted up the front Yeller's yet.

Again, big thank-you's for taking the time to throw a timely response out.
Sincerely, Nitro-Nixster

gearhead0384

iTrader: (7)

Its true, I have 3 different set of 245 50 16 right now and they are all a bit different.