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Alignment Recomendation

1K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Ryan E. 
#1 ·
Hello All,

Soon enough it will be time to lower the R back down for the nice weather. I have a concern though and would like to see if you have any recommendations or it is something I will just have to deal with.

Last year I installed the ST coilovers on the R and during the summer I had them all the way down. This gave a little bit of tuck on the rear and on the front. I had the car aligned by one of the more known shops that has an in-ground rack and a good tech.

Throughout the summer the car was great but I went through a front set of tires half way through the summer. I had the car aligned two different times at different shops to see if the original one was the issue.

The conclusion is that all of the spec's were fine except the Toe. I know from reading on here that Camber is not the issue of tires going fast, it is the Toe. Is there a way to get the R's toe set up to were I will not go through a set of tires again this year. Is this possible with stock suspension equipment besides the coils?

Thanks for your help and your advice.
 
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#3 ·
Correct but from what I know, it can only be adjusted by so much.
 
#4 ·
static toe angle adjustment affects where the wheels point, it's dynamic angle changes as you turn the steering. out of specification toe will cause feathering of the tread. static camber adjustment affects how much the wheels point in at the top and is not individually adjustable on the front of the r32, however you can shift the subframe slightly to maybe center the angles if nothing is bent. if you are getting tire wear on the inside edges of your tires (most likely with lowered ride height), then it's the camber adjustment that is off, not toe. Toe typically gets out of alignment due to bumps in the road, crashing into things, and general suspension wear. the other alignment shops have different machines, being operated by different techs, therefore having different results for toe angle since it is higly dependant on how well the steering wheel is centered in the machine. so the amount of toe adjustment that was actually performed on your car was probably very small. so to answer your question, theres nothing you can do as is without modification and will have to deal with it.

if you want your tires to last longer, then keep your suspension raised back up, as it will also give you better ride quality. or buy some means of adjustment like camber plates or adjustable ball joints. if you have the cash to spend on tires, then ufck it. i watched an episode of 'the smoking tire' on conical tires that have camber built in, so to give better performance through corners and eliminate that dreadful camber wear. they look weird but apparently get the job done very well, so maybe you can look into that as a solution.
 
#10 ·
i agree with all that ^^^.

stock toe setting is with a tick of toe-in in the front. something like 1/32", but i believe the factory setting is measured in degrees... somebody help out if you know. that will point the front wheels in just slightly and keep the car nice and stable on the highway, but will slow turn-in just a bit. this is the recommended setting for general purpose.

you can do a toe-out setting if you prefer. that will speed turn-in, and will be less stable on the highway depending on your tires. this setting tends to eat tires, the more toe (in or out) the more you eat tires.

if you insist on running low but are having handing problems, you can do things like add the whiteline bumpsteer kit, but it's just true that running low loses all the highly refined suspension you bought. the most rewarding single move i ever made with my R was raising it from a 1.5" drop to a 0.75" drop. it woke up the car and made it so much more fun to drive. but that's just me.
Thanks guys for your help. Very good information and I appreciate it. I will prob lower it a little bit more in the spring but will not be bringing it all the way down to where it was. Just makes more since to have it lowered but not like I did since I DD. Dont get me wrong, I love the slammed look, but just not smart for me.
 
#5 ·
i agree with all that ^^^.

stock toe setting is with a tick of toe-in in the front. something like 1/32", but i believe the factory setting is measured in degrees... somebody help out if you know. that will point the front wheels in just slightly and keep the car nice and stable on the highway, but will slow turn-in just a bit. this is the recommended setting for general purpose.

you can do a toe-out setting if you prefer. that will speed turn-in, and will be less stable on the highway depending on your tires. this setting tends to eat tires, the more toe (in or out) the more you eat tires.

if you insist on running low but are having handing problems, you can do things like add the whiteline bumpsteer kit, but it's just true that running low loses all the highly refined suspension you bought. the most rewarding single move i ever made with my R was raising it from a 1.5" drop to a 0.75" drop. it woke up the car and made it so much more fun to drive. but that's just me.
 
#6 ·
:thumbup:
Suspension travel can be very nice on the streets.

A slammed suspension is worthless on anything but the smooth surface of the track. I'm trying to convince my friend with the $600 suspension on his M3 of this now. I can't stand to ride in that car. I'm trying to get him to tag along to the WITW so he can be hammered by the R's:laugh:
 
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