Alignment question

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:41 pm

I see a lot of people on here talking about how great it is to have negative camber. I'm about to put in my 05 sti springs I just got in the mail along with my brand new KYB GR2 struts and I will be taking it to the dealership to get the alignment done.

My question is, do I just hand them the keys and have them do it or do I need to tell them to give it negative camber? I'm completely new to suspension. I'm gonna put a pair of alignment bolts in the rear struts(I think they go in the top holes)and I'm going to make sure to let them know about these.

I asked them how much the alignment will cost and they said it would be $79.99 for a legacy, much more for an sti. What is different about doing the alignment on an sti vs a legacy? Are they going to charge me a lot more if they have to adjust camber in the rear as well as the front?

ca18_sean · Post by **ca18_sean** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:48 pm

05+ sti springs won't work. 04 sti is what you need...

skid542 · Post by **skid542** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:14 pm

The alignment you will get at the dealer will not be a performance alignment. Period. They will set it to the stock specifications which is meant to be for the average driver who does not push the car nor have the skill to handle the car. The stock alignment will result in understeer in most situations.

And if you are using regular KYB struts you shouldn't have much of a need for the rear camber bolts. Basically you need to decide how much camber you want based upon your driving ability and what conditions you want the car to perform best.

There are different setups for Auto-X, high speed track, street, off-road, etc. Once you decide what you want, then you can take the car to a tire place and get a custom alignment.

It cost me $120 to get my alignment done, but it was set to my specifications with me in the car as I would racing it. There was a noticable change in settings when I sat in it.

If you just want a regular run to the mill alignment, then the dealer can do it for you.

And I have no idea what the difference is between the Leggy and the STi other than they will give more attention to eliminate cross camber and such with the STi - or so I would assume.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:01 am

Interesting. Well I'm definately a novice at driving. I've been driving for nearly 5 years now but have never done any racing or autoX. I'm assuming I'll use this car just on the street and I'll be taking it to the mountain a good deal for snowboarding every winter but I'd like to be able to beat some hondas with it every now and then.

How do I figure out where I want the camber set up if I don't know anything about it?

I thought 04-07 sti springs fit 1st gen legacies?

Imprezive · Post by **Imprezive** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:41 am

set-ups vary greatly. But from what you are saying it sounds like you want more than what the stock alignment settings can offer.

I would take it to a quality auto shop or tire shop and have them do an alignment with the factory settings but try to get another 30% camber out of the front.

If your car has gone years without an alignment it is probably off quite a bit. I bet it'll feel a lot better just having it put back to stock specs.

Oh yeah, and some shops have a bucket of weight that they throw in the cars to simulate the weight of the driver before they do the alignment. Ask the shop about this before you have them do the alignment. Its worth it because 170lbs can really change your alignment.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:10 am

Alright, thanks. I weigh 160 so good guess. I'll keep that in mind. I don't really trust les schwab though. Last time I had an alignment done there I drove the truck for a few months and was under it working on something and found loose tie rod ends. You could turn them by hand.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:11 am

Plus they told me the frame was bent and they couldn't get it aligned right. The alignment shop said it looked straight and all the body lines were good.

Imprezive · Post by **Imprezive** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:01 am

lol, I don't think les schwab has a frame rack. I would say those guys are a bunch of wankers who don't know shit.

I would suggest taking it to an actual auto shop or alignment shop specialist. Their rates might be a little bit higher though, so its up to you.

jamal · Post by **jamal** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:57 am

ca18_sean wrote:05+ sti springs won't work. 04 sti is what you need...

springs are all the same 04-07. it's just the struts that changed.

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:56 pm

I really hope you're right. It would suck to have to buy springs again. I already have 3 sets now.

ca18_sean · Post by **ca18_sean** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:10 pm

jamal wrote:
ca18_sean wrote:05+ sti springs won't work. 04 sti is what you need...
springs are all the same 04-07. it's just the struts that changed.

I know the struts were different, but a lot of vendors list 05+ sti springs. Not saying you're wrong... I haven't had any personal experience with STI springs of any year.

For example:
http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop/te ... -1574.html

http://www.advancespeedshop.com/hr-spor ... -1545.html

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:27 pm

I wouldn't trust H&R though. If I recall correctly they have on their website springs for legacies years 90-98. Which is obviously not right. 90-91 are tapered in the rear and 92-94 are not tapered in the rear. I don't even know about 93-98 but they have the info on thier springs wrong.

skid542 · Post by **skid542** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:38 pm

I'd be inclined to agree with Jamal on this matter. He knows his stuff....

kimokalihi · Post by **kimokalihi** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:13 pm

Good, I'm glad to hear that because it took forever to finally get springs for this car.

Hopefully I can get it all in the car by thursday night.

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Alignment question

Alignment question