OK guys, I posted these numbers on another thread, but wanted to start a new one to get new views and better cahngce of some feedback.......

lets start with the truth......The first week I had my car, i skidind into a corner of a sidwalk, and the who car ended up on the side walk......the only good thing about this s story was that it had a ramp on the part i skided into....well the right Rim got a nice little DING and even cut through the tire a bit.....well ever since then the car has pulled to the right a little, not to bad, but I knew why...........

fast foward to this week, when I lowered my car all seemed ok, unti l iheard knocking on the LEFT side....went back to the shop , moved the spring and all was good, until I started hearing the knock again, but not all the time as before....(assuming it is break in time)......but then later that day I noticed something I had not noticed before, and that was that the left front looked like it was slanted like this (/) instead of like this (l)...the passanger side was fine........I totlay got worried and thought maybe it just needs an alignment, so I go get an aligntment and I get the numbers back wich means nothing to me other than I can tell that the left and right front numbers are not close to matching...wich to me seems to be a problem.....

My questions are:
1. Could it be the Tech installed that side incorrectly, if so what could it be?

or

2. Could it be i bent the fram durng my little incident, since the alignment has not helped? and yes it pulls to the right, pretty noticably.


here are the numbers of befor and after, and notice how much the left and the right are from each other....... for any body that knows how to read this......PLEASE HELP, i am very worried and have no idea what to do..


FRONT Left caster:
Initial= 3.8
Final= 3.7

FRONT Right caster:
Initial= 3.2
Final= 3.1

FRONT Left camber:
Initial= -2.0
Final= 1.9

FRONT Right Camber:
Initial= -1.0
Final= -1.0

Front Left Toe:
Initial= -0.20
Final= 0.0

Front Right Toe:
Intial=-0.05
Final= 0.0

Rear Left camber:
Initial= -1.4
Final= -0.9

Rear Right Camber:
Initial= -1.2
Final= -0.9

Rear Left Toe:
Initial= 0.20
Final= 0.0

Front Right Toe:
Intial= 0.30
Final= 0.20

Your front camber is off by almost a full degree in the front. You want to keep the left side and the right sides identical if possible. I'd try alignment again. You could try adjusting the caster a bit closer from side to side as well.

BTW, you always need to get an alignment after installing springs.

I agree with xtnct on all points.

Get left and right camber to agree - keep more negative camber in front than in the rear. Keep toe as close to 0 as you can.

Realize that with that much negative camber your tires may wear on the insides alot with alot of highway cruising. If it's more around town and a bit rural and hitting corners, ramps, etc. hard you should be OK.

Good luck!

yeah i wouldnt go more then -.5 (atlmost) negative camber because i think the evo has enough grip for me... i actually like breaking it loose abit

Should not the alignemnet guys done this, I asked him if all was ok and he said he did what he could and I would have to take it to a fram shop......or does the alignment guy not adjsut camber or caster.......why did it get like, this, did the tech who lowered my car not adjsut or tighten something........and it worries me that the left side is the ONLY side that is screwed up.....

Well, the Alignment shop guy should have made the two sides identical. If could only get within a 1 deg difference in camber from side to side, he should of told you that there is something seriosly wrong with your car. An allowable difference from side to side is about 0.2deg max. Most shops get it within 0.1 deg. The really good shops that take pride in their work, get it right on. An alignment should adjust camber, toe and caster (depending on car - Evos' caster is apparently not adjustable).

I would align the car at a good known alignment shop (ask on this forum or any sports car club who they use in your area). You will pay over $100 for an alignment instead of the $50 at a alignment drive though place, but you get what you pay for. For example, I pay $100 for aligning just the front of the car. $200 for front and rear. But this shop is so percise, that it is worth it for me. They even take my weight into account when aligning the car. My side to side readings were always identical.

If they can't set the alignment properly, they will tell you why. You can tell them you had a run in with a curb and then they'll take the extra care to inspect all suspension parts. If all checks out but they still can't align the car, you may need to throw your car on a frame machine at a body shop to see if your frame may be bent, but before you do that, do another alignment at a shop that is proven to know what they are doing. Most shops involved with racing cars will be competent enough to figure out what is going on with your car. I'll say it again, do not use the drive-though fast food type of alignment shops for this. Pay the extra $ for a proper shop.

It is possible to screw up the spring installation but it is not very common as that is one of the easiest things you can do on a car. But have the pro-alignment shop check it as well. They will be able to spot if anything is wrong.

Lastly, if you need tips on what to set your car to, do a search on this forum. There were many threads with settings and their characteristics.

Hope this helps.

GHREAT info bro, i reall yneeded that right for some piece of mine... I will rty Brainstorm today there are near work but expensice...maybe they can point me in the right direction....I will keep you all posted, in the next hour or so..

Errr, FYI caster is not adjustable, and front camber has only 2 choices unless you grind the tabs off the struts that keep the upper excentric bolts from rotating when they are tight.

edit: look at the bolt heads on the upper strut bolts and see if the little arrows are both pointing the same way... they both should be pointing toward either the inside or outside of the car.

Is that the screw that is under the black pastic cap on top pf the strut under the hood?

BTY: I just came back from both the Alignment shop and the shoip that lowered the car......
The shop that lowereed the car confirmed it wsa not do to installaitn and that the Allignment place should have told whats up......

So I went to the alignement shop and told me that the camber or caster were not adjustable, and that it looks like I may have hit something (i never told them the story)......SO now I am sure that it has to do with me hitting that F****ing curb....great a car that is only 2 months old (today actually) is now suffering with issues........

So next question would be, do you think that a frame shop can help or even the stealer.?????

....at this point I am so desperate to find out what it is that is messing up the alignemnet, Im willing to take it to the stealer and risk my warranty to get this issues fixed.....

Given that you had springs installed it is very likely that the shop put the strut bolts back in backwards, especially if they are not familiar with the car. I have never seen another car use quite the same setup as mitsu.

What you want to look at are the 2 19mm bolts that hold the suspension upright to the strut. The bolt head faces the rear of the car. They are hard to see you will need to at least jack up the car and use a flashlight, maybe remove the wheels. On that bolt head is a little arrow. Make sure both of those arrows are pointing either to the inside or the outside of the car. Your before alignment specs look exactly like you have one going one way and one the other

WOw that is awsome info Scottybob, I will chekc it out, I really hope this is what it is....

Your caster is off, it is also unadjustable, so you hit something and bent something.


Aligne the car while sitting in it, I did. Perfect alignment, your caster is WAY off though and will cause the car to pull.

What could I have bent to cause the caster to be off.... i have posted pics on the other thread that have pics of my 2 19mm bolts, from boht left and right fronts and tell me iff this part of my problem.......

here is the link

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...23#post1265423

Maybe when you hit the curb. Its an aluminum suspension

Not hard to bend, not to mention those thin bars under the car, replace them with stronger material, I am.

reply in other thread