I've been looking through all of the threads on the subject of alignment and I have a more specific question than what other people are asking so hopefully someone can help me out. I put on a set of coilovers and lowered the car 1 1/8" in the rear and 1 1/2" in the front. The front came out fine but I have some major questions about the rear. Here are the following rear numbers after the alignment:

LR: -1.4 camber / 5/32" of toe
RR: -.9 camber / 3/16" of toe

After it was all said and done I asked the mechanic if he could try and even out the camber at - 1 degree and he replied that the bolt on the LR was maxed out. His opinion was to get some camber plates which of course you can't do on the evo rear suspension. Also, looking at these toe numbers I think I need to take it back because that's way too much toe in the rear, that comes out to almost 9 mm. So what I'm asking for is for when I take it back in is there anything I can tell them to help get this right? Like if they take out toe will that free it up to take camber out? Thanks in advance!

 

bump

 

Setting the alignment on the rear can be a PIA.

Camber plates won't help, you have a 5 point multi-link rear suspension. neither will crash bolts (you have them already)

I would suggest you go to another shop.

But if that is not an option, have the guy try this.

Lets say you want -1 degree camber in the rear.

1. Set the camber first to -1.1. If I remember correctly, this will cause rear toe in.
2. Then adjust the toe to 0 degrees. This should bring the camber back to aproximately -1.
3. recheck the camber, make sure it's within spec, if not, correct it, and recheck the toe.

I went through two different alignment shops and had 3 technicians just give up and refuse to continue (I got my money back on those alignments) before I said fugk it and learned how to do my own.

The problem with this car, is that when you set the camber in the rear, you tweak the toe and vise versa.

hope this helps.

 

Thanks that does help. I think what he's trying to do is set the toe first and then is trying to do something with the bolt other than turn it clockwise. I put the car up on the stands this afternoon to look at the eccentric bolt and if I'm looking at the shop manual correctly the flat part of the bolt faces the top and this is clearly rotated counterclockwise which would explain the -1.4 so I think I've decided that this guy is not doing it right.

 

so you dont need camber plates in the rear?

 

I just had my car done yesterday. I wanted -1 camber in the rear. My problem was the eccentric was maxing out on camber and the toe was still way out on one side (.17" out), but zero on the other. Using an adjustable link for camber should make it easier to adjust at lower ride heights.

Our solution yesterday was to give more camber, since I think it is somewhat dangerous to have alot of toe out in the rear. I ended up with -1.5 rear camber and zero toe, which isn't a terrible compromise.

 

First off - I can't believe the mechanic would set your alignment up with such varying numbers - a half of degree of camber difference? He should be able to get closer than that.

Next - I don't think it is that important to try to get the rear Camber to less than -1. If the bolts are maxed out, then take them to -1.5 or -2. Unlike many people believe, going with some negative camber will NOT wear the inside edges of your tires out too fast. Having some toe in or toe out, however, will cause the edge of your tire to wear down prematurely. Just picture it - your tire is pointing in or out just a little bit. It is trying to drive in the direction it is pointing, but the car makes it go straight ahead. You are basically dragging the tire along the ground. I believe toe on the EVO is bad. I always go with ZERO toe in the front and rear.

Here is my opinion of what you should do based on my experience.

1 - If not already - go somewhere with a computerized/lazer alignment rack
2 - Run -1.5 camber L and R
3 - Run ZERO toe L and R

Here is my personal experience with the matter. I have been driving all winter (~7000 miles) on super soft and gummy winter tires with -1.5 rear camber, zero toe, and they have absolutely no irregular wear on the inside edges. The treadwear is completely even all the way across and around the tire, and I drive aggressively too.
This past week I put on a set of Ohlins coilovers, 17x9 wheels, and 275/40/17 tires. Even after rolling the lips of the rear fenders I had some clearance issues, so I cranked the rear camber all the way in so the tops of the tires were as far away from the fender lip as possible. The car is lowered enough that the tires tuck up into the rear fenderwells a bit. After taking care of the fender clearance issues I took it to the Sears Auto shop for an alignment. I told the service tech that I wanted to know what the current settings were, and then I would tell him where to go with it. He looked a little dumbfounded at the request and said that they just put everything to factory specs. I explained to him that I had custom suspension, wheels and tires and my specs needed to be a certain way. They agreed that we could do it. In the rear I decided to go with zero toe and -2 camber. Here is where I was before:

Rear L R
Toe -.18 -.03
camb -3.2 -2.7

And After:
toe -.01 -.01
camb -2.0 -1.9

Good luck!

EVOlutionary