Just got the Evo back from the alignment shop... and the stock settings were pretty freaking crappy. The front toe was .69"... as in almost 3/4" total. It was set to +.34" left, +.35" right, which translates to even more understeer as well as extreme tire wear. Now its set to 0 front and rear.

Front Camber was -1.54 left and -1.66 right, with the adjuster bolts set to the -2 position. Not too bad, so I left it alone. Rear was -1.54 left and -1.08 right... which I had corrected to -.5 each side.

Far as I can tell the mechanics were recovering from a hard night of saki funnelling, as most people could do better settings by eyeball. These settings are the main reason that my Advans were to the wear bars on the front after 4700 miles, not the 3 autocrosses I had assumed were the cause.

So, if you want to improve your handling, and save your tires, get your car aligned as soon as possible.

 

Is there a national brand that will do a good job with aligning the Evo?........I can not help thinking that anyone I run the evo into will be scratching thier head and wondering what bolt to shear or nut to round off...and not have a clue what to turn and what not to....I am in the North Georgia area....where pickup trucks reign supreme.....any suggestions will be most welcomed

 

You have a higher quality version of that scan? If so, can you email it to me so I can post it up?

evo at jedinite dot com

 

Will send it your way in a few, have to rescan as I had shrunk the original.

limey, I didn't trust the franchise chains either, and most likely they wouldn't be able to do the car as it isn't "in their system yet". I asked some of my fellow SCCA guys, and found a local shop that was willing to do custom settings.

 

And look out for big bumps and holes once you get it aligned. I was playing rally driver dodging manholes on a street that had just been torn up for repaving. I don't remember popping any of them too hard, but now my steering wheel is crooked

Funny thing about this car...I would never have driven that aggressively on that street or some of the other crappy roads I drive on in my old 'vette or 930, yet it is every bit as quick as either of those. I just get that WRC feeling with this car I guess...

JW

 

Do you recommend the factory specs of

Front:
Toe-in mm (in.): 0 +/- 2 ( 0 +/- 0.08)
Camber (Selectable from 2 options): -1deg +/- 30' or -2deg +/- 30' (left/right deviation within 30')
Caster: 3deg55' +/- 30' (left/right devitation within 30')

Rear:
Toe-in mm (in.): 3 +/- 2 (0.12 +/- 0.07)
Camber: -1deg +/- 30' (difference between right and left within 30')

Or do you recommend we use other setting?

 

I am running at 0 toe, -1.5 degrees camber front and -.5 rear, specifically for use as street/autocrossing. These specs will decrease understeer, and enhance oversteer. Not sure if I would recommend them for everyone, as it is a bit more twitchy than stock, and you can get yourself in trouble with lift-off oversteer in hard cornering.

 

So is that the best setting for the street/autocross?

 

Thats my baseline setting, guesstimated to make the most of the car's handling and allow a bit of oversteer in tight handling. Likely it will change some, maybe going to a slight toe out in the rear for even more oversteer, but that will happen with experimentation and seat time.

 

How much did it cost?

 

You can say that again. Like all automotive repair, getting a competent alignment is extremely difficult, and unfortunately it's one of the few things you have to pay someone to do. You can set toe yourself with a fairly easy to make gauge, but caster/camber/thrust angle require an alignment rack & a competent operator who actually gives a damn. It anyone knows of such a person in central Ohio, please pass it on.

Dan

 

Anyone know of a good alignment shop in CT?

 

"Saki funneling" is not the problem. The problem is that our cars are transported via truck, train and boat. The car is strapped down at all four corners with enough force to fully compress the springs to reduce the car from bouncing around during shipping. Also the more rough the conditions are during transportation the worse your car’s suspension took a beating. The transportation process is what caused your suspension to lose the factory settings. BTW, this is the reason for the rubber spacer installed in your springs, it is to mitigate the stress of the transportation process and protect the dampers from compressing all the way and bottoming out. Every new car should be aligned immediately. My suspension settings were completely off factory specs, especially the toe settings. My local Mitsubishi dealer didn’t have a clue of how to align the car even though they have a high-end alignment machine. Luckily I have a trusted and very competent alignment shop near my home. They were able to straighten me out…

 

I don’t know about the saki, but I’m inclined to believe the problem really is improper adjustment at the factory. Toe in particular is set by adjusting tie rod length & really is not effected by spring compression. I noticed almost immediately that the steering wheel on my EVO was slightly off center, which is also adjusted at the tie rods (it’s possible to have correct toe with a miscentered steering wheel, and the car tracks fine, so this plus the fact I don’t trust anyone around here to work on the car has lead me to just let it be for the time being). Anyway, if you have found a good shop in your area you’re very fortunate

Dan