cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

Here's the deal the caster can and should be adjusted on that car. To do this the cradle has to be loosened and shifted back on the right and forward on the left a good shop will do this with no problem. You need more camber also 0.8 in the front is out of specs, set toe to 0 all around, fronts not bad, rear is a bit high.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

Is it even worth it to adjust caster right now? It could just be a fluke or a faulty reading because it was fine in January. It also states that the camber is within spec, i'm looking at three sheets from three different shops. What should camber be at?

Also why would my tires be cupping? Is this somewhat normal for advans since they have strange wear patterns to begins with?


Actually looking at the shop manaul you posted the caster seems to be in spec and close to where it should be, am I wrong? Camber also shows to be within spec but on the low end.

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

Caster deviation limit is .3 your at .5 camber is within specs but way low for any kind of handling response and could be a part of the problem. I haven't seen a problem before with the Advans cupping they do wear pretty fast compared with most tires but that is usually from too much toe and is on the inside shoulder.

If the caster reading is a "fluke or a faulty reading" then all your numbers are wrong.

I would aim for 1.8 on the front camber.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

I'm going back today to have them fix it. I was thinkinng 1.5 camber in the front and 1.0 in the rear. I'm also going to have them correct the rear toe. Would that be better? I don't want to go crazy with the camber.

So your saying if they fix the front camber then the caster should also change?

So what could be the cause of the cupping???

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

"So your saying if they fix the front camber then the caster should also change?"

No, to change the caster the front cradle has to be moved, there are 4 large bolts that hold it to the body. The cradle is like the whole front suspension minus the top of the struts.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

*UPDATED ALIGNMENT*

Front Left:

Camber
Actual -1.9 Before -0.8

Caster
Actual 3.4 Before 3.3

Toe
Actual 0.00 Before -0.04



Front Right:

Camber
Actual -1.9 Before -0.8

Caster
Actual 4.0 Before 3.8

Toe
Actual-0.02 Before -0.03

__________________________________________________ ____________


Rear Left:

Camber
Actual -1.1 Before -0.08

Toe
Actual 0.17 Before 0.09


Rear Right:

Camber
Actual -1.1 Before -0.9

Toe
Actual 0.15 Before 0.16


I had them increase the front camber which I might strongly end up regreting once my tires start to wear more on the insides. They could not adjust it to -1.5 which is asked. It was either close to -1 or -2 because the bolt would not give an in between. They spend an extra hour to to work it out perfectly. When they changed the camber it also corrected my caster somehow but my deviation is still off. The rear toe they swore up and down was in spec and it is, oh well... I think they were getting fed up with me. They guy thought I was crazy for wanting more camber up from he acted like I was an idiot. Funny is that origianl sheet I had stated no manufacturer specified range for front camber the new sheet states -1.0 to -2.0??? Strange but in spec....

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

Do you have lowering springs on the car? How does it handle now a little more responsive I bet? Too bad about all the toe in the back if you were in the Chicago area we could get it right on the money for you.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

Car is on stock suspension. My handling is way better but i'm worried that my tire wear is going to be too excessive because of the aggressive camber. It's only a DD and has never been to the track, the streets are fun enough for me.

Anyways I feel like my alignment is somewhat worse than before. The caster deviation is .6 and my SAI is in the red on the front left tire. (Not too sure what SAI means...) I also noticed that my car sits a bit lower in the left front than the right. It has always been like that somewhat (barely noticable) but it seems to be more pronounced now when sitting in my garage (maybe it's just me.... )

BTW...I live in Hoffman Estates, i'm about 5 minutes from AMS. Where do you work?

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

Ok I just got it realigned for the third time and I am very happy with the results. I actually brought it to another Firestone shop and they guy let me watch him the whole time and asked if each adjustment was fine with me. I will post the actually results here in a second. It's really unbelieveable what a GOOD alignment shop can do. Believe it or not I actually purchased a "lifetime" alignment from them because they know what they are doing and they have better equipment.

Anyways I kept the camber at -1.9 in the front and 1.1 in the rear. I left the front toe alone because it was almost near zero but the rear toe is now exactly zero on both sides, PERFECT! Funny thing is that when they corrected the rear tow they had to adjust the front toe slightly still only a deviation of .1 as now my caster is exactly even on both sides and within spec. My SAI is also dead center. It unbelievable!!! The whole time i'm thinking my car is messed up is strictly due to a bad alignment. My caster is actually perfect. I don't think i've ever had a better alignment.

Funny thing is that this shop is actually the certified alignment shop for schaumburg mitsubishi. However he has never set the toe to zero once on an evo because factory spec says not to. I had him set the rear left to 0.00 the right to 0.00 with 0 devation. It handles 10x better than it did before solely because of the increased camber. It also drives straight as an arrow.

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

Sweet as hell, .. what was the final caster and did the tech have to move the cradle? When the evo is straight it works sooo much better. It just needs to be massaged a little. Do a few track days and/or autocrosses and you will see the real difference. I'm happy you found somebody that knows their stuff.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

He didn't touch the cradle, tweeking the toe on both front sides after he set the rear toe to 0.00 on both sides somehow fixed the caster. The caster now sits at 3.6 on both front sides with zero deviation. I will posted a scanned image shortly. I think this is truly a "perfect" alignment in every way possible.

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

One of the machines you had your car on was skewed or manipulated, there's no way the caster will change like that without moving the sub-frame.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

Here are the actually settings. I do believe that the first shop's machine was way off. Even when I brought it to that same shop a second time the readings where off across the board and that was only 24 hours later! This shop knew exactly what they were doing.

cfdfireman1

iTrader: (11)

Enjoy, now it should be a fun car to drive with those settings, as long as tires are kept inflated that camber won't kill tires with 0 toe. Man the way it "was" in the rear 0.37 total toe would have burned the advans in no time.

DSMEVOLUTION

iTrader: (7)

I did notice that it takes corners alot harder, less oversteer???