hey guys so my alignment is way off.. ..I took it to pep boys and firestone...n they can't get my alignment right... do u guys usually take ur evo's some where special??? my car is bone stock 06 mr with 14k and a New set of Bridgestone Potenza RE 070 225-45-17 tires on my stock bbs wheels...my cars pulls mostly to the left but also to the right... bascially my car feels like ****... do u guys adjust toe and camber? or just the toe? some one also said one of my rack an pinion might be wrong...my car is clean no... hits at all ever !! no frame etc... what's going on here??? guys please help..thankx

 

OMG, Pep Boys or Firestone is not the place to go for an alignment. I don't know where in L.A. you live, but the only place I trust is Johnsons Alignment. They are located in the South Bay area in Torrance. My 03 was way off also and now the car tracks staight as an arrow.

 

The factory settings are 1* negative camber. If your tires are worn on the inside(like most of ours are) then your car will wander on the road. You can have the camber set to 0* which will help but will slow your steering down just a tad bit. But take a look at your tires if they are worn on the inside or your tire pressure is too low(below 30lbs) then it's not your alignment but your tire situation.

 

Evo's are known to have some janky alignment numbers from the factory, it's not out of the ordinary. It doesn't matter where you take the car to, so long as they have a good alignment rack THAT IS CALIBRATED. After that, any monkey with half a brain can align the car, assuming nothing is bent.

It's the toe, not the camber. Repeat, it's the toe, not the camber. Again, it is the TOE, and not the camber. Get your toe zero'd out, and watch the wandering magically disappear. Get your camber zero'd out, and watch your handling suffer as a result. Why? A little bit of negative camber aids grip during cornering (the suspension compresses, the tire wants to "roll over" and if you start with some negative camber, the tire gains positive camber during compression and you're actually gaining contact patch during cornering).

 

double post.

 

Exactly how do you propose to set the camber to zero? The factory service manual only specifies two settings for the front eccentric bolt: -1 and -2 degrees.

As a previous poster said, you want to have your toe set to zero. That should stop any wandering with the wheel straight. There's nothing wrong with taking your car to firestone as long as you location has responsible techs. I align my car every 4-5 weeks and I _always_ use firestone complete auto care. I have a stack of alignment sheets in my garage that proves they can be accurate and consistent.

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I agree with what you've said with the exception of Firestone for alignments. The OP lives in Los Angeles as I do as well and the tire chain stores have a high rate of incompetence here in L.A. He may get lucky and find a tech that is sharp and knows what he's doing, but that can be a rarity. I only use Firestone to fix my flats and Pep Boys to buy some of my car maintenance supplies.

 

yeah the techs that have seen my car r not the smartiest... when it came to an evo... they where like is that thing turbo? front or rear wheel drive? etc. etc. etc. I was like omg... anywayz.... I live in South Gate and work by Hawthorne...so I know where Torrance is at...can u give me the address to that alignment shop... thankx

 

check http://robispec.com/main.html he is 1of the best in suspension and aligment

 

I know exactly what you're saying. It's down right scary. Anyway, Johnson's Alignment Service is located at 19056 Hawthorne Blvd in Torrance. I believe it's at about 190th St & Hawthorne Blvd. There's a McDonald's right accross the street from them. Their phone number is (310) 370-6301. They go by appointment only. I'm sure you won't be dissapointed. They undid the mess that some previous alignment guys did on an older car of mine years ago, that's why I've been going to them ever since.