Been reading all the threads with people reccomended the UK alignment. My old car is a 99 JDM car with the uk optimal alignment and my new ones a 03 us car with standard alignment - both on s02's at about 33psi cold.

When I had the alignment done on the old car it became a lot harder to kick the back out on purpose. It seemed to hang on for dear life then go sideways realy quick. Having said that on the track I was cornerring faster than I ever did.

The new 03 is easier to get the back out and when it goes its not so scary.

So is this the 00 / 03 suspension differences or is it the alignment?

If I did the uk alignment on the 03 when it did get to oversteer would it be as violent as the old car?

I was driving fast round a mountain the other week and I hit a big patch of oil and my car went sideways bigtime. I think if I had been in my uk car I would have spun then, I usually end up going back round the other way. Maybe I was just lucky.

 

can someone explain more about US alignment? wondering as well

 

USA aligns cars for understeer cause of safety specs (understeer sucks)
UK doesn't have the safety specs and aligns them for for oversteer, handling better

I'm currently running the UK specs and ill tell you it handles better

 

I changed to UK alignment at the same time I lowered the car and changed the spring rates, so it's hard to isolate the difference(s) made by the alignment change. The three changes together improved steady state cornering grip slightly (0.02-0.03 G's, based on the average of multiple tests, but still possibly within the range of measurement error), and after the changes it was easier to put the power to the ground on corner exit, but not necessarily harder to get the tail out, at least not at *autocross* speeds. The car would still step the tail out easily if I got on the throttle too hard or too soon.

Like I said, I'm not sure how much of that was due to the alignment, the lowering, or the spring rate changes, but it's not that far off from what you're describing.

That said, I am almost positive that a part of the difference you're feeling is due to the suspension changes that were made starting with the MY02 cars. MY02-03 cars are tuned for slightly more understeer (or less oversteer), and while the difference is not huge, at track speeds, I find the later cars to be quite a bit more confidence inspiring (or if you prefer, less "scary").

In any event, you're pretty much in the same boat I'm in, because the changes we've observed have involved much more than just an alignment change. Hard to know for sure how much of the observed change is due to alignment, and how much is due to other factors.

 

Red- great post again, you pulled me into yet another thread. Anyways, do you have the specs for the UK alignment. I searched and just got a bunch of bullcrap and poop slingin arguments which amounted to nothing.

-Matt

 

Hmm....thanks guys, I think I might try to get a UK alignment too.

 

Here ya go, Matt.



If you're running the OEM S02's on an early AP1, the UK Specs above are (IMO) a good starting point. If you want to get the most out of whatever suspension and tire setup you have, get a good probe type pyrometer, and tweak both your alignment and tire pressures based on tire temperatures.

Basics of reading tire temps.

You won't get huge gains, but a pyrometer will help you to get the most out of whatever you have.

 

Thanks a lot man. Im gonna take this down to my shop over winter break and get a good alignment.

-Matt

 

Matt, make sure that you're alignment guy reads the specs properly. In the US they're use to working with fractions of an inch, and being British, these specs are in different units. I made my own spec sheet with the alignment settings listed in the units the guys in the US are use to and gave it to my guy, just to be sure that he wouldn't make a mistake in his conversions.

Any of you who try this should come back to this thread and post your impressions.

 

Do you have that sheet by chance? If not its fine, I might convert it myself.

-Matt