Ok, I just got my '03 realigned after doing some suspension changes. When I first got this car a few months ago, I was amazed at the tightness of the steering wheel and how well it centers itself. That goes along with the car's quick response. I put on some Tein coilovers, but now they're off, and I have the stock suspension back on. With the following alignment specs, the car is driving straight, but, its lost some of that crisp steering wheel feel and centering ability. It feels as if there there's a couple degrees of a "dead zone" where I can move the steering wheel, and it doesn't respond as much. It also doesn't recenter itself like it used to. Is there any kind of adjustment that can be done with the alignment, that would make the steering wheel center itself better, as well as reducing that "dead zone" in the steering, which would make the car much more responsive.


Front L to R:
Toe In: 1/16
Caster: 6 1/2* and 7*
Camber: -3/8 and -3/8

Rear L to R:
Toe In: 1/8
Camber: -1 3/8* and -1 3/8*


Would a 0 toe or a slight toe-out make the steering wheel center better and increase the car's handling response?

 

Zero toe in the front will help turn-in. Centering is mostly a function of caster which you've got set properly. Check tire pressures, too...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jguerdat
Zero toe in the front will help turn-in.

 

How's my rear toe-in for an alignment geared towards good handling?

 

You need more rear toe in, say .17 to .20. Like the man said, go to zero toe or slight positive in front, and you can take more negative camber. If for street, try -.75 in front, -1.5 in rear; if you autocross, go to -1.0 front, -2.0 rear. This car is really sensitive to the rear toe settings.

 

The rear toe is used primarily to help balance the car relative to oversteer. More rear toe-in will help keep the rear behind you in 10/10ths driving. It won't help for turn-in feel but can certainly make the car feel more "lively" the closer you get to 0 - you just need to make sure that's what you really want since it can cause ends to swap if you're not driving properly.

 

Toe Out in the front will help turn in but the more you put, the less tolerable the car will be on the street. Also, Toe In in the rear should help keep the ass from coming around but too much can cause it to hop. The more caster you have the tighter the steering wheel feels, get as much caster as you can before it starts cutting into your front camber.