Where Should My Alignment Specs Be ?
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Sure, if they can get it. If not take what you can get.
I'd say -2 to -3.
zero front toe or perhaps a tiny smidge of toe-in. A bit of rear toe-in is fine, but I wouldn't go more than 0.2 degrees total (that's less than a tenth of an inch total)
Caster does a few things, adds camber with steering angle, adds *weight* to steering, increases steering self-centering, also jacks with corner weighting with steering input. Like I said, I have found that *minimizing* caster works best for me. Practicallly everyone else thinks "more is always better". But I find that the increased weight corrupts feel at the steering wheel and makes the car feel less engaging and fun to drive as well. Like I said though, driver preference... If you don't know what you like yet, run somewhere in the middle of the range. Feel free to experiment here!
Hankook V12 evoIIs, huh. These tires are KNOWN for soft sidewalls and very poor handling feel. Hate to say it, but you got the wrong tires for go-kart handling...
I'd say -2 to -3.
zero front toe or perhaps a tiny smidge of toe-in. A bit of rear toe-in is fine, but I wouldn't go more than 0.2 degrees total (that's less than a tenth of an inch total)
Caster does a few things, adds camber with steering angle, adds *weight* to steering, increases steering self-centering, also jacks with corner weighting with steering input. Like I said, I have found that *minimizing* caster works best for me. Practicallly everyone else thinks "more is always better". But I find that the increased weight corrupts feel at the steering wheel and makes the car feel less engaging and fun to drive as well. Like I said though, driver preference... If you don't know what you like yet, run somewhere in the middle of the range. Feel free to experiment here!
Hankook V12 evoIIs, huh. These tires are KNOWN for soft sidewalls and very poor handling feel. Hate to say it, but you got the wrong tires for go-kart handling...
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hey man, I appreciate how you broke down that response into segments. Perhaps your right with the tires , these are all I’ve ever ran i always thought they handled great when my car was properly aligned but maybe I just never experienced the greener grass haha. But anyways , thanks again . I’ll be getting an alignment Monday I’ll try to get back to you guys with the sheets !
So the alignment should help but also keep in mind the tires and their effect on feel. Maybe running higher pressure on the softer sidewall tire might also add a little stiffness and feel.
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I’ve heard this multiple times but I’ve never experienced it so take with a grain of salt, the hankook v12 take time to break in. They are generally softer and more squirmy until you put some miles on them. I’m not sure how much but this is something I’ve read over and over on multiple threads like this.
So the alignment should help but also keep in mind the tires and their effect on feel. Maybe running higher pressure on the softer sidewall tire might also add a little stiffness and feel.
So the alignment should help but also keep in mind the tires and their effect on feel. Maybe running higher pressure on the softer sidewall tire might also add a little stiffness and feel.
Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Pawtucket, RI
FWIW:
IMO most important is *toe*. Zero front toe is fine, a tiny bit of toe-out for more turn-in responsiveness, tiny bit of toe-in for reduced wandering on the highway, zero good compromise and good tire life.
Rear toe, IMO the spec range for AP1 is way way way too much. I would ask for no more than 0.2 degrees total rear toe-in (spec range is like 0.33 degrees to 0.67 degrees total). Too much rear toe kills tire life, bad for handling responsiveness, also bad for AP1 handling linearity. Ask for 0.2 *degrees*, *total* (i.e. half that or 0.1 degree per side). Units are important, fwiw 0.2 degrees is 0.086 inches total, or about 3/32" total, or 1.5/32" per side.
Camber, in my experience a broad range can be OK, max front and -2 to -3 rear is fine.
Caster we talked about, 6-6.5 degrees fine, more or less than that also fine depending on driver preference
IMO most important is *toe*. Zero front toe is fine, a tiny bit of toe-out for more turn-in responsiveness, tiny bit of toe-in for reduced wandering on the highway, zero good compromise and good tire life.
Rear toe, IMO the spec range for AP1 is way way way too much. I would ask for no more than 0.2 degrees total rear toe-in (spec range is like 0.33 degrees to 0.67 degrees total). Too much rear toe kills tire life, bad for handling responsiveness, also bad for AP1 handling linearity. Ask for 0.2 *degrees*, *total* (i.e. half that or 0.1 degree per side). Units are important, fwiw 0.2 degrees is 0.086 inches total, or about 3/32" total, or 1.5/32" per side.
Camber, in my experience a broad range can be OK, max front and -2 to -3 rear is fine.
Caster we talked about, 6-6.5 degrees fine, more or less than that also fine depending on driver preference
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They won't be able to align to stock camber spec. You should be using like -3ish with 17x9+40, to avoid rubbing. It will still rub..but...avoiding. Do you have camber joints up front? what kind? You should be using uppers for this fitment on stock fenders.
I always try for as much positive caster as possible (with no more than 1 degree variance per side). How much you get depends on a few things on your particular car.
A tiny amount of toe-in up front to help with tire wear. Like 0.05" per side or something.
AP2 rear toe spec range is fine. AP1 is a bit much, IMO.
I make it easy on the alignment shop. I'll take in an excel printout of what I want, laid out logically. Or at least write it on a piece of paper for them.
I always try for as much positive caster as possible (with no more than 1 degree variance per side). How much you get depends on a few things on your particular car.
A tiny amount of toe-in up front to help with tire wear. Like 0.05" per side or something.
AP2 rear toe spec range is fine. AP1 is a bit much, IMO.
I make it easy on the alignment shop. I'll take in an excel printout of what I want, laid out logically. Or at least write it on a piece of paper for them.
top is before
bottom is after
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as far as fitment I’m not concerned , I’m pretty low but had a lot of fender work done roll/slight pull/ tab relocation . I was just more curious as to what numbers I should be near when the alignment is done. I have a good amount of camber in the backs already and the front a little bit too. So ill probably shoot for 3 in the rear and maybe 1.5-2 in the front. And if possible try to get the max caster ? Which is like 6 right ?
So for your setup with +45 offsets, I would have some concern with that chance of rubbing. If it rubs the liner, that is one thing, if it catches the fender lip, it tears up expensive body panels
If you are running softer springs, your chances of this happening go up as well since the suspension will compress more easilly.You may be better off since you say your fenders have been pulled and you have more camber than I do and it looks like you are sticking to 245's up front.Just be wary of moving to square setup with 255's.
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One comment I will add here. I am running 17x9 +63 with 255's. I am lowered about an inch, have -2.6 degrees of camber, rolled front fenders and I was on 850 lb/in front springs. I went off on an autox run and went through the grass once, hitting a pretty significant bump with a lot of steering dialed in and did catch my front fender. It created a small dent in the fender lip but luckilly did not catch any worse. If it catches the lip bad enough it will destroy the fender, or at minimum tear the lip and bend it to hell.
So for your setup with +45 offsets, I would have some concern with that chance of rubbing. If it rubs the liner, that is one thing, if it catches the fender lip, it tears up expensive body panels If you are running softer springs, your chances of this happening go up as well since the suspension will compress more easilly.
You may be better off since you say your fenders have been pulled and you have more camber than I do and it looks like you are sticking to 245's up front.Just be wary of moving to square setup with 255's.
So for your setup with +45 offsets, I would have some concern with that chance of rubbing. If it rubs the liner, that is one thing, if it catches the fender lip, it tears up expensive body panels
If you are running softer springs, your chances of this happening go up as well since the suspension will compress more easilly.You may be better off since you say your fenders have been pulled and you have more camber than I do and it looks like you are sticking to 245's up front.Just be wary of moving to square setup with 255's.
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I agree a lot of Rear camber I could probably get it down to like 3.5 ? I’m tucking 255s pretty low and honestly I don’t want to raise the car. And as far as toe you think that should be less ? Where should I be shooting for as far as rear toe ?
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From: Pawtucket, RI
For camber, I'd call -3.5 OK, for sure -4.5 is a bit much... Toe more important though, IMO