Alignment Question

[kinvodA]

My car needs an alignment, and it needs tires so I found somebody local willing to give me a package deal. I plan on spending the next year slowly but surely going through the various elements of the suspension and eventually putting on Billies & H/R Sports.

My question is, what should I do before the alignment? What will actually affect the alignment? I am ordering some drop hats, and want to replace several bushings etc but I dont want to mess up my forthcoming alignment. Is there certain things that will have a minimal impact on the alignment? Perhaps I will install a few things before the alignment, save up some more parts and get another alignment in about 6 months/ a year.

[jlevie]

In the stock configuration the only thing that can be adjusted is toe on the front wheels. If you change control arms, bushings tie rods, or ride height you will need an alignment.

[kinvodA]

I'm actually planning on Getting a four wheel alignment. Will new diff bushings, subframe bushings or RTABs? Or any other bushings etc in the back?

[jlevie]

Other than to find out if the rear wheels are out of alignment, there's no point in a four wheel alignment since there are no adjustments for the rear wheels, nor is there camber or caster adjustments for the front wheels. All you can do in the rear of the car is to replace the subframe and trailing arm bushings. If there is still a rear alignment error, a trailing arm is bent and has to be replaced. To gain adjustments for the rear wheels you have to go to eccentric trailing arm bushings or weld in camber/toe plates.

In a like manner, you can increase caster on the fronts wheels with offset control arm bushings. but unless you replace the OE upper strut mounts with adjustable camber plates you are stuck with whatever camber the wheels have.

[Simon S]

While there isn’t need of a true “four wheel alignment” – isn’t a four wheel alignment needed to determine thrust angle – so the car doesn’t “dog track”?

I went to a few shops for estimates and the story I got was that it didn’t matter how simple the tie rod/toe adjustment was – it was more a matter of it costing ~$120 just to put the car on the rack.

OP – what’s frustrating about your question is that your situation, itself, is frustrating.

Poor alignment and you’re putting new tires on it? Yeah, you’d want an alignment so new tires didn’t wear funky. As far as all the parts you want to freshen up – up there, it’s best to save up and replace them all at one time – then get another alignment I guess. Shit.

[BMMal]

As the others said, replace the parts all at one time and make sure your rear sub-frame and trailing arms are not bent. This makes sense especially if you are going to be changing camber on the front or caster. If your rear tires are wearing poorly and your bushings are not totally shot the culprit is most likely a bent component(s). I did not realize I had bent rear suspension components, replaced bushings. Then realized the problem, got new components and had to put new bushings in those as most of the bushings will be in poor condition when you remove them from the sub-frame.

[kinvodA]

I think I'm going to wait it out. If I rotate these tires they can last the summer. I plan on getting drop hats soon and i will repleace everything all at once when i can finally afford new springs. I might try to do the diff/rear subframe and rtabs before I get the alignment done, time will tell...