Alignment question, need help asap.

[DRA4]

So today i went to get my car align, the guy told me i might need a camber kit for my car, cause is too low, i have race springs with sport shocks, he said it could be up to $ 200 or more with the kit, now i have a question for you guys with race springs or any other suspension, do any of you had to get that camber kit? or you did the alignment regular, how it came out with regular alighnment? I gota go back tomorrow, i don't want to pay for something thats not needed.

[Starting]

I know you can not adjust the front camber on our cars without a kit. You will wear the inside of your tires quicker depending how low you go but your car should not pull right to left.

[DDQ]

You do not HAVE to get that kit. I've had race springs for about a year and a half now. While I cannot get a "perfect" alingnment to the stock specs, you can get it close enough where it's no big deal.

Just make sure you rotate your tires and you'll be fine. Make sure you go to a shop that has A LOT of experience doing Audis. Many shops do not do it right. They should have a tool that is needed to shift the subframe.

[rex_racer]

just go to a competent shop that is into racing or knows how to align. a shop that can corner balance is a sure sign of a shop that knows what's going on. u'll pay more up front, but they'll be honest w/ u and take the time to get everything setup just the way u want it. u mite be able to get close enough to stock to keep tire wear to a minimum, w/o the alingment kit. here's another thing to keep in mind, if u drive hard enough u'll get even tire wear =P haha.

[DRA4]

DDQ, so after you did it, the car didn't pull to any side, i will just do a regular alignment and see how the car rides.

[DDQ]

Originally posted by DRA4
DDQ, so after you did it, the car didn't pull to any side, i will just do a regular alignment and see how the car rides.

It's got nothing to do with pulling left or right. It's the camber that is the issue here.

Basically when you lower the car, there's only so far you adjust the stock parts to compensate for it. So, what you end up with is negative camber, which means the top of the wheel leans slightly inward.

Sorta like this, if you were looking at the car head on:

// \\ (the slashes are the tires)

And here's a pic of a car with a lot of negative camber:



As far as handling goes, many people AutoX want it to be that way, because it makes handling much better around turns. But, for straight ahead highway driving, it's not as good. The inner edge of the tires may start to wear out faster. That's why it's important to rotate your tires if you want to get the full life out of them.

[rex_racer]

toe also plays a huge part in tire wear. agressive toe out settings and even mild toe out settings can take a much larger toll on ure tires than camber settings. w/ agressive camber, if u corner hard a lot then u can compensate for the angles, but w/ toe u can't do anything but let the road chew up ure tires.

[DRA4]

Alright thanks a lot guys for the info, like i said before i will just do a regular alignment and see how that comes out, hopefully after that i won't need that camber kit.

[DDQ]

DRA4 - Like I was saying, if you're on race springs, you will not be able to get the alignment within spec. But, you can live with it, and just have them get it as close as possible. Ask for the specs when they're done. You should see that you have a slightly negative camber.

rex_racer - Toe is important, but that's not an issue here because toe can still be adjusted fine, even when you're lowered. Camber is the only real alignment issue when you're lowered.

[rex_racer]

Originally posted by DDQ
rex_racer - Toe is important, but that's not an issue here because toe can still be adjusted fine, even when you're lowered. Camber is the only real alignment issue when you're lowered.

gotcha :::thumbup:::