Alignment

[logoung]

hey guys, i just intalled KYB AGX + Eibach Prokit on my car last week. I was wondering about how long should I wait for the springs to set in before getting an alignment done? thanks!

[SmithSR]

Get the alignment done immediately to avoid tire wear.

[Red coupe]

that is a good question though, Is a second alignment ever nessisary because of the settling of the springs, Ive often heard people say the car lowers a little bit more once the spring is broken in.

[Q45tech]

Alignment is often needed every 6 months [to maintain things within 0.2 degrees as bushings wear and change hardness and things bend minutely.Keeping rear thrust angle low at 0.05 degrees is tough.

Street cars are not very rigid and constantly change..........shock towers/subframes.

[logoung]

Will the alignment go into spec without camber kits and new tie rods? I was told that the alignment won't be able to be done correctly without the install of camber kits and new equipment to allow adjustment of toe also....

[onosqv]

Will the alignment go into spec without camber kits and new tie rods? I was told that the alignment won't be able to be done correctly without the install of camber kits and new equipment to allow adjustment of toe also....

Well, to save yourself some money in the long run from having to keep coming back and getting alignments like I did, get those if you can now. Tie rod is not "as necessary" but couldn't hurt. By not getting the camber kit, you are limited to whatever the factory settings can do. Camber Bolts are like $20-30, so just get it. The Rear upper control arm for camber is your call, as well as the front upper camber plate. Stay away from ebay arms - they aren't that great - I have em, they're meeehhhh - waiting on my teins right now.

With the pro kit you are really only lowering about 1", so you don't need anything major. When I did sport lines, I needed camber kits (stupid bolts that do 1 degree) + rear upper control arms to get the rears back into spec. I also had to get tension rods to put the caster back in its place in the front - that could have been due to a variety of reasons, though.

If you are really picky, then get the rear toe arms too to balance everything out & the tie rods w/ adjustable ends so that the tie rods sit correctly. But again, 1" isn't much of a drastic drop, this is more for people running coilovers or 2"+ drops, etc.

[logoung]

http://www.pdm-racing.com/products/suspension.html

So these guys seem to sell the camber correction bolts and bushings that can be used to allow more camber adjustment for the front and rear. Anyone have any experience using the camber bolts and bushings to fix camber, as opposed to just getting camber kits? I mean I don't know how well the bolts work or anything, but don't want to end up spending money on them if they are not going to be very effective. LOL!

[onosqv]

camber kits for the 240sx are the bolts . Unless you are getting some fancy smancy one, which I haven't seen available for our 240's.

pdm-racing as well as spl parts are super great. MANY MANY MANY people on this board are using them competitively. The only thing is they are not the cheapest you can get... but you get what you pay for, etc.

Bolts will give you +/- 1 degree correction.

Bushings, i'm not positive, just call up pdm or spl & they'll help you right out.

I'm "pretty" sure that bolts will be all you need since you are lowering less than 1.5". After 1.5", it's starts getting kind of tricky.

[Eddie]

I have prokit springs on my 95 s14. I don't have camber issues in the front, but had a little negative camber in the rear. I used the PDM camber correction bushings and they fixed it.

The bushings come with an offset hole. They are installed in the rear upper arm and the traction rod with the offset whole positioned so that it will push the arms out about 3mm when they are bolted back on. Then the camber can be corrected.

I think it's your cheapest safe rout if you don't plan on lowering your 240 any more.

[logoung]

oh snap, so I'll probably pick up the PDM bushings then. DId you wait untiil your springs were settled in before getting an alignment done? I"m not sure how much alignment changes once the springs settle in if you get an alignment done initially right after installing...

[logoung]

So I got a set of the camber bolts for the front of the car from Eibach for free. I talked to a friend about using those to correct the front camber and as for the rear, using the bushings that PDM Racing sells. He tells me that the Eibach camber bolts will mostly likely break? Because they are significantly smaller in diameter than the stock bolt that's for the front. Also, he says that the bushings for the back are crap because they won't last, and plus since the 240 has a multilink suspension setup, that it's better to get new upper control arms, tension rods, tie rods, etc. to fix any alignment issues the car may have. As my sig says I have the Prokit and AGX installed. What do you guys think? What IS the most cost effective and reliable way to get the alignment back into spec? He says the stock parts for the 240 suspension are static, meaning they can't be adjusted and that when you go in for an alignment, they don't really align crap.

[gogg]

Buy a lifetime alignment for your car. At most places like firestone etc etc etc its like $180 or somewhere in there. Like Q45tech said, an alignment is needed every 6 months and one is needed even more if you drift/track your car... just something to ponder.

I have Eibach pro-kit springs on tokico hp struts and the only camber issues i have are from hitting a curb. I am a very spirited driver and I find that the camber the springs put you at after lowering which is probably like -1.5 or -2 deg isn't even enough for me, yes, I'm having positive camber issues after lowering my car.

[logoung]

So you didn't get RUCA or anything to fix the camber? I mean I don't think my camber can be off by too much since my springs only lower the car maybe an inch, less than 1.5 inches. THe thing is that if they can get the alignment within 1 degree, then I'm fine with that. A little negative camber helps cornering anyways. I don't wanna spend money on parts to "fix" the camber when it would only be off by a degree...