alignment question

[?]

"Brian Cembor" <bcembor@fastenal.com> wrote:

  > Does no one on the list know how to read alignment specs?

I think the trouble is the specs are a little odd - specifically, they don't
list units of measurement, but these might be inferred. That being the case,
your front-end looks a bit weird:

  > LF
  >                    Actual   Before
  > Caster          -0.5        -0.6
  > Camber        1.2         1.4
  > Toe               0.10       1.09

  > RF
  > A       B
  > -0.4    -1.1
  > 1.0 1.0
  > 0.11    -0.71

Caster is measured in degrees and should be positive, not negative. Generally,
you want as much as possible but it's not adjustable on a stock SE-R. I run 2.2
degrees.

Camber is also measured in degrees and most folks want it to be negative. Again,
this isn't adjustable on a stock SE-R. I run -2.6 degrees.

Toe can be measured in inches or degrees. From your specs, I'm guessing (hoping)
it's degrees. Generally, a little toe out is good up front for our FWD cars, but
err towards zero if you're in doubt. Toe is adjustable on a stock SE-R. Toe out
will be negative, toe in is positive, and I run -0.03 degrees, or a wee bit toe
out.

I'd almost guess that some numbers are transposed - if your camber readings were
negative, for example, that'd be good. If your caster readings were positive,
that'd be good too although a little low. Toe's a little wacky regardless.

The rear settings look decent enough - a little negative camber for stick, a
little toe-in to help the rear rotate. On a stock SE-R, rear camber is not
adjustable and rear toe is only minutely adjustable using the stock cam-profile
bolt on the inboard side of the rearmost parallel link for each side.

All of this is covered in richer and more expert detail in Mike Kojima's
suspension article written for SE-R.net. A link to the article is here:

  http://www.se-r.net/car_info/suspension_tuning.html

Hope this helps.

Carson M. Hanrahan                        '91 Classic w/the usual stuff
"It is better to go into a corner slow and come out fast than to go
into a corner fast and come out dead" - Stirling Moss