Alignment done, need some advice on what next

[skribblez32]

Went to a very reputable alignment shop in my town and told them what I wanted. Max even negative camber in the front and zero toe all around. To my surprise, I'm getting more neg. camber in the rear due to my lowering springs. I have USDM STi Pink springs and the drop in the rear is a lot lower than the front, hence the -1.3 and -1.9 camber in the rear.

The odd thing is that the tech said that he could only get -1.5 camber on the pass. side front and only -1.0 camber on the driver's side front. I was pretty bummed that they only achieved to get -1.0 camber in the front. I trust they're work and feel that that's the best they can do.

My question is that, should I be thinking about getting camber bolts for the front to get a little more negative camber in the front. I'm happy with the camber in the rear but would like atleast -1.5 camber (preferably -2.0) in the front.

I use this car as a daily driver but I like it to handle to it's fullest potential.

Side note: the tech said that my front caster is kinda out of wack, he even asked if I was in an accident. I was kinda worried, but he stated that it won't affect the suspension much. The worst case scenario would be that the car might pull slighty to the left.

CN:
Front camber only -1.0, would like -1.5 to -2.0.
Should I get camber bolts in the front to increase camber?
Rear camber seems fine.
Caster looks wierd

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[speedyHAM]

IMO- you should get 4 camber bolts or 2 camber bolts and 2 camber/ caster plates for the front.

Try to get the front camber closer to -2 on both sides and the rear camber down to -0.7 to -0.9. More negative camber up front helps the car grip through corners. More negative rear camber will make the car understeer like a pig.

The front caster is a bigger deal than the tech thinks. Caster on Subaru's aids in preventing camber loss during hard cornering. Due to the macpherson strut design on the front of our cars you get out of the good camber curve very quickly when cornering. Get as much negative caster as you can in the front.

Alternatively- if you just want to be able to drive faster, skip the alignment changes and spend the money on better tires. Better tires make more of a difference than anything else on the car for cornering and braking.

[Daishi00]

You probably bent something on the left side hence the camber/caster issues. The cross camber in the rear is pretty high too.

[Daishi00]

Originally Posted by speedyHAM

Get as much negative caster as you can in the front.

you want positive caster...not negative

[skribblez32]

Thanks for the replies.


With camber bolts in the rear, can I reduce the neg. camber that I have?

Tires are probably out of the question at the moment because I just got brand new kumho asx's. Once I'm permanently in Texas, I'll invest in some pure summer tires.

So max positive caster? How much should I be looking for? 4 degrees?

[triguy]

Yep, the rear camber bolts can help dial out the negative camber. Shoot for about a .75 to 1 degree of difference between the front and the rear with the rear being at least -1.3 and the front around -2 and you'll see an improvement in handling and less under steer. Camber plates in the front offer more flexibility and are a safer alternative to camber bolts in each of the two bolt openings per strut up front. Camber bolts are less expensive though.

Ideally, caster and camber should be the same left to right. More negative camber will have a more marked improvement in handling than more postive caster up front. If you can get more negative camber and more positive caster all the better but you'll need camber/caster plates to do that.

I drive my WRX on the track and have a fairly aggressive street set up to improve turn-in in the front but still maintain grip in the rear. I'm at -3 in the front (1/16 toe out) and -2 to -2.2 in the rear (zero toe) and 4+ degrees of caster. The jump from -2.5 to -3 made such a noticeably pleasant difference that it was worth the additional tire wear. The negative camber in the rear is needed to keep the rear planted on fast sweeping turns.

[skribblez32]

Been researching caster/camber plates and they are pricey. Hopefully I can find a nice set used. But I've been thinking I might have to upgrade my struts first to feel the most difference. I'm still on my stock struts.

[thatsilver2.5rs]

Your alignment does't look that bad lol. The toe is great, caster is what was stated above, and in reality the camber isn't bad either for daily driving.

After I installed my MR coilovers, I went to get an alignment and requested -1.5° camber front, but to my effing surprise the rear was -3.5° and non-adjustable. Thank god I got camber bolts for that rear. For your front camber, I thought it was adjustable to around -1.5° with the stock bolts, make sure the aligment tech is maxing them out. But if you want any more then get bolts for those.

I agree on upgrading your tires as well, when I went from re92's to better ones (Pirrelli Pzero Neros), in the dry I could max out my stock suspension on them and not hear squeal unless I really tried.

But from what I've seen, I'd advise not to go with -3.5° of camber anywhere if you care about the inside edge of your tires. After ~4000mi on mine, the rear's inside edge was very noticeably worn. I suggest something like this for camber (what I'm going to request for my next alignment specs),:

-1.5° to -2° F depending on how aggressive you want to be.
-.8 to -1° R

But if you don't mind trashing your tires, go crazy with the camber .