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08-12-2004, 10:49 AM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 7098
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle:2004 STi WRB |
Is it OK to track car after suspension install, sans alignment?
Getting my Tanabe GF210's installed on my STi, and wanted to wait a week for the springs to settle before getting an alignment. But in the meantime a track-day opportunity has come up that I'd love to take.
Am I crazy to track the new suspension without an alignment, and should I just bit e the bullet on getting an alignment now and then again after a week or two?
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08-12-2004, 11:17 AM | #2 |
Scooby Guru
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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MWSOC
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It wouldn't hurt anything but your performance. I would recomend maxing out neg camber yourself on the front at least, then you should be fine till the following week.
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08-12-2004, 11:57 AM | #3 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 7453
Join Date: Jun 2001
Chapter/Region:
BAIC
Location: Bay Area, CA
Vehicle:2014 Scion FR-S Hot Lava |
Well track days are hard enough on tires as it is and if you have weird alignment settings (mostly lots of toe) you could kill your tires much faster than normal.
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08-12-2004, 12:45 PM | #4 |
Scooby Guru
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Join Date: Feb 2002
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If it's not a coilover kit (springs + struts) you can track them as soon as you
put them on. New struts need to be broken in to rid the airbubbles from shipping by setting the dampness to soft ~ med-soft range and driving gently for about 100-200miles. |
08-12-2004, 12:49 PM | #5 |
Scooby Specialist
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NWIC
Location: Seattle, WA
Vehicle:2000 2.5 RS Coupe Mitsubishi EVO IX |
you could potentially ruin a set of tires from one track day. that said, i did it (ran a lapping day after installing coilovers and before an alignment) and my tires did ok. I had over a degree of toe also, plus my camber was extremely uneven from left to right. also, running full negative camber (if you have adjustable camber plates) might give you a lot more camber than you need or what would be good for you.. just a thought
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08-12-2004, 12:54 PM | #6 | |
Scooby Guru
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08-12-2004, 01:03 PM | #7 |
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International
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Vehicle:2002 WRX Silver '02 SV650 |
You could also have some "at the limit" surprises due to an odd alignment. Something like having toe-out on one side (could have throttle-off snap oversteer while turning right, but not left) or your rear wheels don't follow the front (tracking funny, makes high speed stability fun) or a variety of other interesting things.
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08-12-2004, 01:05 PM | #8 | |
Scooby Guru
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08-12-2004, 01:46 PM | #9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 7098
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle:2004 STi WRB |
Thanks for all the advice.
Actually, I'm installing the GF210's on my stock STi struts, and also putting Cusco Camber plates up front and Group N top mounts in the rear. R compounds are expensive, so based on everything I've heard here I think I'm better off biting the bullet and getting an interim alignment before tracking the car. Darn it.... |
08-12-2004, 08:14 PM | #10 |
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Just drive you car for a day, then get it aligned. For the street, you'd be ok for awhile, but you're going to be pushing the limits. You don't want to mess around with 'at the limit' handling.
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08-12-2004, 10:23 PM | #11 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 29440
Join Date: Nov 2002
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Location: Cranberry Twp, PA
Vehicle:2015 WRX White |
if you get them installed on say Saturday, take it Thursday or Friday to get an alligned. Otherwise plan on buying tires too.
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08-13-2004, 11:09 AM | #12 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 7098
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle:2004 STi WRB |
That's bad news.....
I'm getting them installed on Saturday morning, and the track-day is Sunday afternoon. Hope the interim alignment Saturday afternoon will at least prevent crazy tire-wear and wild 'at the limit' behaviour. |
08-13-2004, 01:00 PM | #13 |
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For what it's worth, I recently replaced my STI RA springs with STI pinks (about 3/4" drop all around).
When I did the swap, I adjusted the camber bolts to max neg camber in the front. My pre-alignment settings when I went in three weeks later were: Front: Left Right Camber: -1.1 -1.3 Toe:-0.04" -0.06" Rear: Camber: -1.6 -1.5 Toe: 0.04" 0.01" The only negative I noticed (at two autox's) was more push due to the excessive rear camber. |
08-13-2004, 05:58 PM | #14 | |
Scooby Guru
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08-13-2004, 11:50 PM | #15 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 7098
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle:2004 STi WRB |
OK, I will. Yes, I have to get them installed on Sat. I can't wait to see how they work. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Thanks for all the good advice..... |
08-13-2004, 11:58 PM | #16 |
Scooby Guru
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Have fun
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08-14-2004, 06:03 PM | #17 |
Scooby Specialist
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Vehicle:2004 WRX Wagon DRZ400SM |
you're probably getting them installed today but i second what "fliz" said. if you keep an eye on where your camber bolts are set before taking them out to do the installation, you should be able to get it pretty close to your previous alignment. the springs shouldn't throw anything off too much so if you want your stock alignment settings back, note the angle that the camber bolts were installed at before. i've been able to get pretty close (within .2 degrees) to accurate camber settings by installing the bolts at equal positions on both sides.
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08-14-2004, 11:03 PM | #18 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 7098
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle:2004 STi WRB |
Well, didn't end up doing the springs and camber plates install today....
The Cusco plates were 2nd hand, and turned out to be bent. Damn! Well, I might be able to get a new set, or I'm consideing the PDE's, but that's big coin. Are the PDE camber plates the best out there, bar none, money being no object? |
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