Alignment specs-anybody using other than factory?

[Tierra del Sol]

Hello all and thanks as always for being an amazing resource.

I installed some Megan coil overs yesterday and will be fine tuning this week as time allows. I know. I am going to need an alignment. I was wondering what specs folks were using (or trying to reach anyway) after dropping the car with coilovers. In my previous forum world we had developed a street setup that was decidedly different from the factory specs, but produced amazing handling and ride results. I have searched around IS and I don't see anything like that here. I know the alignment shops will have the recommended specs on hand and I know they will get as close as they can. The cars isn't slammed, but it is a good 2.5-3.0" lower than stock.

Also- just in case- anyone know of a competent alignment shop in San Diego ?

Thanks! If I've left any info out, just ask. And if I completely missed threads on this topic, I blame my search engine

TDS

 

[shadow191]

For the FX, I don't think anyone knows what the perfect alignment setup would be. For many other platforms, people track their cars a lot and can give good advice on what works and what doesn't. For us, there are only a handful of people that track or Auto-X and I don't think they're changing their alignment setups much. On top of that, we can't really change that much in terms of alignment. There are no camber or toe arms so our adjustments are limited. You can change camber in front with your camber plates and in rear, you can get the SPC bolts.

Plus it's still an SUV so I think that adjustments will have less impact than on a 911 or something. The FX carries a lot of weight, and there is a lot of wheel/tire. FWIW, I'm on the lowest drop w/ BC's and camber is -3 in back and -2 in front. Toe is set as close to 0 as we could get (I forget the number). I remember that they had to max out the adjustment to get toe back into spec. So if I was to go any lower (not really possible) or try to get more negative camber, my toe would be out. It's been so long since I've driven stock suspension that I don't know the impact that this alignment has had on handling. I know that my FX still tracks straight and it doesn't exhibit any weird handling characteristics. The steering wheel does fight me some if I'm taking hard corners aggressively, but maybe it was always that way. My only point of reference right now is my other car which is a 335i and that has much lighter steering to begin with.

 

[motesound]

Hey guys,
Wonder if these numbers are good. Never done alignment before.

Right away one thing I noticed the steering wheel is off clockwise (stays at about 1pm)