Alignment

[Rob]

Does anyone have advice on setting up alignment for a vehicle used both for solo II and for regular street driving?

I'm a newcomer to solo II (ran five events last year, will run as many as possible in 2004). I have a 2002 miata (sport package - so it has the bilstein shocks, strut tower bars, limited slip diff and 16" rims from the factory) with a rollbar (stiffens the chassis a bit) running on Toyo T1S tires (225/40). No other suspension mods.

Based on what I've read on other forums etc., I'm considering aligning it to the factory specs except adding another 1 degree of negative camber on the rears.

Comments/rants/suggestions? Much appreciated!

[macrossranma]

kinda off topic, but is your last name start with H?dunno if u remember, im the guy with a black 01 civic

[Rob]

Yeah last name does start with H - think I remember you - didn't we talk at a PITL event in Aug or Sept last year?

[macrossranma]

yeah, pitl and @ brampton center

[Marsh]

If your running stock class then you want to keep your alignment stock. But you always have room to play. What you want to do is get all the negative camber you can withing the stock specs, and toe-out as far as possible within spec (I'm sure the miata guys might be able to suggest some numbers, but this general tip works fairly well for any car).

What I mean by within spec is this: You factory spec will read something like "0 + or - 2mm". What you do is tell the shop you want -2mm EXACTLY. It's still within spec, but it's toed out.

Oh and I think caster should be as big as possible too.

[AlienDNA]

The "benchmark", so to speak, for Miatas is at Lanny Chambers' alignment page (http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html)

Now, remember that is for an M1. I'd suggest a couple of changes:

1) Get as much negative rear camber as you can get within stock specs.
2) Try for 1.5 degrees -ve camber up front, and you probably will have to sacrifice caster to get it.
3) Run 0 toe up front. Toe out is great for turn in, but if this is your daily driver you'll go nuts with how twitchy the car is on Toronto roads like the 400 series highways, DVP, etc.
4) Stick to the recommendation for rear toe - rear toe out on a Miata is bad ju-ju, especially on 2001+ that already have a strange propensity for low speed oversteer...

[blur]

ii) Both the front and rear suspension may be adjusted through their
designed range of adjustment by use of factory adjustment arrangements
or by taking advantage of inherent manufacturing tolerances. However,
no suspension part may be modified for the purpose of adjustment unless
such modification is specifically authorized by the factory shop manual for
non-competition purposes. Replacement control arms for vehicles having
integral bushing/arm assemblies must be standard factory parts. If
authorized by the manufacturer, the use of shims, special bolts, removal
of material to enlarge mounting hoes, and similar methods are allowed
and the resulting alignment settings are permitted even if outside the
normal specification or range of specifications recommended by the
manufacturer. If enlarging mounting holes is specifically authorized but
no material removal limits are specified, material removal is restricted to
the amount necessary to achieve the maximum factory alignment
specification.


Pretty much says anything goes short of bending stuff.