alignment?

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revolutionary

New Member
Well i recently installed suspension techniques front and rear sway bars on my 94 del sol si. And i had to replace the rear lower lcas cause i damaged the old ones trying to get a siezed bushing out. Do i need to get an alignment? I Replaced em with the skunk2 lcas. And with the new sways it is like night and day difference in handling, alot less body roll. But the understeer is alot more noticeable. Does anyone have suggestions on this? It feels good through the corners but seems like the front tires arent really turning the car. So i was thinking of koni yellows and h&r sport springs. Im on a tight budget. And would like it adjustable. thanks
 
You def need to align. You sound like you are really into the handling part of your car. If so you should learn to align yourself. Like stated earlier when ever doing suspension work you will need to re-align. It's not too hard to learn it yourself! I know what it's like being on a tight budget. I have been there before.

The thing you mentioned about feeling like the front tires were not turning your car. That is actually a pretty good thing! The car is "handling like it's on rails". It is a good thing as long as the car is sticking to the road without fighting the wheel. Does the backend stick as well?
 
ive posted a how to for the DIY alignment... no one really cared

its buried somewhere in one of these threads
maybe if im bored ill try to dig it up some time
 
ok so i was bored

heres a few resources for how to do you own alignment
Sheldon's DIY Miata Alignment Page
http://home.comcast.net/~jkrane/suspension_university/susp401.html
K-Series.com - The Honda and Acura K Motor Solution

ive done it... its not difficult and you get a far better alignment than you will at most shops (as long as you take your time and double check your accuracy)
it takes several hours the first time... but it gets easier as you go... i can do my car in a little over 2 hours

leveling the car is important to getting proper measurements
finding the centerline of the car is crucial
beyond that its simply a matter of double checking your measurements
"slip plates" help a lot and greatly reduce frustration

google "DIY alignment"
there are shit tons of how to articles out there

this is not a hack-job alignment either
this is how almost all track cars are aligned (most track cars have a rig built for them that mounts directly to the car saving them from having to find center and measure out parallel lines... Smart Strings Four Wheel Alignment Set)
when set up properly you can get a far more accurate alignment than you ever will from some $8/hour jackass at the local tire/muffler shop with his beat the hell up non calibrated POS $$$$$$$ laser alignment rack (i use to be one of those jackasses and used one of those high dollar racks.... i still used the string box on my own car) that rack is meant to alow a low experienced, hourly paid tech to push out alignments as fast as possible with "good enough" accuracy

i always took my time doing alignments with that shitty setup and still had to redo about 20% of the cars because after the machine said they were perfect the alignment was worse than when the car showed up
 
Yes the backend does stick pretty well, i guess it could just be the driver. But still when im going through a turn hard it just feels the tires arent turning the car as much as it should be. For quick manuvers its good, just when im going through a wide turn. Well ill get it alligned as soon as i get the front sway link bolts installed. The bolts were missing in the kit so i just went to the hardware store and got some that fit. Id feel better if i got the ones that were supposed to be installed on the kit. Also i need to get an oil change and an inspection so an alignment isnt really a hassle for me right now. Although that write-up on it is nice. Thanks

You def need to align. You sound like you are really into the handling part of your car. If so you should learn to align yourself. Like stated earlier when ever doing suspension work you will need to re-align. It's not too hard to learn it yourself! I know what it's like being on a tight budget. I have been there before.

The thing you mentioned about feeling like the front tires were not turning your car. That is actually a pretty good thing! The car is "handling like it's on rails". It is a good thing as long as the car is sticking to the road without fighting the wheel. Does the backend stick as well?
 
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