tk's944

I did some searching but came up with a few different numbers.

What would be the best alignment set up for my car when I take it to get aligned after getting the new struts, shocks, brakes, and tires that I'm installing now.

My car is a weekly autocrosser and daily driver. I want to be competitive at autocross.

tyro

Since you DD the car, you shouldn't get too crazy..

Probably -2 camber in the front, max caster and zero toe to slight toe in.
-1.5 camber or so in the rear with slight toe in.

Scootin159

agreed

67rschev

I think this is a bit to the conservative end . If tire wear is not an issue than max caster , up to -2 1/2 camber or more if your struts and crash bolts allow . Now if you have a big front sway , try some toe out in front to help turn in . I run as much as 3/8 out on our small lot and 1/8 toe out on our large coarse lot . Like i said if tire wear is an issue , stay at 0 or adjust for event weekends . On the rear -2 camber and with a 1/2 tank of fuel 0 toe out . At 1/4 tank of fuel it turns to just shy of 1/8 toe out in the rear . This seems to help rotate the car through the center of the turn . Have no issues driving on the roads , all though on roads with big crowns keep your hands at 10 and 2 , and i wouldn't want to drive this alignment in the snow ....

67rschev

Opps ... should read 1/16 toe out at 1/4 tank

tk's944

I guess I should add my car is going to have Front Konis and rear KYB's for now until I get a little more money for the rear Konis. It has stock front sway bar and a rear sway bar, and stock springs and torsion bars which I will up grade to stiffer ones soon.

67rschev

You might want to keep it conservative then ....... A big big big front bar would be your best friend autocrossing and a great all around upgrade .

N_Halbert

What is said about -2 - -2.5 on camber is true. I didn't see anything about adjustable camber plates. If you are not adding them these number are not possible with the stock suspension. Without plates you are limited to about -1.7. My S2 is maxed out at -1.7 front, -1.3 rear. Going with toe out will make it darty on the street. I would not recommend it for a mixed DD. Dedicated AutoX, sure. A quarter of a degree or so of toe in front and rear.

Just putting in a large front sway is not the cure for handling. What are you experiencing behind the wheel? Is it pushing? Then a heavy front sway or heavier springs will just make it worse. To fix push you need to stiffen the rear ( sway bar, adjustable shocks, bigger T-bar) or more grip up front. Running 8" rims and the same rubber on all corners goes a long way to making the car handle neutrally. Tire pressures can have a great affect on handling. If you are running the stagger recommended in the manual it sets up the car for push. A 1 to 2lb change in the stagger will make a noticeable difference.

You don't mention if the shocks are adjustable?

Depending upon what series you autoX in, you may limited to what changes are allowable without being forced to move to a higher more open class.

tdz

By using height adjustable springs and lowering the ride height, you should be able to get -2.5 deg camber. That's what I had on my 924S with stock M030 sport suspension.

I run a full AX setup, then buy cheap street tires like Kuhmo or Sumitomo (R compound for AX). The rears wore pretty well with -1.5 deg camber and very minimal toe-in. The fronts wore pretty fast with -2.5 deg camber and a little toe-out.

Hopefully in August I'll have my S2 back together and get an AX alignment.

Tom

67rschev

+1 on all these observations

Had no issues getting up to -2 3/4 with the stock MO30 strut set up on steel a-arms .

67rschev

And true , The big big bar will make the car understeer , but autocross is all about weight and roll control . If competing within SCCA stock class rules it is the only suspension upgade , besides dampners , so we must take advantage . Tie the car down with the bar , and free it up with " other " meathods . I would'nt set a car for the track this way , but is very effective for small lot autocross .

+1 on tire pressure adjustments for individual coarse adjustment . Have run up to a 8 psi swing on both front and rear ends depending on coarse " Features " for an " on the fly " chassis adjustements .

Catfood

What you need to do to be competitive is get the car aligned multiple times, it is impossible to get the suspension perfect in one adjustment, the car needs to be driven at least 30 miles per alignment, you will probably have to do this 4-5 times before its where it needs to be. Better yet do it yourself. The alignment sticks are not that expensive.