Bigwood

Hi, my alignment shop is closed for the quarantine so I figured someone here may know the answer!
i just had my alignment done about 2 weeks ago and the car drives great. I have the ability on my shocks to lower the fronts about another 1/4” which I would like to do. Does that little amount require another alignment ? I don’t really feel like spending the money again if I don’t need to.
Thanks for any help!

clib

It will alter it and will also change the rake of the car if you only lower the front by those roughly 6mm.
how much and how Much it will impact handling on the street youd have to drive and see what you notice.

Bigwood

Thanks! Do you think that it will affect the wear on my tires (they are brand new) ?

territory145

Hey bigwood, I just had my alignment completed also and the shop is guaranteeing the job for 90 days. See if they will do that also, that way you can lower the car and have it realigned for no cost to you.

Bigwood

thanks for the idea! I just left him a voice mail to see what he says. He is a great guy so hopefully he will get me set up.

samurai_k

Suspension is a system so as you start to change the parameters it is likely to change the other ones. Not sure messing with ride height worth the hassle of a perfectly aligned car you just did.

If you are to go forward, toe angle (the angle which your tires point in or out) is actually something simple to do yourself in your level driveway / garage as many do at the track with a few strings.

Here is an article to give you an idea.
https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY...gnment-Toe-in/

993_540

I got mine aligned and corner balanced after DIY PSS-10 install. The shop told me if I wanted to change height +/- 10mm, change all corners the same amount of turns on the coilover, and should be fine (no re-alignment necessary). Changing just the front would be outside this recommendation IMO. Agree with others, if you're not happy have the guy redo the alignment with your preference on ride height. Many shops are looking for business these days.

dave
95 C2
03 540i6
84 380SL

Meenrod

If you change the height then you should have it realigned. Chances are it will need a small tweak and not be too far out, but I would be upfront and tell them instead of trying to pass it off as the car settling and trying to get it for free. It's not the garage's fault you changed the height. Apologies if I misunderstood what is being suggested here.

Meenrod

Also- does the shop have the rear kinematic toe tool? Not a lot of shops have that / know how to do it. If not find a shop that does. I would also recommend having it corner balanced as someone suggested above. These cars are so responsive to that and when I did mine a few weeks back it was literally like a different car.

NC TRACKRAT

On level ground, you need to determine what your front and rear heights are at the specified points to do so. This will determine if you have the correct amount of negative rake. Your alignment shop should've done that to begin with. If you're in the specified range, then leave well enough alone.

pp000830

Yes, I would wait until I had another reason to have an alignment and lower it then.
Andy

tstafford

Me too.