I took my .2 RS in for a track setup:
Front
Camber: -2.0
Toe out: 1mm
Ride height: 100mm

Rear
Camber: -2.0
Toe in: 2mm
Ride height: 125mm

When I picked the car up the mechanic said it had a slight pull to the right and I test drove it and it definitely drifts to the right. They have gone back through everything and are now saying it is a bent let front strut. They originally thought that because the left front spring has been pinged and the y thought i had been off the road, but I haven't. The damage was actually from a Hoosier R6 that had a bead wire come through the sidewall of the tire and cut the rubber boot off the strut. This same dealer is the one who removed the strut and replaced the boot about 2 months ago.

Now here is what they are saying:

Pricing breakdown:
-Left front strut and bearing housing replacement-
Parts –
Strut - $577.58
Mount- $355.99
Hub- $2,002.06
Misc- $233.00
Labor – $870.00

TOTAL= $4375.00



Do any of you have experience that can help me here?

 

talk to viking. why do u need the whole unsprung assembly replaced for a bent $500 strut?

 

That is the same question I asked, but I didn't get to speak to the mechanic yet only the service advisor.

I don't even know that I have a bent strut. The car was fine when it went to the shop and after the track setup it was drifting to the right. I think they are at a loss for why it is drifting and saw the spring that had been pinged, so it became the issue.

 

is this at the dealer or at a shop that does race prep? Might want to get a 2nd opinion. Feels a little like they are shooting in the dark.

 

Spyerx,

It is at the dealer and IMO they are shooting in the dark. Looking for the right place in Houston to get a second opinion.

Thx

 

SNB,

Email sent to Viking....

Thx

 

What are the caster values for both front wheels/tires? Caster differences can make a car pull one direction or the other.

 

They told me caster was not adjustable.

Final measurements:

Left: 7.25 deg
Right: 6.84 deg

 

Take it to a race shop for a second opinion.

 

I was on my way there last Monday, when they said they wanted to go through it again. I will take it in early next week.

 

your caster value of 6.84 seems low even for a strut that has been rotated

my experience is caster goes to 7.2-7.5 when they are rotated but when you insert shims into your lower control arm to shim out for more camber, a byproduct is to increase the caster and it usually get closer to 8.0 again

if your are only running -2.0 front camber, then you shouldn't have rotated your front struts as by doing so you dropped your caster down a full point to where it is

if by some chance you haven't rotated you front struts, and those are your caster values then something sounds completely off

and it is incorrect to say that caster isn't adjustable - it is but indirectly - i.e. by using shims in the lower control arms for camber and to increase the front track - as a byproduct of the car's suspension geometry the caster increases with shims

you can also purchase from GMG and others an adjustable thrust arm to adjust caster

the other thing that may be happening is that your tires may be worn in such a way that if you changed your alignment they may not like it as they are fighting a previous wear pattern - and since you have gone to front toe-out it might be compounding the problem - I prefer ZERO toe because of this - and personally, I would have more front camber and zero toe than what you have chosen - and if you do this with shims in the LCAs your will kick your caster values back up


no idea if any of this is helpful

 

That last point is a good one. Zero toe is the way to go, and tire wear can do funky things to how the car tracks.

+1 on the camber as well, 2 is not enough, you should have at least -3. -3.5 is about perfect with R6/R1s.

 

As other's have said, your caster is very low, and I suspect that your lower control arms are shimless. With the alignment settings that I wanted, they couldn't get the caster even on my car, but it is in a more appropriate range (8.0/8.7) and I can still feel a little pull. Get that checked out before spending all of that cash on the strut assembly.

 

Thanks for all the information. I was previously running -1.7 camber on the front, stock ride height and no shims and the car drove well. I was trying to improve the initial turn in and hence the slight toe out in the front. Additionally the biggest change was lowering the ride height in the rear from 138mm to 125mm.

To my knowledge the struts have not been rotated. Is it common to rotate the strut The left strut was removed and replaced in order to repair the rubber boot that was shredded by a bead wire. Is it possible that the left strut was reinstalled in a different orientation than the right strut? How would that impact the setup?

The car was being setup on a branded new (0 miles) set of Hoosier R6s.

 

Can u post exact before and after alignment.
If car was not pulling before, then shouldn't now.

I don't follow exactly toe in mm, what is it in degrees ?
And decimal degrees or min degrees ?