Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension DIY camber adjustment

I recently installed the camber kit on my car and don't feel like paying a shop a bunch of money to do this. Also im not goign to be running the proper wheel and tire combo for at least a week or two but would like the car to driveable in the meantime. Therefore i would like to do my own camber and toe alignment to make tire wear as minimal as possible. Then later go to a professional.

Does anyone know a better method of checking camber than with a level against the wheel?

How much negative camber is beneficial in cornering, but wont kill my tires on a daily driver?

Anyone know a better toe guesstimater than measuring the distance between the front of the tires and the rear of the tires?

I just did my alignment today. I had a piece of u-channel aluminum that I bungeed to each front wheel horizontally, centered vertically. Then I dropped a plumb bob from this instead of the tread: much easier! FWIW, it looks like 1 thread on the tie rod end is 1/4" of toe: wow!

I measured my camber with a level and tape. I figure I'm only within about +/-0.2* doing it in a hurry, but with a little work (another piece of u-channel and a verneer(sp?) caliper) I think I could be within 0.1 degree.

BTW, I'm running 3/8" total toe-out up front, -2.7 (or 2.5 or 2.9) camber up front, and all the caster that gives me. We'll see how the agressive setup works tomorrow...

let me know how that turns out.. i think im about 1/8-1/4 toe out.. if i had to guess i measured and was about 1/2" out .. turned one rotation.

i used a level on my guessed camber and it looked like dead even or just a little bit of camber. of course this is just a guess as well as im not sure how level the ground is in relation.

a guy my father knows was over in the garage as i was doing this and said the front wheel drive cars should be 1/8" toe in. I thought it was supposed to be toe out. i noticed you said toe out, any thoughts anyone?

FWD cars handle and wear best with toe-out. Just a tiny bit of toe-out (1/8" or less TOTAL) will cause the wheels to become parallel under power. The two-bolt LCAs flex more than the four-bolt, so it's a bit of a game getting the right toe on them since it changes a lot when driving. 1/8" out per side is a very agressive street alignment, and 1/16" per side is probably better for wear. I don't notice much difference in feel with more toe, but it is certainly faster on course. It's also probably burning up my tires pretty quickly.