[joneblaze]

Hi all,

I drive a DC2 LS (GSi model in Australia). I recently fitted a set of Tein NA adjustable damper and springs and GSR phat fives (bout a month and a half). The Teins were bought 2nd hand and originally a dc2R application. They have lowered my LS around 2-2.5" (when i first fitted them it was alot lower, and was scraping my resonator/cat on tough driveways/carparks. I since raised it a little using the height adjustable perches). The car handles like a different creature now! I would like some advice on whether I should get it wheel aligned or balanced after installing this sort of suspension mod. Several ppl have vaguely mentioned i should "get it aligned". I've had the wheels balanced, and I notice a slight negative camber. on the road and freeway at high speeds the car handles well and is stable.
Any advice on what I should do to tweak or complete the handling/suspension modification would be appreciated.

cheers,
jon.

 

[JDMugen]

Balancing is for the wheel and tire only. it does not affect suspension geometry. Yes every time you lower your car an alignment "Should" be performed. Now whos's to say you have to get an alignment. I've been driving around for a year on a two inch drop with very little negitive camber.

 

[joneblaze]

Thanks for that Noah.
So is an alignment only "really" needed when camber is way off, or the handling doesn't quite feel right?
AKA if I simply leave it the way it is and save the $50-100 for a proper alignment can anything detrimental occur to the car? I'd rather do it right the first time round...

 

[jojo]

Any time you lower a car... it will need an alignment! Even if you lower it 1/4 of an inch. Lowering the car effects more than just the camber. So yes you should get it aligned.
If you don't you will be buying tires more than you need to. At least get the toe set to zero.

 

[94Integra94]

I strongly suggest you get an alignment done, you need it.

 

[Weston]

Every time you change the ride height, the toe MUST be corrected. It is not an option. The resulting toe will cause the tires to fight each other. Failure to correct it will result in an unstable car and rapidly increased tire wear (the kids call it "camber wear", but it's not).

Negative camber is not a problem unless it's excessive. From a 1.75F/1.5R drop, my camber is -1.5 front and -1.0 rear, and it's great. It will not increase tire wear at all. It will just wear the insides more when going in a straight line, because that's where the contact patch is, but it will have a better contact patch in the turns. In my case, the tire wear is more even than it was before the drop.

 

[vitamin_d]

This article will be helpful.. It talks about the alignment issues you deal with when you lower your car.

 

[lsvteg]

it is necessary to get an alignment whenever the height of your car is altered.you are not changing only camber but toe is affected as well. luckily caster on our cars is non adjustable so you do not have to worry there. it may feel stable when driving but your alignment still could be way off in the sense that the differences in camber and toe of each side offset themselves to give the feel of a stable car. def get your car aligned, mis alignment is stresssful on the front end joints as well as the suspension as a whole. plus you dont want ot be buying new tires every season. jsut wait till you feel the stability after the alignment.

 

[joneblaze]

Thanks for the confirmation guys. White_rice i read that article and associated material before posting the thread.