Amoeba

Just got an h&r sport drop...i am monitoring the tire wear on the car as I only have about 2k left on my current tires. If the wear is not irregular for the next 2k miles, should I align the car with new tires...or should I leave it alone since my camber, boot, and toe would be fine since the wear is not irregular. If I do align it, I will get a printout, and what specs for camber are close to stock so I know if I need a camber kit or not.

blader

I would align it. my alignment was done the same day my comptech springs were installed at park ave acura .. they have done dozens of these installs and this was thier recommendation. brought it right back to factory specs, as the drop put it out a little bit .. the H&R drop is a tad lower than comptech so if I needed it, you should definately need it.

Amoeba

Well I only got like 1-2k miles left on the tires...so why spend money on the alignment on these then a month later spend money to align the new tires. I will align it then when I get new tires, and since most of the shops dont know our factory specs or anything should I take it to my acura dealer... or can someone tell me stock specs so I know how far off my camber is on the printouts from an alignment shop.

NiteQwill

The alignment shop will have factory specs, it's loaded into the computer through a national database online. Get it done at any shop for ~$60. Even with 2K left on tires, it's not just tires that are affected through a misaligned suspension, but steering wheel, links, etc.

Edit: If you really need the specs, email me at niteqwill@spymac.com and I'll scan and send them to you.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

If you have only 2K miles left on your current tires, and depending on how much daily driving you do, i'd wait for when you buy new tires.

they recommend that wheneever you put on new tires you should get an alignment, cuz that will only prolong the life of your tires anyways.

so if you were planning on getting an alignment when you bought new tires anyways, then you may as well wait.

blader

They recommend an alignment when putting on new tires because it will extend the life of the tires............

but am I correct in saying that new tires don't actually affect your alignment at all? Regardless of your rim\tire setup, I dont think it will throw off your alignment, but I could be wrong .. if you got an alignment done now I dont think you would need another one in 1-2K miles.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I have never needed an alignment after getting new tires. That line is BS to me. I do an alignment once a year. Not when I get new tires. Since you lowered it, & you say you have only 2K miles left on your tires, then I would just wait. Worst case is you will chew through your tires after a few hundred miles anyway & just need to replace them a bit sooner.

Also Tire Kindom has the correct specs. I had my last alignment done there & they gave me a print out of what was out & what was stock. I also had the specs from the service manual to compare, & they were correct.

Amoeba

fuzzy did Tire Kingdom align everything back to spec once they saw it was off?

Amoeba

Guys since I have never gotten a printout before, does the printout tell you how off your camber, boot, and toe is? When I go to get an alignment do I need to tell them anything special since the car is dropped like..make sure my boot, toe and camber is in spec, or is that what an alignment does?

NSX-Tuner

Align it.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

When you get your alignment done, ask them for the printout, not all places actually give you the printout. The printout will provide you with alignment, toe, and caster information.

and when you do get it done, there isn't any need to inform them that your car is dropped, they will simply align it to whatever the correct values should be. But it doesn't hurt to give them more info to make their job easier, (i.e. car is lowered and i have a camber kit, yada yada yada)

if they aren't able to correct it to be within the factory specs, that is when they will inform you that you need to buy a camber kit. this is when you choose what camber kit to buy since each provides a certain level of correction.

Amoeba

Yes I am going to align it probably some time tomorrow, before I go I want to see if it just takes a normal shop to align it and give me a printout, or if I need to go somewhere special because the car is lowered than from the factory. I also want to make sure they just dont tell me its aligned and then get terrible treadwear.

Amoeba

Yes, thank you sly your getting rep points for your help...now I got it. I guess I wont tell them that its lowered, Ill just let them do their job and see if they can correct it.

What do you guys think about $69.95 alignment from Acura when I get my $30 oil change from there....save me the hassle of two trips, but is that too expensive?

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Thanx Renegade, just tryin to help

As for the price, it's all about what you feel comfrotable with paying and if you feel comfortable taking it there to have the work done.

There are plenty of places to get a good alignment done it's just a matter of finding a place that is reputable and you know will do a good job. I've always taken mine to acura simply because I get everything done there and i know it gets done right (I've been going to the same acura dealer for the last 7 years) so i don't mind the extra bucks i spend there because for me it just gives me the peace of mind that i know it was done right. And it does save me the extra trip.

but if you want to save some money, you may want to ask some local people about a good company in your area that does alignment and see what you find.

i forgot to mention in the previous post, the printout will give you the before and after of the alignment, toe and caster so you can see how far off your car was from factory specs.

Amoeba

Thanks again, I wonder if Acura will give me a hassle on alignment since the car is dropped, but they did tell me that they are mod friendly at their dealership, so I dont think that will be a problem. Im hoping I dont need a camber kit as I am going to be spending that money on sways

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

good luck to ya!

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Which one?

They all complain when I bring my car in.

Amoeba

Palm Beach Acura...havent had a complaint about the mods yet, and they said they are mod friendly.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Really? They balked at my car for some reason. I haven't been back there for a year though.