BlueCLS6

Well I lowered my car last night and took it in today for a 4-wheel computerized alignment at Acura. To my total surprise, the ONLY thing that was out of spec was the front TOE, and only slightly! It is about 1.5" lower in the front and 1.2" lower in the rear. Acura has some damn good engineers working on suspension geometry because everything was perfect. Hell I lowered my Accord the same amount and the alignment was all screwed! Anyway, for anyone wondering how much Comptech springs will affect your alignment... they won't! I truely didn't even need the alignment, except for the front TOE which was only -0.10" where spec is -0.05" to 0.05".
Camber Kit needed with Comptech Springs... NO. My current Camber values:
FL -0.4, FR -0.3, RL -0.8, RR -0.7
Values in degrees. Car looks sweet now! No more 4x4, yeah!

mattg

not surprising.

my car aligned perfectly w/ a 2.2" ,1.75"drop.

Pappy

Good news!! I'm getting mine done in about 2 weeks.

Six Shifter

Using Comptechs or something else?

Navi318

Hey Blue ....exactly which Comptech springs were they? Or do they go by the amoumt of drop?

Nashua_Night_Hawk

SO why people with Comptech Springs experienced uneven tire wear?

mattg

h&r race springs.

ktgumbo

Thats awesome man! My only question, is that if you do not need a camber kit, then Y does CT sell one then? I really wana lower this guy now!

jimcol711

more proof that you dont need an alignment after comptech springs......


need i say more???

by the way, i had my car put on an alignment rack last week during my oil change....guess what


EVERYTHING WAS WITHIN SPEC, NO CHANGES NEEDED WHATSOEVER

ive had the springs for 8 months and still, nothing was out of spec.

note to newbies:

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON AN ALIGNMENT IF YOU ARE JUST GETTING COMPTECH SPRINGS.

blackmagiCL_S

I had my springs done at the dealership and after I picked up the car I asked if they had done an alignment (after hearing on the forum that it was necessary). The service guy said he didn't think so and went out to talk to the tech that did the work. They hadn't done the alignment because the tech said that it didn't need one after the Comptech springs since the geometry isn't changed (?). Anyhow, the car feels okay but I will be watching for tire wear very closely.

gsrblack

Can anyone shed some light on what ktgumbo said? Why would they sell a camber kit if it's not necessary? Or is the camber kit just an aftermarket for non-Comptech drops?

mattg

he said his toe was out of spec. and in some situations the alignment will be further off.

it's always a good idea to have it checked. so basically jim, your advice sucks :P

Titand19

I had comptech springs for about 8 months on my car, and everything was fine. This topic has been discussed millions of times. That;s how i knew i didn't need an alignment. I got my Teins on now.

fusionnv

I heard from a reading on a site it for really low drops. It recommended for drops that makes the wheels do this: / /-----\ \ too much. I think the number they consider a lot is like 2.5. Something like that but for like 1 , 1.5 inch u don't need it.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

once again jim, your shooting off about something but your not looking at the big picture.

after BlueCLS6 lowered his car he did get his alignment and his TOE WAS OFF! had he not checked it by doing the alignment he wouldn't have known and it MAY have gotten worse. i'm not saying it would have. But the effect of TOE on your alignment has adverse effects not only on tire wear, but also on driving response. At higher speeds too much toe may make it harder to steer. Just the right amount of Toe on the rear wheels helps keep the car drive in a straight line at high speeds. but too much or too little greatly effects the ability of the car to respond to changes in the steering wheel by the driver. I'm not 100% clear as to the effects of Toe on the front wheels but there are detriments to having too much or too little toe.

All of us have said repeatedly that every lowering doesn't consitute the need for a camber kit. BUT the alignment is a CHEAP $40 check to make sure that later down the road, you won't have to worry about spending $600 on tires, maybe more money on a new rim because the toe grew to be so bad, that the uneven ride on the tire caused the rim to bend, and that can happen, it happened to me on my integra because i didn't check my alignment. So i'm speaking from experience on this.

an alignment is a very very cheap safety check for all you guys that lowered your cars. and whether you lower your car yourself or by a shop, BlueCLS6 did the right thing and had it checked and sure enough, his toe was off, and who know what savings in dollars he now has because his alignemnt is perfect now after getting it checked.

just because your alignment went perfect jim, doesn't mean that every other car out there will be like yours. sorry all of our car's aren't as perfect as your's is, or as you think is.

JZ

I'll attest to the fact that a car is not always right after getting lowered.

After mine was done, my tires were chewed to shreads on the inside in about 5000 miles.

I guess I didn't need an alignment, right?Any time you change to geometry of the suspension it is a good idea to have an alignment done to be sure. It certainly can't hurt.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

was your camber or toe off? just curious? from what i've seen from a lot of people it's the toe that is always off for some reason, with minimal change to camber, but over time the camber level increases as what happened with my integra.

stejus

Pics (before and after) if you have them. I'm thinking about doing in the spring:P

JZ

I don't think our camber is adjustable, and after the alignemnt the camber was fine, so I presume it was the toe.

After the alignment all is well though.

BlueCLS6

Before:


After:


I think it sits perfect now. Before it was just ridiculous!

edit... fixed pics (I think)

blackmagiCL_S

BlueCLS6...your links are dead when I tried them.

mt6forlife

Blue- What a difference! The after pic doesn't look lowered. It looks like it should have from factory and the before pic looks like its on a lift.

stejus

Nice ride and great before and after pic for comparison.

I think you just convinced me to do the CT Springs. Just as mt6forlive said, it looks a hell of alot better AFTER and the BEFORE pic's look like 4x4 material.

Let me ask, do you still have STOCK shocks? I've heard they don't last very long with CT Spings. Does anyone know why and how long to expect the STOCK shocks to last after applying the CT Springs?

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Basically you are right, the stock shocks do deteriorate at a more aggressive rate with aftermarket springs. the reason being is that you are using them now at a different level than what they are rated for.

There is no telling approx how long the stock shocks will last when installing comptech or any other spring. Factor's like road conditions, how much you drive, and other factor's all play a roll in this. Your safest and best bet is to purchase aftermarket shocks with the springs and have them installed at the same time. this way you can save your stock shocks and springs and re-install them in the car in case you ever decide to sell the car in the future.

And in addition if you install the shocks at the same time as the springs, you'll save quite a bit of money on the labor for installation.

tuRb0mikEy

jimcol is a fuckin idiot IMO...

more things affect your alignment than just lowering springs...even a good whack on a pothole with a stock car can throw off alignment bigtime...

why does he keep talking??? someone unplug his mic........do you even know what toe, camber, caster etc mean?!?!?!?!?

note to jim:
shut the F up since you have no clue ever..

Rod

Yes, the toe is what's mostly affected when you lower a CL, especially with minimal drops, like Comptechs. This was even confirmed by Jens a while back. While the camber is slighty thrown off, this in addition to the toe being off is what really kills your tires. So I'd say definitely get an alignment done after lowering your car. Worst case scenario, you wasted a couple dollars on an alignment you didn't need, big deal. I rather that than going through a set of tires in 5-10K miles, but that's just me.

ktgumbo

blazerbob1

With Eibach's my car settled after about 3mths! Has taken 2 alignments to finally come within specs! Any change in springs would nessesitate a realignment and maybe even shocks cause shocks come in different lengths! Get my new SO3's tomorrow with report on first impressions to follow! Do ya think I'll notice a difference?!

Bluto

After installing spings, shouldn't you wait about a week or two, then have the alignment checked, let it settle, wear the springs a little? Like blazerbob1 said.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

yea, i'd 2nd that opinion. either wait a week or after a certain amt of miles maybe 500?

fahoumh

yeah, that's what I kept reading over at A-TL: let the springs settle, then get an alignment