I've done many searches and have found conflicting advice. Some people have said to always get an alignment after any suspension modification. Others have said that it's not necessary with the A-Spec install.

So my question is, without a camber kit, why should I have the car aligned after the suspension upgrade? Even if the camber's out of whack, there's nothing I can do about it. Will the toe-in and caster really be affected that much?

Thanks for the help.

 

Don't worry about it. I've had mine on for two years without an alignment and no uneven tire wear.

 

lowering a car changes camber. not much in the front of these cars, more in the rear. maybe not enough with the a-spec suspension for some people to get a camber kit, although I personally would for the rear..... but a small change in camber causes a more significant change in toe. so yes, if you care about setting up your car at all correctly, you need an alignment. caster should not change at all.

 

Here we go again......If you have money to burn, by all means get an alignment.

 

Talked to the Acura service guy today. He said that you can actually change the camber very slightly without a camber kit and that toe-in may also need adjusting. They are going to throw the car on the alignment machine after the suspension is completed on Monday and if it's within specs then they won't charge me the $99 fee.

 

money to burn? anyone buying suspension to upgrade a car is in all reality burning money in the name of fun driving basically. nothing wrong with that. how much does the suspension cost and it sounds like he's paying someone to install it??? but spending the $99 or whatever to align it correctly is burning money??? wow, that makes total sense.

sounds totally reasonable.

 

All I'm saying is the car will generally stay within factory specs after the the install. Furthermore, an alignment right after the install is a 100% waste of money as it does take some time for the new suspension to settle. So if you have to have an alignment drive on them for a week or two and then take it back to have the angles measured as the angles will change slightly over that time.

 

yeah, in theory it settles and changes, but from experiene on my '04 accord lowering didn't show that. on that car I installed eibach pro kit springs, lowered a little over an inch. I aligned it myself (work in a dealership) at the time with an ingalls rear kit. I then for kicks checked the alignment about a month later and it had not changed enough to warrant adjusting it at all.

so in theory it should change, but my old accord didn't. same suspension design. and I did it myself so it's not as though I was lied to if it did or did not change with settling.

 

Yes you need one. I just got my A-Spec suspension installed Saturday, and took my car today for "B" service and had them do an alignment. My rear was off like .10 something, but they were able to adjust it without me requiring a camber kit. Other than that, just don't hit curbs or potholes.

 

.10 mm????? Please post the before and after

 

I had my suspension done yesterday and they did do an alignment. It was off on both the front and rear, they just purchased a computerized alignment machine with a printout verification that they gave me.

Now the question is was it out before OR after the kit was installed?

 

This is a misconception that you do not need an alignment job after lowering with A-spec suspension. Anytime you change your vehicle's height, you will need the car re-aligned. Camber isn't adjustable, that's correct. But the real tire killer is incorrect toe setting. Toe changes significantly whenever you change ride height.

There is another misconception that if the car doesn't pull, it doesn't need alignment. Incorrect toe setting may not cause your car to pull.

 

I totally agree with this statement!

 

I also agree.

Either way, you would be a fool not to have the alignment done. Your car has been out on the road, potholes etc. and the small price you pay for an alignment doesn't even equate to one tire you'll need to replace down the road.

 

Picking up my TL today. After throwing it on the machine, toe-in was significantly out of spec so I was charged the $99 alignment fee.

On the other hand, the dealer only charged me $727 to mount and balance all 4 tires, install the A-Spec body kit and A-Spec suspension and an alignment. Not bad considering their labor rate is $109/hr.