ebelp

So I just put in a rear Ingalls camber kit...install went smooth. Everything is torqued to spec, but an alignment hasn't been done yet.

I was just outside and noticed that the rear passenger side looked lower than normal, so I got out the measuring tape and sure enough...that side is exactly 1/2" lower than the driver's side (which is at the normal height).

Obviously the camber and toe is not to spec because I haven't had it aligned yet, but it still seems strange that it could cause that much of a difference in ride height. Especially since I made sure that all the length of the arms of the Ingalls kit were almost identical to the stock arms before I installed them. I'm having it aligned tomorrow, so my question is...should I raise the ride height back up to make it even with the driver's side before the alignment, or should I just have it aligned and see if somehow that fixes the problem?

If I get my car back after being aligned and the rear passenger side is still 1/2" lower than the other side, I can easily raise it up to match the other side, but then I'll be throwing off all the specs of the fresh alignment and I'll have to get it done again.

What to do??

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

there are couple things the attribute to this:

1> springs/shocks takes couple days to settle down (if you installed the springs/coilovers recently
2> camber kit will have different settings....so each camber kit has settings (which helps in alignment), maybe one side was set differently than the other side....

either way it should be fine after the alignment

as i mentioned in the other thread, after the camber kit you lose your stance....

ebelp

Thanks for the input. The coilovers have been on for a few months now, so settling is not the problem.

I realize that the camber setting may be different since it's not to-spec right now, but can the extreme, sunken camber really make 1/2" of difference?

FWIW, I'm getting my measurements from the ground to the top arch of the fender.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

1/2" seems a little extreme but i was within a 1/4" all the way around....maybe because mine came off an already aligned car (still i had that 1/4" difference)

06cmv6

Weird....don't really have a answer for you...I've never heard of this before

corcraft

iTrader: (2)

Mine is the same way...... been like that for years.

Dino81

Take the car for a spin. I've noticed on mine, After u jack it up and lower it down it sometimes sits uneven...until I take it down the road...a couple bumps should settle it back down.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

and you never got it aligned or height adjusted or any of that?

sourial84

iTrader: (1)

I have no idea only thing I can think of it the settling of the springs but if i recall your thread you installed them at least 3 months ago again all i can say is make sure you at least get the alignment packages where you can go unlimited times or something in that nature since you have coils and you will be playing with you height all the time

94eg!

If the ride height is still uneven after driving the car around, get in there and check that the spring perches are set to the same height left to right. I usually just count the number of exposed threads on the shock body.

If they are even left to right, then next you want to check that you have the same springs left to right. Easy way is to check for numbers printed on the coils. They usually spec the size & rate or part number. If not, then juts count the number of coils on the spring.

If that all checks out, it could have to do with uneven weight distribution of the car. Though this would be the same on all TL's and even more pronounced on soft OEM springs, so this is unlikely.

ebelp

^Of course that would normally be the first thing I'd check, but the ride height was completely even PRIOR to the installation of the Ingalls kit. So the question is, how/why would the camber kit affect the ride height by 1/2" on only one side?

The Machine

iTrader: (8)

I'm hoping I don't run into this problem because I'll be running the same coils and rear camber kit, however mine will be going on at the same time, so hopefully that avoids any issues.

ebelp

I know it's not a major issue because no matter what I can adjust the height to be level all the way around. I'm just wondering if I should adjust the height before I get it aligned, or leave it as is and wait and see what happens after it's aligned. I'm leaning towards the latter...

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ sorry man but do you know what a camber kit does ? how it operates ?

look into it....take it in for an alignment and your problems will be solved....

ebelp

lol yes, I do...that doesn't answer my questions though, hence this thread.

jwr0ng626

iTrader: (1)

Are you 100% positive both sides were dead even BEFORE installing the ingalls?

my coils are dead even left to right (spring tension and amount threaded into shock body), but my passenger side sits higher than driver.

my point: the coils, even though set at even length, could be ur problem. And either way, I would adjust height before getting aligned

ebelp

Yes, I'm positive both sides were even...I measured everything not too long ago to be sure.

Anyway, dropped my car off at a local alignment shop at 9:15am and they just called me at 2:30pm to tell me my car is too low to get on the rack. WTF. So I just picked my car back up and dropped it off at another shop to see if they can do it. Where does everyone get their alignments done? There are a lot of TL's on AZ that are a lot lower than mine, so I'm curious where other people go. Unfortunately there's no Firestone here, otherwise I'd get their lifetime alignment deal...I'm stuck with ma & pa shops around here...

Project_CLean

iTrader: (2)

Honestly dude; i think it's just the misalignment. If you didn't adjust coils or anything you would have probably complained about something wrong with coils before; or have checked the height then. I honestly believe it's your alignment;and agree with swoosh. some places offer free alignments within 30 days; around here at least. Town Fair tire does mine; lowest racks and they actually offered for me to come back after i install a camber kit on my previous CL to get it rechecked..ask around bro; taking off those arms can seriously mess up your alignment.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

I get mine done at Firestone....

some newly opened firestone here have the alignment rack which goes underground....so you could be slammed and just drive on

the previous Firestone i used to go at used to take 40 minutes to get my car on and 40 minutes to get her off LOL....

94eg!

Don't know if it was mentioned, but is it possible one of the coils is hung up on the adjustable perch? This happens a lot with sleeve-type coil-overs anyways, where standard length shocks let the spring come away from the upper perch at full droop.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Just a thought-
Did you tighten the suspension when loaded or when the wheels were off the ground?

Suspension parts need to be installed loose and tightened after the suspension is loaded to avoid bushing restrictions.

ebelp

Thanks for the feedback guys. Shop #2 couldn't get it on their rack either, so they referred me to a 3rd shop that supposedly has a rack that can accommodate lowered cars. I hope they do because my car drives like poo right now...the back end is so wobbly, even going straight down the road...it's horrible.

Project_CLean

iTrader: (2)

let us know how it goes

Italiano

sometimes different places your car might be parked, are unlevel etc.... that fucks with my head all the time...some surfaces more level then others

callahan

Any update? I'm really curious

ebelp

Just got my car back. The alignment fixed the issue. All corners are even again. My rear camber and toe was ridiculous. You can see why the rear right wheels looked lower than the other side...look at how bad the camber was compared to the other side:



Front camber still needs to be tweaked, but I'm not too worried about it.

94eg!

Good news. I'm glad something isn't broken.

They could have evened that front camber out by loosening and shifting the front sub-frame. I don't think most shops take the time to do that though. If you've got a lifetime alignment, you might try shifting the sub-frame yourself towards the drivers side, and then go in for another alignment (it will mess up front toe of course).

You can also try loosening and shifting the front UCAs towards the passengers side if you can't get enough from the sub frame. But if you mess with the UCA pivot bolts, be sure to tighten them again with the suspension at normal ride height. If you tighten them at full droop, the rubber will twist up a lot once the car is on the ground. This goes for almost all control-arm bolts where suspension movement causes the bushings to twist. I even go as far as loosening & re-torquing them ALL every time I alter my ride height on my Civic (but I'm anal like that).

05_NBP_TL

iTrader: (1)

This can only be done with a lift right? Cuz i dont even have a finger gap to work with.

Or is it possible to drive up on ramps and reach the UCA bolts?

Also installed front and rear cambr kits today and now my steering wheel is off-center...I'm getting it aligned, but should I mention it to the tech when he is doing the alignment.

Probably going to let the stealership do it because I have no local shops that will do "custom" alignments.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

buhahahaha i was right

PS: from the alignment printout i can make out that it was a Hunter machine....

94eg!

Well, it can be tricky at times. My civic is lowered 3 inches and I can reach EVERY bolt with the car on the ground by simply laying on my back and reaching underneath around the tire. Only bolts I can't get of course are the UCA ones.

For UCAs, it's easiest to just put the car on jack stands, remove the tires, and then jack up under the LCA and compress the suspension. You will need to jack up until the car starts to rise off your jack-stands a bit. Then go ahead and break loose the bolts a couple turns and then re-toque them. Now put the wheels back on and your good to go.

It really is best to do the rest with the car on the ground if you can, but it's up to you and your patience and available space. Either way you will have gone 100% further towards properly lowering your cars than 90% of folks that mod their cars. Your suspension bushings will thank you with a long service life.

The Machine

iTrader: (8)

I'm glad to see all you needed was an alignment!

AcuraIntegTL

Glad to see an alignment fixed your issue. I'm looking to get Ingalls too and will make sure I go straight to the shop for an alignment.