Alignment issue on stock 1998 gsx

[eclipse012]

Alright i have been to a few places to get a alignment done since i put on my new tires and rims (18x8 with +40 offset). My car has never been lowered or has it been raised. It is stock and has very low milege on it. Now i can't get my alignment done because i am being told in order to fix the camber i need adjustable ball joints and so on. !? I'm stock. Here's my specs from the aligment.

Front:

Castor:
Left 4.26
Right 5.32

Camber:
Left: -0.78
Right -1.49

Toe:
Left: 0.18
Right -0.15
Total 0.03

Rear:

Camber:
Left -2.04
Right -2.47

Toe:
Left 0.10
Right 0.10
Total 0.20

Thrust Angle -0.00



Please can someone help me with this? I am not sure on what to do and why its out. I really don't want to go visit Satan and have them tell me i need this and that and end up having them rape my wallet.

 

[bigdukk2]

its quite possible if you weren't the only owner... that someone beat the crap out of it off road... i know i do to mine.. adjustable ball joint... more like adjustable shock towers.. or camber plates ... you might have really bent A-arms from someone jumping it... (again.. i jump mine) or someone just off roading it... try another shop.. .and tell them you just want it alligned and camber isn't an issue.. if you really don't mind it.. i konw i would.. but i agree with you ... that if its all stock .. there shouldn't be any issues.. but again.. POSSIBLY ... you might have one bent strut assembly... causeing the opposite side to sit wrong... or a bent ball joint.... but your right.... the rims alone wouldn't cause the camber problem like that... not that size of tire or rim anyways... but theres definatly an underlying problem i would look into if it was mine... but definatly get a second oppinion.. and make sure your where they can do a 4 wheel alignment..
good luck

 

[TSiAWD666]

If you're sure there's nothing aftermarket then the theory that there's damage is probably a good guess. However your camber is way far off stock in both front and rear and I think you must have some sort of modification to the suspension. Cut springs perhaps?

There are no camber plates for a 2g. They don't work with our suspension design. There are in fact replacement ball joints that provide camber adjustment. Let's refrain from making suggestions when you don't have any experience on the topic.

You may be able to get this camber in line with just some upper a-arm anchor adjustment like the eccentric bushings/anchors from SPC, or similar pieces from Ingalls. I don't like the ingalls as the bushings wear out over time. Can't say for SPC bushings. Make sure you get the pieces that provide adjustment in the negative range (I believe max spec is -.75 relative to existing camber, but not sure). They make pieces that allow more positive camber but those really make no sense as they'll put your static camber above zero.

You can look at the SPC ball joints alone or in tandem with the above which give more camber adjustment by replacing the ball joint. I'm not sure it works well as as it's longer than the stock ball joint, and I have reservations that it limits suspension travel as a result (by putting the a-arm higher and hitting the frame above sooner). Not sure and I haven't seen many comments from users of these (hopefully someone will chime in).

Lastly there's the SPC upper a-arm replacements that include an adjustable ball joint. These are expensive, but are pretty much the best thing 2g owners have. A-arm is re-shaped to accomodate a slightly larger ball joint, and provides decent amount of camber and caster adjustment. I think some have even combined these with replacement anchors mentioned earlier to gain a bit more camber but I don't know how that worked out.

As for the rear camber, while it's at least even, the car will never handle well with that much negative camber. You'd want to look at camber adjustment back there too should you be unable to find the true source of your camber deviation from stock. This comes in the form of replacement a-arm anchors with eccentric bolts along with washers for spacing. I know at least Ingalls makes this.

 

[eclipse012]

So i just got back from the mitsu dealership (Satan) and it was a total waste of my time. They couldn't even get my car on there alignment rack to even look at it since they say my car is too low. This is the most retarded shit situation im in. So even tho my car is stock and for all those places that have seen the underside of my car and know that there is no damage nothing bent or worn and is still stock, i'm deciding to say f uck it and give in and buy the ingalls camber kit. So with my cars suspension specs the way they are now as i wrote in my first post. Which of the ingalls camber kits (Front & back) from extremepsi suite me better with my suspension now & later on when i ge some tein flex coilovers? Should i be goin with the adjustable balljoints for the front if so which ones? {-1.5 to +1.5} or {+1.5 to +3}
Or would just the front camber adjusters be enough then again wich ones? the same question for the rear camber adjusters as well {-1 to +3} or -1?

As for what i use my car for: probably the strip & track would be about even i mostly just like to drive my car around the city

Thanks.

 

[eclipse012]

i found a place in town here that carries spc. Would you reccomend just goin with spc or should i buy the ingalls? I read that spc has a forged upper control arm that allows for alot more adjustment but i have read that people have problems with them hitting the underside of the well when they hit a bump. So if spc would be a good choice would it be better to just go with there adjustable balljoint alone?

 

[TSiAWD666]

From your questions I really wonder if you even read what I spent all that time writing...

Get the SPC anchor kit for the front with adjustment in the negative range. It has plenty positive adjustment and one day you may want the negative. I won't recommend ingalls due to my experience (and others) with the bushings wearing out and requiring periodic replacement (like once a year). Just a hassle.

For the rear it doesn't matter too much which brand you get as they're all the same. For these you want the one that gives you the most positive adjustment range.

I can't recommend the ball joints as I haven't used them, and like I said I have my reservations with how they push the a-arm up even further.

The SPC arms don't hit more than stock. The stock hit just as much. This is just how our suspension is designed and if you set your suspension too low with cut bump stomps you're going to hit on full compression sometimes.

 

[draculia]

I run -1.5 - +1.5 balljoints up front, even when I was lowered pretty damn low I had enough adjustment. The adjustable balljoints don't move the arm up any, it sounds like you're thinking of the adjustable ones that change the pivot point, which changes the roll center of the car. The camber adjustable ones come with a slotted cup that fits in the arm that provides 1.5 degrees of adjustment, flip the balljoint 180 degrees for another 1.5 degrees of adjustment.

For the rear kits there are two common types, the bolt and washer type, and the slotted arm mount. Both do the same thing, move the mounting point of the upper arms away from the car. The slotted ones are much easier to use since you just need to loosen the nut and turn the cam bolt.

You can get good prices and see pics of these at rockauto.com

 

[eclipse012]

Thanks for all the help. Sorry to bring up the same questions twice i've been pretty worked up about this since i took holidays and went to get my car aligned and ran into this shit. Once again sorry, And thank you.