Raising front end / Wheel alignment

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Fisher

Fisher

Old Guy with a Cool car.
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I had my ride height set when i went for a wheel alignment, now i need to raise the car and inch to clear rubbing front tire issue with passenger in the car. Will i have to get a wheel alignment again for raising the car an inch?
 
A toe check wouldn't be a bad idea, but no you don't have to have everything realigned for an inch.
 
You'll need an alignment. Even an inch will change the settings. Maybe not drastically, but enough that it should be re-checked and enough that it will probably need an adjustment. Remember too that it will depend on what your particular alignment specs were to begin with, if they were borderline already the change in height could be more than enough to cause issues.

Assuming you're running radials, also make sure that you're not getting an alignment to factory specs, since those are for bias ply's and are incorrect for radials. You should end up with something like -.25* to -.5* camber, +3* caster or as much as you can get if you have power steering, and about 1/16" to 1.8" toe in.
 
If you have the resources then by all means, go out and have it all gone over.
I do my own alignment and adjustments and my tires last for years of daily driving (well, the front ones anyway):D
Point is, I change mine an inch up or down sometimes with zero difference in handling or tire wear at all that I can tell.
Of course if your tie rods are fairly parallel to the ground it's no risk at all to change an inch, but if it's already lifted enough to raise the inner end of them an inch over the outer ends then that adding one inch of lift can change things more drastically.

If the tie rods are fairly level with the ground now, then an inch of lift isn't going to hurt a thing with the alignment.
 
Camber will absolutely change, as will the toe. There is no way around it. Will it change enough to be out-of-spec or cause any problems? Maybe not, but I sure wouldn't bet on it.
 
TrailBeast said:
If you have the resources then by all means, go out and have it all gone over.
I do my own alignment and adjustments and my tires last for years of daily driving (well, the front ones anyway):D
Point is, I change mine an inch up or down sometimes with zero difference in handling or tire wear at all that I can tell.
Of course if your tie rods are fairly parallel to the ground it's no risk at all to change an inch, but if it's already lifted enough to raise the inner end of them an inch over the outer ends then that adding one inch of lift can change things more drastically.

If the tie rods are fairly level with the ground now, then an inch of lift isn't going to hurt a thing with the alignment.
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Tire wear isn't the only thing to consider though. Camber doesn't start causing noticeable tire wear until you're well over 1* in either direction. Caster basically doesn't cause tire wear at all regardless of it's setting. Toe is the only thing that causes rapid tire wear, and a small change there makes a big difference.

But a couple degrees of caster will totally change how the car feels out on the freeway, from squirrely to stable. Buddy of mine just went from +3 to +5.5* of caster on his '66 mustang, it has a totally different feel on the freeway. And if you've got manual steering a degree or two of caster will change the steering effort enough to notice too. Going from -.5* to +.5* on the camber will give the car a different feel in the corners if you do any kind of spirited driving, even just at the "having fun in the canyons" level. Neither of those will have any effect at all on tire wear. Now, both of those examples are a bigger change than you'll get adjusting the ride height by 1". But if all you're doing is judging by tire wear, you wouldn't notice them at all. I think a lot of people chalk some of those handling issues up to "being an old car", when the truth is that half a degree here or there on the alignment makes a big difference in road manners. No it's usually not critical stuff, but it sure makes driving them more enjoyable.
 
Not spending another $125 for another wheel alignment. will raise the car and drive it. If its that big of a problem then the car has a serious design flaw.
 
Fisher said:
Not spending another $125 for another wheel alignment. will raise the car and drive it. If its that big of a problem then the car has a serious design flaw.
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The car has a serious design flaw? Being able to adjust the ride height at all is one of the biggest advantages of the torsion bar suspension.

Most cars aren't ride height adjustable AT ALL using OE parts. You have to buy shorter springs, or drop spindles, or upgrade the OE struts to coilovers with an adjustment. And even on those cars, when you change the ride height you still need an alignment.

The design flaw is the aftermarket rims on the car not having enough backspace.
 
It really depends on where you are on the camber curve,where you are going on the curve, and how messed up your car's curve is to start with. Most A-bodies I have worked on, have a ride-height window of about 1 to 1.5 inches where the camber change is minimal. If you are currently on one side of it, and you go to the other side of it, then the camber might change very little. But if you climb up just a little further, then things can,not will,can get ugly.
For instance; if the problem-solver bushings are in for max caster, these can really mess up the camber pattern. Same if you yank the LCA forward.A car like this can still be aligned in the straight ahead position, to maximize tire life, but as the suspension heights change,and as the wheels are turned, the pattern can change,sometimes radically.And whenever the camber changes, so does the toe.
If the pattern has been bugged out,then the toe might not change at all, but that would be an exceptional happenstance.
FWIW
I performed many,many, alignments on my car in just one summer, to bug it out.
 
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If you paid 125 dollars for a two wheel alignment, you're not a very smart shopper.
 
Well we dont have back yard bubba shops here RRR, local shop rates are $100- $150/hr here. Then 10% sales tax on top of that.
 
You have any Goodyear Auto stores? They offer a 3year alignment, have it checked as often as you want
 
$85/hr plus here in Southern Manitoba, plus shop supplies on top of that, plus 13% sales tax so call it an easy $115/hr or about $88USd

But some shops will do flat fees, maybe $60 for a 2 wheel. But they will want to upsell you every thing in the catalog.
 
If you get the 5 year alignment at NTB, they will try to find $1100 - $1500 worth of suspension work to do each time you bring it in...

Even when another shop had already looked it over and said it's ok, they will still try to pump you for $$$$....

BEWARE!!!
 
krazykuda said:
If you get the 5 year alignment at NTB, they will try to find $1100 - $1500 worth of suspension work to do each time you bring it in...

Even when another shop had already looked it over and said it's ok, they will still try to pump you for $$$$....

BEWARE!!!
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Tell them to pound sand! Just align the thing. IMO:lol:
 
Mopar Tim said:
Tell them to pound sand! Just align the thing. IMO:lol:
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I take it to my guy and have him fix it for much less, then bring it back to them for the alignment... Rubbing their face in it... :poke:

They once tried to hit me up for a tie rod and idler arm. I told them that I'd get it fixed and return for the alignment. He begged for a chance to quote, so I told him to give me your best shot... He said $450 - I called my guy right there in front of him and he said he'd fix it tonight for $150... See ya tomorrow for an alignment pal.... :icon_fU: :lol:
 
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