Lowering and difficult alignment?

[DieselAries1]

So I got a set of 1.25 inch drop springs. I was going to put them in this AM and I stopped by a shop to arrange an appointment for right after I was done. The guy stated he could do it but not for the standard alignment fee since it was lowered. He said he had to call about the specifications for camber and tow. This apparently made the price of alignment jump by 50 bucks as he said it would be more difficult to bring it into spec. Did everyone else have to pay extra for an alignment or am I just going to the wrong place? I certainly am not going to bring it back to the local sears since they just put my wheels on backwards the other day and told me my tie rods were loose at the same time (which they aren't as I had a mechanic friend check).

[SNSSTR]

I had mine done at GPI (dealership) and it cost $89.95. No additional fees.

[954camaro]

what kind of springs you got? because they should have an alignment sheet that would tell the guy what kind of alignment you need with the lowering springs. Also I paid $79.99 but now i work at a dealership so i can align my car for free

p.s it is not harder that is complete bull

[DieselAries1]

Originally Posted by 954camaro

what kind of springs you got? because they should have an alignment sheet that would tell the guy what kind of alignment you need with the lowering springs. Also I paid $79.99 but now i work at a dealership so i can align my car for free

p.s it is not harder that is complete bull

I got a set of PFADT springs from a local guy for 25 bucks, HATED the ride! He had them in for 2000 miles and he couldn't take it. So I have no sheet and just the springs. I was appreciative at first that he wanted to ensure everything was correct but he started sounding shady after a few minutes of explanation.

[DieselAries1]

Originally Posted by Rohdeo16

I had mine done at GPI (dealership) and it cost $89.95. No additional fees.

Thanks!

[midlifeSS]

Here you go
Alignment specs from justice Pete from pedders
Front Toe 0.00
Front Camber -1.00
Rear Toe IN 0.10
Rear Total Toe 0.20
Rear Camber - 0.50
I just put in some bmr -1 spring and koni shocks in along with a buch of other bmr stuff.Im going to have mine done once the snow up here is gone.I have a place in Sheldon that I'm going to check with this week and see what they will charge.

[ClawSS]

The alignment following my Pfadt spring install was more expensive than a normal alignment when attempting to hit the Pedders Aggressive Street numbers without any other changes other than springs. They spent about 2 hrs working the rear to get as close to the numbers as possible (rear toe @ -.12 camber @ -.6). They also elongated the front camber hole to allow the front to hit the -.8 front camber as requested. I think it was a little over $125 for that first time.

I then went back to the same shop with new (shorter) rear LCAs and adj. toe rods about 4 mo. later and the job was MUCH easier for them. About 1hr to hit the numbers dead on with equal #'s left and right. $59.95 standard fee for the second trip. (rear toe -.1, camber 0)

[DieselAries1]

Originally Posted by midlifeSS

Here you go
Alignment specs from justice Pete from pedders
Front Toe 0.00
Front Camber -1.00
Rear Toe IN 0.10
Rear Total Toe 0.20
Rear Camber - 0.50
I just put in some bmr -1 spring and koni shocks in along with a buch of other bmr stuff.Im going to have mine done once the snow up here is gone.I have a place in Sheldon that I'm going to check with this week and see what they will charge.

Heya! I'm just down in Essex Junction. I was going to go to Noyes Auto down here at they had a reasonable price for an alignment. Let me know how yours comes out. I may just do my muffler delete first instead of screwing with these springs. Depressing. I wanted that squat.

[DieselAries1]

Originally Posted by ClawSS

The alignment following my Pfadt spring install was more expensive than a normal alignment when attempting to hit the Pedders Aggressive Street numbers without any other changes other than springs. They spent about 2 hrs working the rear to get as close to the numbers as possible (rear toe @ -.12 camber @ -.6). They also elongated the front camber hole to allow the front to hit the -.8 front camber as requested. I think it was a little over $125 for that first time.

I then went back to the same shop with new (shorter) rear LCAs and adj. toe rods about 4 mo. later and the job was MUCH easier for them. About 1hr to hit the numbers dead on with equal #'s left and right. $59.95 standard fee for the second trip. (rear toe -.1, camber 0)

So it's sounding like I will wait a few weeks before I do it I guess.

[ClawSS]

Diesel, the shop I used had WONDERFUL Hunter equipment and knew what they were doing, but I am pretty sure I was the 1st lowered Camaro to have been on their rack. I "illegally" spent quite a few minutes in the back with the techs describing what I wanted and what needed to be done to proceed. They did a real good and caring job, but you will want to evaluate your shop before hand. You taking more time prior will help you figure out where to go.

I went where the Hunter HS421ML alignment machine was within minimal driving distance.

My friend's shop has a good machine, but his has to shoot a beam from left rear to right rear. It is not a front laser down to each wheel independently. We found that after doing the spring swap then moving over to his alignment rack and timing the bushings that his machine wouldn't work because the rear quarters wrapped down too low now for the wheel alignment heads to see the other side of the car.

Thus he called a different shop about 10mi away that he knew got a new Hunter machine that would do the trick. Just sayin....

[DieselAries1]

Originally Posted by ClawSS

Diesel, the shop I used had WONDERFUL Hunter equipment and knew what they were doing, but I am pretty sure I was the 1st lowered Camaro to have been on their rack. I "illegally" spent quite a few minutes in the back with the techs describing what I wanted and what needed to be done to proceed. They did a real good and caring job, but you will want to evaluate your shop before hand. You taking more time prior will help you figure out where to go.

I went where the Hunter HS421ML alignment machine was within minimal driving distance.

My friend's shop has a good machine, but his has to shoot a beam from left rear to right rear. It is not a front laser down to each wheel independently. We found that after doing the spring swap then moving over to his alignment rack and timing the bushings that his machine wouldn't work because the rear quarters wrapped down too low now for the wheel alignment heads to see the other side of the car.

Thus he called a different shop about 10mi away that he knew got a new Hunter machine that would do the trick. Just sayin....

This shop appeared to have high tech stuff. Here's a quote from their web page. "N.A.P. CCD Optical Aligners and the V3D 1 & 2 aligners offer optimum performance in their respective categories. The new John Bean V3D 3 ARAGO alignment system takes wheel-alignment equipment to the next generation. The V3D 3 ARAGO advances "error-free" alignment technology with the use of three self-synchronizing digital cameras and automatic height indexing. This technology provides the ultimate performance in fast, easy, and accurate alignments while minimizing the possibilities of errors due to operator and vehicle variables."
And here is their machine apparently.

[DieselAries1]

Would anyone happen to have the PFADT lowering instructions the link on their site does not work. Would any 1.25 inch drop alignment procedure work in my case? or are they brand specific?

[ClawSS]

Pfadt Lowering Spring Install Instructions

The alignment procedure is the same as any. The alignment specs may be different based on what YOU want to do with your car. What Midlife posted earlier will work just fine.

[midlifeSS]

Sent you a PM