What is a drag alignment - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

BowenSS1 · 10-13-2012, 12:21 PM

What is a "Drag alignment" and what does this consist of??
I seen people mention the term....sayin they had a "Drag alignment."
But I don't know what it is exactly.

Thanks

Rob@WretchedMS · 10-13-2012, 12:29 PM

on the 5th gens with IRS the alignment of the rear wheels is critical for best results

The main objective is to get the tires flat or even just a hair out at the top, so when the suspension compresses and gains negative camber, the tire still remains fairly straight up and down.
To achieve this there will need to be additional parts installed.
We offer alignment bolts that allow more adjustment than the stock bolts do, and this allows you get the specs where you want them.

Norm Peterson · 10-15-2012, 09:54 AM

There is also a little tweaking you can do to reduce rolling drag at the front tires. One line of thought is zero camber and only a tiny bit of toe-in with the front of the car raised an inch or two to mimic the attitude of the car under hard acceleration.

Norm

*mlee* · 10-22-2012, 10:49 PM

Also, I'll throw corner balancing in to the mix here. Get your car on some scales and balanced right to left.

Big help keeping it straight out of the hole.

danielblack60 · 10-23-2012, 06:03 PM

Would it hurt to align a car to drag race specs if it is daily driven? Just wondering if uneven tire wear would be an issue.

Norm Peterson · 10-24-2012, 09:29 AM

If there's any bumpsteer at all, chances are you'd end up with static toe-out under normal driving conditions. That tends to make the car twitchy, and in combination with the negative camber that you'd also have would probably wear the inner shoulders a bit more rapidly.

Norm

JusticePete · 10-24-2012, 10:33 AM

Alignment

Short answer. A drag alignment keeps the rear wheels square to the track surface (rear camber) and tracking strait and true (rear toe and thrust angle). With regular tires we keep the rolling resistance up front to a minimum by adding as much negative camber as possible and using minimal toe. With skinnies we want 0.00 camber to keep the skinny riding on the hard part of the tire with minimal rolling resistance.

Mean11SS · 10-27-2012, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob@WretchedMS

on the 5th gens with IRS the alignment of the rear wheels is critical for best results

The main objective is to get the tires flat or even just a hair out at the top, so when the suspension compresses and gains negative camber, the tire still remains fairly straight up and down.
To achieve this there will need to be additional parts installed.
We offer alignment bolts that allow more adjustment than the stock bolts do, and this allows you get the specs where you want them.

Are there camber kits for these cars to be able to lock in specific camber and or be able to change this for drag racing vs street. I was considering the purchase of some skinnies but have no trailer so I would have to change them at track and I see alignment will be off while changing to the smaller tires.

Norm Peterson · 10-27-2012, 09:54 AM

It is certainly possible to flip back and forth between a set of reasonable daily driving alignment specs and something better suited to your competition. I did exactly that for several years at autocross. For drag racing the only difference would be the numbers that you flip between.

The trick is coming up with a method that is as close to dead-nuts repeatable as possible.

Norm

Rob@WretchedMS · 10-27-2012, 10:35 AM

On a Camaro you can not only adjust Camber, as it also changes the Toe. Both the Toe and Camber work together to adjust the rear wheels,

We do offer Bolt Kits that allow more adjustment than the stock bolt kits do, as the stock bolts will not allow you to get enough positive adjustment for camber.

I'm not allow to post a link, however if you go to my website, click on HARDWARE >> ALIGNMENT BOLTS you can see them.

If you have any questions please PM me or post it here.

Norm Peterson · 10-28-2012, 06:53 PM

Rob kind of caught me thinking in terms of stick axle cars and front end alignment only. Thanks, Rob. Seriously.

Toe on most any independent suspension will vary slightly as you shift the camber setting around. Up front on many cars, you can sometimes find a "good average" toe setting that is neither fully optimum for DD nor fully optimum for your competition, but ends up being better overall than a single "set it and forget it" set of specs. Without having to touch toe every time. The differences are going to be small, but when you're seriously looking at alignment to improve at competition it's the little things you're looking at.

Out back it's a somewhat different story given how the toe and camber adjustments are made. Sorry if I suggested that a camber-only swap would work here. But if you can come up with a dead-nuts repeatable way of swapping between DD and competition, there is some benefit to be had in a true dual-purpose machine.

Norm

10-13-2012, 12:21 PM	#1
BowenSS1 Drives: She totaled it! Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: houston tx Posts: 268	What is a drag alignment What is a "Drag alignment" and what does this consist of?? I seen people mention the term....sayin they had a "Drag alignment." But I don't know what it is exactly. Thanks

10-22-2012, 10:49 PM	#4
mlee CamaroFans.com Drives: ZLE & ZR2 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 37,994 View My Garage	Also, I'll throw corner balancing in to the mix here. Get your car on some scales and balanced right to left. Big help keeping it straight out of the hole. __________________

10-23-2012, 06:03 PM	#5
danielblack60 Drives: 2016 Camaro 1SS A8, 1998 K1500 5spd Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Russell Springs, Kentucky Posts: 172 View My Garage	Would it hurt to align a car to drag race specs if it is daily driven? Just wondering if uneven tire wear would be an issue. __________________ *2016 1SS A8-12.100 @115 Bone Stock. 11.54 @116 with cat delete, converter and dr's Previous Rides 2010 Camaro 1SS M6-12.14 @114 Bolt Ons 2014 GMC Sierra SLT 5.3/6L80

10-13-2012, 12:29 PM	#2
Rob@WretchedMS Drives: His Wife Crazy Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Silas Deane Auto,CT Name: Rob Anderson Posts: 1,789	on the 5th gens with IRS the alignment of the rear wheels is critical for best results The main objective is to get the tires flat or even just a hair out at the top, so when the suspension compresses and gains negative camber, the tire still remains fairly straight up and down. To achieve this there will need to be additional parts installed. We offer alignment bolts that allow more adjustment than the stock bolts do, and this allows you get the specs where you want them.

10-15-2012, 09:54 AM	#3
Norm Peterson corner barstool sitter Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Eastern Time Zone Posts: 6,990	There is also a little tweaking you can do to reduce rolling drag at the front tires. One line of thought is zero camber and only a tiny bit of toe-in with the front of the car raised an inch or two to mimic the attitude of the car under hard acceleration. Norm

10-24-2012, 09:29 AM	#6
Norm Peterson corner barstool sitter Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Eastern Time Zone Posts: 6,990	If there's any bumpsteer at all, chances are you'd end up with static toe-out under normal driving conditions. That tends to make the car twitchy, and in combination with the negative camber that you'd also have would probably wear the inner shoulders a bit more rapidly. Norm

10-24-2012, 10:33 AM	#7
JusticePete Drives: Camaro Justice Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 20,171	Alignment Short answer. A drag alignment keeps the rear wheels square to the track surface (rear camber) and tracking strait and true (rear toe and thrust angle). With regular tires we keep the rolling resistance up front to a minimum by adding as much negative camber as possible and using minimal toe. With skinnies we want 0.00 camber to keep the skinny riding on the hard part of the tire with minimal rolling resistance.

10-27-2012, 09:54 AM	#9
Norm Peterson corner barstool sitter Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Eastern Time Zone Posts: 6,990	It is certainly possible to flip back and forth between a set of reasonable daily driving alignment specs and something better suited to your competition. I did exactly that for several years at autocross. For drag racing the only difference would be the numbers that you flip between. The trick is coming up with a method that is as close to dead-nuts repeatable as possible. Norm

10-27-2012, 10:35 AM	#10
Rob@WretchedMS Drives: His Wife Crazy Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Silas Deane Auto,CT Name: Rob Anderson Posts: 1,789	On a Camaro you can not only adjust Camber, as it also changes the Toe. Both the Toe and Camber work together to adjust the rear wheels, We do offer Bolt Kits that allow more adjustment than the stock bolt kits do, as the stock bolts will not allow you to get enough positive adjustment for camber. I'm not allow to post a link, however if you go to my website, click on HARDWARE >> ALIGNMENT BOLTS you can see them. If you have any questions please PM me or post it here.

10-28-2012, 06:53 PM	#11
Norm Peterson corner barstool sitter Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Eastern Time Zone Posts: 6,990	Rob kind of caught me thinking in terms of stick axle cars and front end alignment only. Thanks, Rob. Seriously. Toe on most any independent suspension will vary slightly as you shift the camber setting around. Up front on many cars, you can sometimes find a "good average" toe setting that is neither fully optimum for DD nor fully optimum for your competition, but ends up being better overall than a single "set it and forget it" set of specs. Without having to touch toe every time. The differences are going to be small, but when you're seriously looking at alignment to improve at competition it's the little things you're looking at. Out back it's a somewhat different story given how the toe and camber adjustments are made. Sorry if I suggested that a camber-only swap would work here. But if you can come up with a dead-nuts repeatable way of swapping between DD and competition, there is some benefit to be had in a true dual-purpose machine. Norm