Alignment question

[Cor66Vette]

Is a proper alignment done according to specs, or as the alignment rack deems correct? Is there a difference in the type of driving anticipated- cruising vs. "spirited", or is an alignment an alignment, no matter the driving styles?

[85vette]

My understanding is there are specs from the manufacturer, but they can be altered.

[Cor66Vette]

So it's not so much what the alignment rack "sees", but that the rack adjusts to the manufacturer's specs?

[navy2kcoupe]

The manufacturer warranties the car to perform a certain way. Like getting up
to "X" g-number on the lateral skid pad. To do this, the manufacturer
specifies what the alignment specs have to be to meet those numbers. That
can be at the cost of tire wear, harsh riding conditions, etc. If you want better
tire wear, or softer ride conditions, you can have the alignment adjusted to
specs that will give you what you want, but the car will probably no longer
meet the manufacturer's published specs for performance. C-5s and C-6's are
very prone to short tread life from the factory, but they meet their performance
goals. If you do not intend to drive the Vette at the edge of it's performance
envelope, then you can adjust the alignment to meet YOUR requirements. I seem
to remember that the camber is the major contributor to the performance goals.
Adjusting the camber closer to zero (or actually AT zero) will provide a
significant increase to tread life!
Andy :waves:
"Your mileage results may vary"

[mrr23]

seeing as this is what i do for a living, let me take a stab at this. i'll just reiterate what navy2kcoupe says.

manufacturers supply alignment specifications for every car out there to what they had tested to be the best results at the time. when you go have an alignment done, the specs are supplied by the alignment machine in the database.

you can alter from the factory specs, based on what you do with the car. the cars handling ability changes when you alter the factory specs.

example. the c6 grand sports cars come with a camber setting of -0.75*. while that provides great handling, unless you drive it as intended, the insides of the tires wear quicker than the outside. so, i have aligned them to base c6 specs due to owners not driving aggressively.

i have posted alignment specs for all year corvettes here.

http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forum...d.php?t=102580

[vett boy]

I used the modified spec which gave me 38,000 miles on my latest set of tires vs 20,000 on the original set .The only noticeable difference is at speeds exceeding 150 mph .Both setting were Dragon tested with no adverse effect .

[navy2kcoupe]

Originally Posted by vett boy

Both setting were Dragon tested with no adverse effect .

Steve, does that mean when you were "Dragon" yer arse down to Florida in your C6? Hope you are enjoying yourself!
Andy

[vett boy]

When ever I have been heading north or south other Corvette enthusiast would contact me and ask about the Tail of The Dragon.What I learned was NOT to be behind a car that had a passenger because you'd be struck by a load of vomit .

Currently looking for tires for my 08 and I use Tire Rack as a guide and options .My preference is Michelin AS run flats but there are other good tires available .