Andy,
Do you think that higher spring rates and increased ride height are the ticket? I would like it if someone would spend the money to figure out the camber curves before I spend another 500-1000 on a precission alignment (like I did with my Miata-500). The Miata suffers quite a bit when lowered and needs very high spring rates as well as other tricks due to the physical location of the mounting plane of the steering rack (optimised for the OEM suspension setup).
Just asking before I dump money in a sub/barely-optimal B-Spec package.
If you are spending $500-1000 on a "precision alignment", you are doing it wrong, IMO. That is money better spent elsewhere.
The rear isn't even adjustable, so if you haven't wrecked the car, you should be fine. And that's typically the biggest issue...getting the rear square to the chassis. Once done (and it comes that way from the factory), you have only front toe and camber to worry about.
Here's what I did: Set front toe to zero using a tape measure. Very easy to do even with one person (better with two). Pick a height from ground level (about 4") and string a tape measure from the center groove on your OE tires on one side of the car to the other and read the distance to a similar place on the opposite tire. I use duct tape to hold one end while I read the other. Now flip it around and read it on the other side of the tires (front side versus back side). Adjust tie-rod ends equally side-to-side to get to zero. Doesn't have to be exact. +/- 1/8" total is fine. If your steering wheel ends up off-center, adjust each tie-rod the same amount in opposite directions until it is centered again.
For camber, you will need a gauge and a flat surface. Google "DIY camber adjustment" for lots of ideas. I use a SmartGauge, but simple inclinometers from the hardware store also work fine. And you are probably just going to max it out anyway, assuming you have the camber bolts or have slotted the struts.
For events that I drive to, I change the toe when I get there and swap tires. Takes just a minute to rotate each tie-rod one -half turn (mark them) towards toe-out. That should be in the vicinity of 3/16" total.
And I didn't even corner-weight my car. I just weighed it.
Spend your money elsewhere. It will pay bigger dividends.
PS: Yes, I believe higher springs rates will allow you to spend more time in the sweet spot of the suspension, and minimize bump and roll steer inherent in the strut suspension.
