Alignment Question?

[gen1pro]

Well I just got my car aligned on friday and I noticed that it pulls a little to the right. So today I take it back to the shop (which is known for aligning lowered cars) and the guy tells me that there is no adjustment for pulling. I have NO idea what I'm talking about when it comes to this so I just went home. I'm a little baffled though b/c I would think, that is something I can adjust. I have the K-sport coilovers which have more adjustability than the stock struts. So my question is...Was this guy lying to me? And does anyone know of someone in Orlando that can do it right...By the way the place is Nix and Black.

 

[Striker187]

does it pull to the right under acceleration or does it drift to the right at cruising speeds with no hands on the steering wheel? if it's under acceleration, that's some torque steer coming through and there's nothing you can do about that. if it's the other case, a correct alignment should be able to fix that. did he use the right specs? some shops use the regular protege specs by mistake (or ignorance)....they are different from the msp.

 

[speedprotegewi]

beware the road crown!! if its just a slight pull in the right lane where it is banked slightly to the right it is normal. same thing if it pulls to the left in the left lane

 

[gen1pro]

does it pull to the right under acceleration or does it drift to the right at cruising speeds with no hands on the steering wheel? if it's under acceleration, that's some torque steer coming through and there's nothing you can do about that. if it's the other case, a correct alignment should be able to fix that. did he use the right specs? some shops use the regular protege specs by mistake (or ignorance)....they are different from the msp.

Yeah it happens when cruising...so I might have to take it to the dealer and see if they will do it.

 

[spacemonkey]

Tire plus couldnt align my car so I had to take it to a special race shop. They got it perfect on the lowered suspention

I have D2 which are exactly like K sports.

could be tire pressure could be the road could be alot of things. Does it do it all the time?

 

[MSP#735]

gettin mine aligned friday at the dealership, ill post the specs prior to the alignment and after...dealership is best for jobs such as this...normal run of the mill shops ARENT gonna carry specs for our cars aka MSP, they will just align them to the REGULAR Protege specs (what happend to me) or charge you extra...

 

[spacemonkey]

The guy that aligned my car races in Speed worl challenge. did a fantastic job!

 

[spacemonkey]

. did he use the right specs? some shops use the regular protege specs by mistake (or ignorance)....they are different from the msp.

how different are teh specs? I told them I wanted stock specs and they noted that, "this alignment is very stock and is not sport or race." And up fron they car they listed it as a Mazda protege with 16 inch wheel. So I assume they didnt have MSP alignment specs so they set it up as stock as possible.

The car seems fine...is that okay? Or should I take it back to them?

 

[gen1pro]

gettin mine aligned friday at the dealership, ill post the specs prior to the alignment and after...dealership is best for jobs such as this...normal run of the mill shops ARENT gonna carry specs for our cars aka MSP, they will just align them to the REGULAR Protege specs (what happend to me) or charge you extra...

Let me know how that turns out.... I checked my tire pressure b/c i read that somewhere online and its ok. I'm thinking he aligned it witht he regular protege specs. I'm going to call and ask if he has different ones for both cars and see what he says.

 

[spacemonkey]

im sure the only difference is the camber is alittle off.

The MSP is lowered with racing beat springs so technically if you already lowered the car beyond stock spec it hard for them to put regular protege specs.

thats my guess

 

[Striker187]

i think the toe changed slightly as well. chojin posted these a long time ago:

Hey Everyone,

Here is the Exact TSB:

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02-002/02 MAZDASPEED PROTEGE - TOE-IN SPECIFICATION ADJUSTMENT DURING PDI

APPLICABLE MODEL(S)/VINS

All 2003 and 2003.5 MAZDASPEED Protege models

DESCRIPTION

The MAZDASPEED versions of the Protege models requires less toe-in than the settings provided at the factory for both front and rear. At the time of pre-delivery inspection, the total toe-in setting must be reduced to the setting outlined in this bulletin.

NOTE: The purpose of the toe settings below is to provide a slight " total toe-out " condition.

TOE-IN ADJUSTMENT INFORMATION

Adjust tire inflation pressures to 32 PSI cold for both front and rear tires.

On the alignment rack, reduce total toe-in to the following specification.

Front total toe-in (-1.0 1.0 mm, -0.04 0.04 in, -06' 6')

Rear total toe-in (-1.0 1.0 mm, -0.04 0.04 in, -06' 6')

Inspect that the following settings are still within specification.

Caster angle (Front: 201' 1)

Kingpin angle (Front: 1259')

Camber angle (Front: -058' 1)

Camber angle (Rear: -048' 1)

Verify adjustment.

PDI CLAIM INFORMATION

The PDI time has been increased for the MAZDASPEED Protege model to include the toe adjust alignment procedure. Do not enter claim for the alignment procedure when performing PDI for this vehicle.
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Regards.

-Shawn

 

[spacemonkey]

interesting...I wish I knew this before I took my car to get an alignment

thanks for the info!

 

[sm76]

im sure the only difference is the camber is alittle off.

The MSP is lowered with racing beat springs so technically if you already lowered the car beyond stock spec it hard for them to put regular protege specs.

thats my guess

Are you interested in handling at all or are the coilovers just to lower the car? If you are interested in better handling a good alignment is definitely needed. Stock specs are not good enough.
With stock springs I am using:
1.7 Negative Camber Front
1.0 Negative Camber Rear
0 Toe
Top rotated for max caster (probably not adjustable with coilovers, but not a real big deal)

You'd probably be very happy with something between stock and the specs above.

Edit to add: my camber does wear the inside edge of the front tire with a lot of highway use. Still uses mostly the outside edge for autocross and track, damn body roll.

 

[spacemonkey]

Are you interested in handling at all or are the coilovers just to lower the car? If you are interested in better handling a good alignment is definitely needed. Stock specs are not good enough.
With stock springs I am using:
1.7 Negative Camber Front
1.0 Negative Camber Rear
0 Toe
Top rotated for max caster (probably not adjustable with coilovers, but not a real big deal)

You'd probably be very happy with something between stock and the specs above.

Edit to add: my camber does wear the inside edge of the front tire with a lot of highway use. Still uses mostly the outside edge for autocross and track, damn body roll.

The original intent was to run stock setup to save my tires (not that the MSP specs were agressive). But I autocross once a month...and I figured for a bit more camber I can adjust the built in camber plate.

now I realize camber plates will onyl take you so far (much liek a piggy back) but I figured its should be okay enough for a good comprimise between stock and sport.

Theres a hint of slight camber in the back so I think its okay becuase the rear doestn have camber plate. But I dont think the front has negative 1.7 degree camber. maybe 1.25-1.5...I need to check the spec sheet. So I fgured to get more I can adjust the camber plates.

Think its okay? im just worry about damaging something if I run stock spec while driving agressively. they seem to emphasis that this is "VERY STOCK" lol....

 

[sm76]

The original intent was to run stock setup to save my tires (not that the MSP specs were agressive). But I autocross once a month...and I figured for a bit more camber I can adjust the built in camber plate.

now I realize camber plates will onyl take you so far (much liek a piggy back) but I figured its should be okay enough for a good comprimise between stock and sport.

Theres a hint of slight camber in the back so I think its okay becuase the rear doestn have camber plate. But I dont think the front has negative 1.7 degree camber. maybe 1.25-1.5...I need to check the spec sheet. So I fgured to get more I can adjust the camber plates.

Think its okay? im just worry about damaging something if I run stock spec while driving agressively. they seem to emphasis that this is "VERY STOCK" lol....

Camber plates are actually the best way to adjust your camber. You won't damage anything by not having enough camber (except the outside of your tires). Just check what happens to the toe when you adjust the camber with the camber plate because they will change together. I don't remember which way the toe changes on our cars as you go more negative with camber.

 

[matt621]

gettin mine aligned friday at the dealership, ill post the specs prior to the alignment and after...dealership is best for jobs such as this...normal run of the mill shops ARENT gonna carry specs for our cars aka MSP, they will just align them to the REGULAR Protege specs (what happend to me) or charge you extra...

Can you post this information? (before/after and comments)

thanks

 

[oldzoomer]

check this out:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65663

 

[4GIVEN]

Usually you develop a certain tread pattern while your alignment is off, and then you get your car aligned and now its at a different spec. So thats why it pulls. Ive been doing alignments for 5 years.

 

[matt621]

Usually you develop a certain tread pattern while your alignment is off, and then you get your car aligned and now its at a different spec. So thats why it pulls. Ive been doing alignments for 5 years.

I have considered this. But a few factors: The tires are less than a year old. And I've not had it run out of alignment long enough to really make any sort tread pattern. Also, I just swapped out the entire tire/wheel combo back to the original tires and wheels that came on it and it still has the same pull.

 

[4GIVEN]

If thats the case then the mechanic must have either put the heads on wrong(the heads are the things that goes on the outside of the rim. It must be put on just right or you will get wrong readings) or he or she must have used the wrong specs.