Hey guys does anybody know good alignment specifications for highway driving. I'm bringing my car to get it aligned and the wheels balanced, so I wanted to know what you guys have your front end tuned to. Also, do you guys think an alignment may help with a shimmy at 70mph. I've had the shimmy for a while and can't seem to get rid of it. I've had the tires balanced, rotated, new tires put on, but they can't seem to find a problem. Oh yeah I have a 98 max SE. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

if you want an alignment that is perfect for the highway then you would want something as close to zero as possible...to allow for the flattest possible "footprint"...but you want somewhat of a compromise so you have something that's also good for turning...usually they will align a car to within factory specs...try to ask them to get the alignments side to side to match so you don't have a drifting problem...check to see if any of your wheels are bent or have a flat spot or were balanced incorrectly...

 

Some of the newer balancing machines actually balance the wheel and tire together. They put a load on the tire and measure the high spot on the tire against the low spot on the wheel and vice-versa. Don't know if that'll help but it's an option.

 

Camber is the most important spec on our cars alignment. If it's not almost perfectly even on both sides you tend to get a slight pull.
Setting up the front end with a slight bit of negative camber will enhance tracking. Ask you alignment guy to set both side at -.5 degrees camber. I'm running at -.8 degreees, my car feels very tight on the road and corners very well.

 

Factory specs are:
FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT

Camber, in degrees.
-1.00 Minimum
-0.25 Nominal
+0.50 Maximum
+0.75 Maximum left and right difference

Caster, in degrees
+2.00 Minimum
+2.75 Nominal
+3.50 Maximum
+0.75 Maximum left and right difference

Kingpin inclination, in degrees
+13.50 Minimum
+14.25 Nominal
+15.00 Maximum

Total toe-in distance, in millimeters
+1 Minimum
+2 Nominal
+3 Maximum

Total toe-in angle (left plus right), in degrees
+0.09 Minimum
+0.18 Nominal
+0.27 Maximum

njmax aren't you wearing your tires slightly more running the -.8 degrees? On my 16"s I wouldn't mind, but my 18"s are too expensive to wear anymore than necessary
-hype

 

Aren't the factory alignment specs good enough?? They're fine for me. I've taken 2 road trips with my car so far. Each trip was 2000 miles round trip. I had alot of fun If you like hi velocity cruising like I do, then you want to keep your tires pressure high. I have my fronts at 36 psi. I would also have my backs at 36 psi, but since the Maxim is sooooo light in the back, I keep the back at 30 psi. With my 17s I have very confident hi speed cruising.

Make sure you make your tires pressure measurements when the tire is cold. As it gets warmer, a 36 psi cold tire goes up to about 40 psi, very close to the 44 psi maximum of most tires.

DW

 

No, I'm within factory specs of -1 to -.25 degrees. I run as deep into the negative side as possible. Actually the maximum I could get was -.8 degrees out of both front sides. No more play left to even get to the -1 degree mark. The guy that does my wheel/tire and alignment work sets up custom cars for auto X. He knows his $hit when it comes down to tracking a car. I guarantee you will feel the difference in the way your maxima tracks if you go PERFECTLY even on both sides as far negative as you can go, but stay within the factory specs. Running close to Zero gives you the floaty feel everybody hates on here.

A camber setting of -.8 degrees isn't really that agressive. Combine that with a very slight toe in (1 mm) and you get a nice bite on the road. My tires show no signs of excessive ware.

 

There is such a thing as too much camber. I experimented with camber settings on my adjustable Ingalls camber bolts and found any setting more than -2 degrees is pretty bad for both tracking and handling. Steering becomes loose like a Buick and you constantly have to make steering corrections. And you have to actually turn the wheel more for a turn than with lesser camber angles.

I settled on -1.5 to -1.0 degree camber for the front wheels. It feels solid on the road, and while straight line might feel a bit loose, it is very stable on the corners, particular those hairpin decreasing radius turns where you really push your tires.

 

Where is this guy you are talking about? I would like to bring my car there to have it aligned. If he's not local, does anybody know of a good alignment shop in the Connecticut area????????????

 

Keep in mind very few shops will do camber for 4th gens. The reason is because the factory does not specify camber adjustments for 4th gens (just front toe adjustment), and unless the mechanic is a cool person, they will not adjust your lower strut bolt for you since that is not something that is "officially" adjustable.

 

Has anybody found a good alignment shop in Connecticut or NY yet? I'm still looking, but just can't seem to find anybody that can align my car the way I want it aligned. HELP

 

Try B&B in Windsor Locks. They've done some alignment work for a couple of race cars for us (and they're racers themselves). For years the place to go was Deagle's Steer-O-Master in Springfield, but I don't think they are there anymore.