i've search several posts and have seen different responses. i'm planning to finally put h&r springs on next week. i know i should wait about a week before an alignment. some have posted that i only need front end while others have gotten 4 wheel alignment done. so, what's the real story?

 

I personally would align right away...

 

with the beam in the rear, i was told the rear couldn't be aligned. besides, don't they all cost the same anyway?

 

some machines require them to hook up the lasers to all 4 wheels to calerbrate them for the allignment so thats why they call it a 4 wheel allignment. they work on the car as if it was a 4-wheel allignment but they just dont do any adjustments to the rear wheels because its not possible. If they were to use bubble guages then thats a different story.

Also, I dont know if its wise to allign it right after the install since it takes time for the springs to settle. If you allign it when they are not settled, that means when they settle, it may be off again.

 

If you wait for the car to settle, which might take 1000 miles or more, your tires can start to develop a bad wear pattern. So you should align right after the install and then check it after a while or if (when) the car has settled measurably.

Norm

 

You should definately do it right away. Every place you go to have your alignment done will give you a minimum of 6 months or 12k mile warranty. Take it back after they settle and get it done again for free.

 

Slightly more than a month ago my neighbor installed Eibach springs in my car. I took it to a local place and had the alignment done immediately. The car was driveable but I didn't go very fast nor very far. The alignment absolutely needed to be done (based on the number report they showed me). I just recently took it back to have them check (it's been a little more than a month). They checked the alignment and it had changed only slightly but not enough to warrant any work. So it would seem advisable to do the alignment immediately, and if it makes you feel better, to follow up later.

 

bump

 

Also, from what I've read on other posts (you'll have to "search" for it), the handling/tracking of the car may be improved by setting the toe-in to the manufacturer's maximum limit. You should confirm this though . . .