Shoey1

I thought i would post the factory alignment specs so people can compare the alignment print out they get from the shop that does the alignment. these specs also apply to lowered vehicles. might be a good idea for a sticky?
for those with lowering spring you will have a rear camber reading of about 1.5 give or take a bit depending on how much drop you have but there isn't enough adjustment in the rear to compensate back to spec. not enough to worry about tire issues.

Front Caster
Min: 2.1
Pref: 2.8
Max: 3.6

Front Camber
Min: -0.01
Pref: 0.03
Max: 0.5

Front Toe
Min: -0.01
Pref: 0.01
Max: 0.05

SAI (Steering Axis Inclination)
Min: 13.8
Pref: 14.6
Max: 15.3

Rear Camber
Min: 1.2
Pref: 0.7
Max: 0.2

Rear Toe
Min: 0.02
Pref: 0.04
Max: 0.06

UPDATE: checked the alignment machine at work today and these specs apply to all 6th gens and 6.5 gens regardless of factory wheel size

KC2010

iTrader: (1)

Someone add this to the specs sticky!

Terrentius

What year are these good for?

Shoey1

i punched it in for an 04 with 17 inch wheels, like my car, but im sure its good for all 6th gens and probably 6.5. ill check into it.

Terrentius

Cool...waiting for your update

morteljc

yea.... i might need alignment reference for my 08...

sticky.. sticky...

itzkhanh

wow my rear camber is:
L -1.4, r -1.7

is that going to overly wear my rears even if i get rotations every 5k?

coolmax05

iTrader: (8)

Question...

On the front camber I noticed the "pref" is outside of the min to max. Is this done on purpose or is it a mistake? Or am I making a mistake by even saying this?

From what I read for the most aggressive handling you want;

Front camber as negative as possible within the Spec
Front caster as positive as possible within Spec
Front Toe as negative as possible within Spec
Rear Camber as negative as possible within spec
Rear Toe as negative as possible within Spec

Can someone chime in on this (maybe dues)?

I'm about to get a 4 wheel alignment done and I want to go as aggressive as possible for improved handling (who cares about the RSA tires)(I'll take 10k less mileage for more fun driving 20K).

Shoey1

you may notice more wear on the inside edge of the rear tires if there is too much camber but i dont know if yours is out far enough for that

Shoey1

good eye cool max. i must have got a little giddy on the "-" button.

corrected

coolmax05

iTrader: (8)

Camber
Camber is the angle of the wheel, measured in degrees, when viewed from the front of the vehicle. If the top of the wheel is leaning out from the center of the car, then the camber is positive ,if it's leaning in, then the camber is negative. If the camber is out of adjustment, it will cause tire wear on one side of the tire's tread. If the camber is too far negative, for instance, then the tire will wear on the inside of the tread.

coolmax05

iTrader: (8)

Dang you-you changed it. Now it looks like I misquoted you.

(nice post BTW)

Rich96

iTrader: (2)

I've been told that camber and caster are set from the factory and thus cannot be adjusted. Is this true? I've looked for a camber/caster kit, but cannot find one.

Shoey1

caster cant be adjust but camber most certainly can. undo the two bolts at the bottom of the strut and push it in or pull it out and the wheels camber will change.

Shoey1

i just noticed you have lowering springs in your car. so yes the rear camber will be out of spec. you can get a camber kit for these cars from cattman i think but don't quote me. your camber setting now isn't going to be dramatic enough to wear your tires noticeably.

Baironhorse

Good info.... good to know..!!!

Torgus

iTrader: (10)

usually people only adjust it for specific race tracks, as i understand it that it that is.

as for all around daily driving it's not practical from what i understand, nor encouraged...

a normal alignment will do you just fine.

coolmax05

iTrader: (8)

Appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

When I had a Mark VIII and did this it made a huge difference in handling. Car rode smoother and road feel improved a bunch. Check out this link...

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/suspen...ent/index.html

KC2010

iTrader: (1)

I put on my eibach on all 4 wheels. It's been 4 months and I've realigned the car three times. The first two the tech couldn't get my included angle into spec. I got a different tech on the third alignment. He was able to get all four wheel into spec with the eibach springs installed. Rides like a dream now. I wonder if I should install my progress camber kit to lengthen the life of my tires? Hmmm....

Torgus

iTrader: (10)

thx for the article interesting read!

Apollos2

iTrader: (16)

Nice explaination on Camber. Can you give an explaination of Caster as well.

BTW I have a Camber kit I purchased from Cattman. I don't think I need it, maybe willing to sell it. If anyone needs one, feel free to pm me.

coolmax05

iTrader: (8)

Check out this site. You get a pretty cool "active' representation of alignment.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/wheel_alignment.htm

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

VOTE STICKY!!!

Shoey1

caster is what makes the steering wheel return to center after your done turning. if your caster is straight up and down think of the front wheels of a shopping cart, how they skip and jump around when your going fast. caster and SAI (steering axis inclination) are there to stop that and make the car easier and more comfortable to drive basically.

itzkhanh

Rich:: I have the ingalls camber kit (2 bolts each box) and i have two boxes. My alignment guy said I didnt need them. PM me for more info.

SHOEY:: thanks alot man, the guy who does my alignment is a honda head and he said rear camber will wear my rears faster but pretty much said the same thing about it not being as bad as I think.

xnyc

iTrader: (9)

what machine do you use? specs off a hunter 5900 are a lil different. off the top of my head these are wat i saw that were different

Front Camber
Min: -0.01 <-should be -0.1 if anything. hunter5900 +0.1
Pref: 0.03 <-should be -0.3 if anything. hunter5900 is -0.3
Max: 0.5 <-should be -0.5 if anything. hunter5900 -0.7
increments are off. afaik, majority of pref is the avgmean of the min and max

Front Toe
Min: -0.01 <- hunter5900 is -0.02
Pref: 0.01 <- hunter5900 is 0.02
Max: 0.05 <- hunter5900 is 0.06

Rear Camber
Min: 1.2 <- hunter5900 is -1.1
Pref: 0.7 <- hunter5900 is -0.7
Max: 0.2 <- hunter5900 is -0.3
all of these should be negative. most cars dont come from factory with + camber due to stability issues

Rear Toe
Min: 0.02 <- hunter5900 is +0.13
Pref: 0.04 <- hunter5900 is +0.17
Max: 0.06 <- hunter5900 is +0.21
for this, i believe your specs would be better for tire wear but im prety sure this is specification from nissan. for alignments, i guess either one would be alright as they are not that far from 0. just make sure your thrust angle is at 0.00 or as close as possible.

keep in mind, these are the specs off the top of my head. the pref for hunter5900 im pretty sure are all correct. not 100% on the min/max range but should be within +/-2. hope this helps. the caster and sai are the same.

xnyc

iTrader: (9)

caster is set by factory. as of right now, there are no aftermarket manufacturers for adjustable lca's meaning it is non adjustable for the most part. if it is out of spec, you need to figure out what is bent or causing the misalignment. camber can be adjusted in the front on maximas in a few ways. loosening the knuckle to struts bolts and pushing in or out. see next quotes response for more insight. camber bolts can be used but they lose structural integrity as opposed to regular bolts. camber plates in the top of the strut mount but not sure if available to 6th gens. extended control arms but also not available to the maximas. the holes on the bottom of the strut can be widened with a small grinder and you can still use factory bolts. it allows a bigger range for the first method. not dont on customers cars usually.

from my experience this does work but only to some extent. the most i get out of loosening the knuckle/strut bolts is +-0.2 for the 6th gens.

Rich96

iTrader: (2)

I posted my alignment sheet in this thread. Its supposed to be in spec, but pulls to the left just enough to drive me crazy. Thoughts?

http://forums.maxima.org/6th-generat...ssue-help.html