Alignment Suggestions - Daily driver

[psulja]

Just wondering what people would suggest as good specs for a daily driver that sees a fair bit of spirited driving/hooning.

I'm looking for the car to feel pretty neutral with lots of grip but don't want to wear through my tires too quickly.

For toe I was thinking 0 up front and very slight toe in at the rear. I like how twitchy it feels with 0 toe up front and the steering feel in general when it is set up like that.

What do you guys suggest for all the other specs? Camber? Caster? Not sure what I should ask the tech to aim for with those.

I would also like to try to get into autox and maybe a few lapping days as well later on in the season.

[Danger]

Something I have found nice is less caster, like 4* or less, that combined with 0 toe or even slight toe-in gives great steering response in my case. I also run a little less than 2* negative camber front and rear. I drive the car everyday (spiritedly) and auto-x it regularly, and the tire wear hasn't been too bad. The inside half of the tire has worn slightly faster, but not enough to cause concern.

[kung fu jesus]

Paul, Emilio wrote up a really nice alignment page on his site (http://949racing.com/miata-race-alignment-info.aspx).

Maybe give it a read and extrapolate. I'm not a fan of toe in the rear, but it depends on your style and setup.

BTW, what is your suspension setup?

[psulja]

I read Emilio's write up but thought that was for a much more aggressive setup. I'll read it again before going for my alignment tonight (or I'll postpone the alignment). I want to try to make the tires last somewhat longer, but I know not to expect that long of a life from a performance tire.

I'm running FM springs w/ KYB AGX shocks. FM sways, front and rear. And getting 205/50/15 star specs put on my wheels tomorrow. But I'm going to wait to mount them on the car until after the alignment.

[Demon I Am]

This is my current setup on DGR coilovers adjusted to optimal travel height (aka not slammed), corner balanced, and 195/50/15 tires. The guy I trust says this is a slightly modified version of FM's setup. It handles quite well, and seems stable and predictable, for the short amount of time that I have been driving on it.

CURRENT Measurements

Left Front: Camber -0.9* / Caster 4.8* / Toe 0.01*
Right Front: Camber -1.1* / Caster 4.2* / Toe 0.01*
Total Toe: 0.02* / Steer Ahead 0.00*

Left Rear: Camber -1.4* / Toe .04*
Right Rear: Camber -1.5* / Toe .03*
Total Toe: 0.07* / Thrust Angle 0.01*

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/7351479850_856bd73076_b.jpg

[iRoadster]

I'm inclined to agree about the zero toe on all corners. As far as caster I'd think around 4.8-5 would work alright.
As far as camber I'd just do around 75-80% of what's suggested in Emilio's writeup to help the tires last a bit longer. Say around -1.7 in front, and -1.5 for the rears.
But this is pretty much a talkin' out of muh butt suggestion. I don't know if it would be considered a good setup or not.

[xjdesertfox]

Im running the 949 alignment with ever so slight toe in the rear.

Im running the one for >12" height.

Its fantastic, I previously had an "FM/M.net" style alignment with more camber in the rear, that was stupid.

[kung fu jesus]

my specs for the street as it stands now:

4.75" F / 5.125" R

F: -2.1° camber, 1/16" toe in, 5° caster
R:-1.8° camber, 0 toe, 5° caster

If anything, I may have a *little* too much caster, but it is very good for everyday without any discernable accelerated wear on the tires.
xjdesertfox is right about the camber. More camber in the rear than the front feels really odd. Going around higher-speed corners, like banked on/off ramps makes the car feel as if the rear is on a different line than the front.

[iRoadster]

My car's a daily driver and it's current setup is a ride height of 12.25" in front and 12.5" for the back with -1.9 degrees of camber on all four corners as well as 0 toe on all corners, but I've got like 5.3 degrees of caster which seems a bit high.
It's like it alright, but I don't really have anything to compare it to yet.

[psulja]

I had by brother take the car in for an alignment today while I went over to Michigan to pick up my StarSpecs.

Here are the specs I ended up with:

Front
Camber: -1.26L/-1.28R
Caster: 4.21L/4.21R
Toe: 0L/0R

Rear
Camber: -1.33L/-1.34R
Toe: 0.01L/-0.02R
Thrust Angle: 0.01

Do you guys think -.07 degress of camber difference in the back will make much of a difference? I'm assuming it won't be noticeable and would need to be quite a bit more significant to really notice the change.

I'll have to see how it handles after I get off work tonight and get a chance to put on the star specs. Will have to do a little midnight run on some on/off ramps.

[KAL]

I got my alignment done yesterday.
Was going for the 949 alignment, but my soft setup didn't make it possible with the low caster (the most important thing for me to get down this time as i have no assisted steering).
Also changed all the bolts.

https://img.skitch.com/20120619-qj258f8kuwbff1xmqgir9y1uca.jpg

Høyre is right, venstre is left, første is before, siste is after, spissing is toe.