How even are your spring plates and front adjusters?

84toy · 12-20-2003, 09:46 PM

Doing final leveling and getting ready for the alignment shop on Monday. No corner balance so I have to get it as close as I can by tape measure. I'm setting the rear off the center of the torsion bar cover which seems to match the fender lip. The front is set off each end of the aluminum beam. The front adjusters and spring plates are slightly different from side to side but it seems to be pretty close to being level.

Please no comments about getting it corner balanced. The one guy that knew what it was wanted $1200 and the rest of the shops said "what's that?" One shop who said they did hundreds of 911's said "sounds like a waste of time" and when I said it is my understanding that it makes quite a difference he said "sounds like you need to go somewhere else" and hung up. I was stunned......

Anyway, I need to get it driveable and I can do it this summer after the suspension settles in.

You guys that have had your cars corner balanced, how different are the adjustments once it is balanced?

911nut · 911nut's Garage

I just finished replacing my bushings front and back. I did my own alignment too.
I was able to get my ride heights within 1 mm front and 2 mm rear. I don't autocross my car (at least not yet) but I don't detect any handling problems with what I've done.
That DYI alignment document that's floating around here says if your car doesn't want to wander to one side or the other on a flat road, then the corner balance is good.
If you plan on taking you car to the track by all means get it corner balanced. If not, spend time making your ride heights as good as you can get them (this may take hours), get the car aligned and stop worrying about it.

johnsjmc · 12-21-2003, 05:19 PM

There is a thread about a tripod arrangement (lift one side at jack pad and measure other side fr/rr heights)that seemed to make sense for at home corner balance). Corner balance scales can often be found at local stock car events and probably their owners can send you to an alignment shop willing to use them .I had an 86 Cab that had premature front right brake lockup but it tracked perfectly straight and measured fairly level .Acorner balance fixed it.It took a couple of hours plus alignment ,not $1200 worth keep looking.

Chuck Moreland · 12-21-2003, 07:54 PM

Paul, maybe you need to take a drive down to the bay area. There are a number of reputable shops that can do the CB.

How valuable is a corner balance? It really depends on how far out of balance the car is as at the starting point. It's much more important for cars with heavy torsion bars than it is for stock.

84toy · 12-21-2003, 09:22 PM

Thanks Chuck, I don't mind paying a little extra for a reputable shop but around here it's a joke. Since my T-bars are 21\27 it's probably not a big deal. I set everything with a protractor and a tape measure and took it for a drive. WOW! what an improvement and I didn't even have the rear sway bar hooked up. Bump steer is gone and it is solid as a rock. After it is aligned it should really be nice. I'll know Monday night.

What I really wanted to know is how far different is the typical settings after a corner balance. For instance on the front, is 1 or 2 threads difference on the adjusters normal? 3 or 4? Mine is close....perhaps .050" difference in thread extension to get it level on the aluminum beam. I thought that was pretty good. The right rear was not identical and I moved the spring plate about 1\8" on that side.

The suspension is just about right. The Bilsteins\TB's are firmer now but the suspension works so nice that I think it actually rides noticeably smoother than before. I'm really happy, thanks for the help!