Home alignment question
 

I'd like to get to the point where I am doing my alignments at home. I'm researching the various string methods now.

The rear suspension needs to come apart to replace a bad monoball, so now is the time to get any new parts that might make the job easier.

I currently use factory adjutable spring plates and am considering getting sway away adjustable plates and Elephant camber max adjusters. The idea is I want to be able to make adjustments with the car on the ground.

My big question is this...Can camber, toe or ride height be adjusted with the factory plates and the car on the ground or must it be jacked up?

With a little effort you can adjust the rear camber and toe, and the front ride height with the car on the ground -- depending on how low your car is and how big your hatsize and shoulders are. Another trick is to use 2x6's to evenly raise the car by about 1.5 inches.

You can't adjust sthe rear ride-height without taking the spring plates off.

I think John is talking to the issue of physically reaching the adjusters. They are difficult-to-impossible to reach without getting the car up on some blocks.

The other part of the question is - can the adjustments be made with the weight resting on the tires. The answer is no with the factory adjusters. You simply can't turn the adjusters effectively with the weight resting on them.

The Rear CamberMax does allow rear camber to be set with the weight resting on the tires. This can really speed up the process, letting you watch your camber guage while turning the screw.

With the factory camber adjuster it's an iterative process requiring jacking, adjusting, lowering, measure, rinse, repeat.

Note that CamberMax will not fit Sway a way spring plates without modification. The saw plates are thicker than the factory plates, and the slot in the CamberMax needs to be widened about .020" to fit.

I prefer the factory adjustables.

Exactly what I want to avoid.

So...I could stick with factory spring plates and do the up and down thing until corner weights are good.

Then I can focus on rear camber and toe with the car on the ground?

Do you leave the spring plate bolts slight loose while you make the adjustments, then snug them when you're done, or do they need to be tightened and loosened each time?

To do toe and camber, you have to loosen the 2 bolts securing spring plate to trailing arm and the camber adjuster bolt. You just loosen them enough to allow movement.

Got it, but do I snug them after each adjustment before I can check the results.

Or put another way, once I snug them will things move?

Yes, you can adjust the camber and toe with the car on the ground. I use two thin squares of sheet metal with a layer of grease between them under the tires. They move with adjustment effortlessly.