Stock Wheel Alignment and new Bridgestone Potenza G3s

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jcparki

Stock Wheel Alignment and new Bridgestone Potenza G3s

Postby jcparki » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:46 pm

Wheel Alignment:
Thought I would share with everyone my thoughts on my new wheel alignment for my stock NB. I had this done at Bob Jane in Boxhill (Victoria) for $55.

Rear:
Camber: -1.31 Deg (Left)
-1.29 Deg (Right)
Toe: -0.5mm (Left)
-0.5mm (Right)

Front:
Camber: -1.08 Deg (Left)
-0.73 Deg (Right) (close as he could get)
Toe: -0.4mm (Left)
-0.4mm (Right)
Castor: +4.48 Deg (Left)
+4.59 Deg (Right)

It feels much better than the last one I had at Stuckey Tyres in Melbourne. The alignemnt they gave me was WAY out. Their machine must of been broken!!!! It wore my rears within 200km on the inside! Also they claimed not to be able to change the front camber past zero!!???!!!??. Just goes to show....when you find somewhere good....stick to it!

I find the current set up good for what I need. I do alot of highway driving....but also like to take my car onto the track about 6-8 times a year. Thus I wanted to go as aggressive as a could with the camber, but not at the expense of wearing my tyres out on the highway (when you are not cornering). I think this setup is a good compromise. One day in the future, when I mostly track this car, I will go even more aggressive....but for now, this will have to do.

The 0.5 Deg b/w front and rear seems to make the car quite neutral. On the track the was just a nice amount of oversteer.

Tyres
I also had a set of Potenza G3s put on for $139 a corner (fitted and balanced). I took them down the great ocean road to \"wear them in.\" :lol: My first impressions on the road were very good. They were a little squirrmy, but that is usual for a new set of tires (soemthing to do with the way they mould the tyre...there is lubricant on the mould so the tyre can be pulled out...and some of this seeps into the tyre). Now after about 500km (and one track day) they feel great. Lots of grip. I found at Winton on the weekend, that at the limit, they squell alot louder than the Yokohama ES100s. But grip seems to be about the same. I am also told by some of the Vic Motor Sport guys that the G3's last alot longer. Sammy ran a set for a whole season of track days! They are also a bit cheaper than the ES100s. So all in all I am happy with them. BTW...there are currently no ES100s in Australia. They are still being shipped out from Japan.

Hope the above helps some of you.
John

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Matty
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Postby Matty » Wed Sep 13, 2006 1:03 pm

As long as you keep the toe reasonable, you can get away with lots more camber on the road (assuming you can achieve it) without excessive wear. I've run -1.5/-2.0 on my old suspension setup and the wear was totally even.

Re the right front camber, maybe try backing off the caster a little to bring the camber up (and ignore the idiot tyre monkey when he recommends asymmetric caster settings - make it the same each side.)


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