I brought my car to get aligned as per Dazed specs. I replaced every part of suspension mostly from OPR. I had a box of idler arm, ball joints and such that I thought they could put on since they will be adjusting them. NOPE!!!!!!! guy got all pissey with me, might be my fault. My question is I gave him the Dazed specs and he glanced at it and then said, I cant give you +2.5-3.0 camber if you don't have power steering, you wont be able to turn the wheel. AHHHH ok. Is that true?

Please align to these specs “1967-1970 Mustang, Falcon & Cougar Performance Alignment with or without Shelby drop”.

These specifications are in order of importance.

1. NO more than .25 degrees difference between driver’s side and passenger’s side.

2. +2.0 to +3.5 degrees caster.

3. -.5 to 0 degrees camber. No positive camber, please. There is no problem having a slight variation from driver’s side to passenger’s side to account for the crown in the road.

4. 1/16" to 1/8” toe in

 

I think you meant to say "caster" in your first paragraph, not "camber" but I run with exactly those specs and yes, I can turn the wheel. Probably a bit more difficult than normal but it doesn't take extraordinary power to do it. Steering wheel returns very nicely,too.

I also have a 14" Motolita wheel to add to the difficulty, but no complaints from me. And the problem is not a problem at any speed above 10 mph.

edit: I've got a '66 with manual steering.

 

from Daze website:
- Also, make sure you trust your alignment shop. Alignment technicians are trained to work on a variety of cars, so most will not know the specifics of a Mustang and they go by what the book or computer tells them. To make maters worse, many of these same technicians believe the owner of the car has no clue what they really need, so they will tell you that they used your specs but still use Ford’s specs. Always get a print out of what the car was set at when it went in to the shop and what it is was set at when it came out.

Either go somewhere else, or ask them to do it like specified. if you're not happy you'll pay them again to adjust to different value. no business man can say no to that offer :-)

 

Or just learn how to make the various measurements and do it yourself. It's not nearly as difficult as the presence of those $$$$$ alignment racks in the shops suggest that it might be.


Norm

 

I'm running +1.5 caster on mine with a quick 16:1 ratio manual box and a small steering wheel and I can turn the wheel with the car stationary with minimal effort. I'll probably bump it up to +2.5 at some point this week or more, it's not really going to make that much of a difference.

Most alignment technicians are just that, technicians....they do alignments, they do NOT understand how alignment affects things. They just plug in the numbers for a car the book gives them and diddle with adjustments until their machine tells them they're at the preset settings. They have incorrect old school mentalities and believe wives tales, and have no understanding of how changing suspension components and configurations to a more modern configuration affects performance. They think you can't have this much caster, or can't align it this way or so on and so forth.

Seriously, find another alignment shop that does know what they're doing, or buy some alignment tools and do it yourself.

I'd have to say that alignments on old Mustangs are perhaps the single biggest problem area for Classic Mustang owners....it's the one area where the "experts" have the least amount of understanding and cause for the car's owner the most amount of trouble. I've had retards align my car wrong before and destroy a brand new set of 60,000 mile tires in under 1,500 miles, not to mention cause the car to handle like crap.

 

I am running +3.0 degrees of caster and I have manual steering. tires are 225 vr50 16 and it is not that difficult to turn except when stopped or trying to park.
Manual steering does require arm strength I have found...

 

Ive been able to turn the wheel since I was 16 parking in tough spaces at my old job with +3 degrees of caster. My forearms got a little bigger driving my car but it took 2 weeks tops to get used to it. When the car is barley rolling no effort to turn the wheel needed.

 

+1 find another shop!!

+2.5 for me. same 16:1 manual box as 67M302. its heavy at very low speeds but fine otherwise and axcellent for attacking corners. Positive caster gives you more responsive turn in.

what wheels and tyres are you running? a tall combo may hit on the front of the fender if you have too much caster - pays to check by a full lock to lock turn before you leave the shop.

 

thanks guys, i'll find another shop. I'm running 225/45-17 in front and 245/45-17 in rear. I don't mind a tough wheel if it's what the doctor ordered, If that helps and is needed then i'll do it. Thanks again

 

I run those specs on my 65 with 225/45 17s on the front without any problems. It handles and turns great.