jlwdvm

I've heard it mentioned that it might be possible to do a front alignment with a couple of tools purchased from harbor freight? Is this possible with the new mustangs and what tools are needed? Any directions floating around out there?

Argonaut

Not sure of your knowledge level but there are three things used to align the front end of a car: Caster, Camber and Toe. Stock, the only real adjustment our cars have is Toe. Toe is easy to measure with a set of "toe plates" (google it). There are several other methods to mearsure toe as well. Toe is also easy to adjust.

There are various ways to allow camber adjustment. The best way is to purchase a set of Camber Plates. Other ways include elongating the holes on the struts that mount to the spindle or using eccentric camber bolts. Camber can be measured with a digital level but the level needs to be zero'd with the floor (in other words you need to subtract and angle of the floor - most garage floors are not flat - from the angle of your measurement).

To adjust Caster (someting most people don't worry about) again the best way is with aftermarket plates (Caster/Camber plates that allow adjustment of both). Measuring Caster is the most difficult and involves turning the wheel a certain number of degrees, measuring camber, then turning the other way and measuring camber, then doing some math, blah, blah, blah. The math is different for various cars because of different steering ratios. I suppose this is why we generally don't worry about it.

I use the http://www.quicktrickalignment.com kit to do my alignments. It allows a little better accuracy than just a level and some tape measures.

The key to alignments is repeatability. You have to measure, then drive around the block, then measure again. Until you figure out how to get numbers that are very, very close with each measurement don't even think about making an adjustment. Then, once you are ready to do an adjustment, do the camber first. Make a very small change. Drive around the block and measure. Drive around and measure again. Keep adjusting till you get it right. Then set the toe.

Honestly - it took me about a week to do a front and rear alignment on my Vette the first time and was a pain in the ****, make a change, go test it, come back and measure. Do that a couple times and you get sick of it and give up for the night. Now I've got it figured out a bit better and can make guesses that will be close to the mark.

After learning how to do this myself I can see why alignment shops almost always F it up or at best get settings that aren't equal (have you seen how far off they can be and still be within "spec"?). It is time consuming.

Here is a good DIY guide. Camber and Toe are the same on all cars. Ignore the portion on Caster though, it doesn't apply to a Mustang. http://www.davidfarmerstuff.com/align.pdf

Miniata

I've been doing my own alignments for about 10 years. I currently use Longacre toe plates and a digital level from Sears Hardware. total cost was under $100, and aligning the front of a Mustang is relatively simple (at least compared to some other cars).

jlwdvm

Thanks for the help. I looked in the online Ford manual for the 2011 Mustang to get directions on how to set various alignment parameters. The manual doesn't say how to adjust to get the front end into spec. Just shows which bolt holes have to be altered it the car can't be adjusted into spec with the factory holes. If I'm only installing FRPP 1" springs, will I need to adjust much, if anything? I also have an adjustable PHB to install.

Norm Peterson

You'd be far better off to use either the Steeda HD upper strut mounts (which have camber adjustability built in) or camber plates than get into altering strut or knuckle bolt holes. I realize where you found it, but that method is only somewhat better than using crash bolts (aka "camber bolts" - I prefer the other name since I don't trust them for the kind of driving that a fairly powerful sports/sporty car is apt to be put to and will never use them on any of my cars). What's happening is that Ford isn't going to specify using aftermarket hardware and certainly not by single-source.

Once you've got yourself set up on a flat paved area and have a good idea just what it is that you're measuring, what to set things to, and what to move to adjust what, the rest really isn't any more than just wrench-work. Shim your setup pad closer to level with something like floor tiles under the wheels if necessary.

Here's where you get a separate benefit - when DIY'ing your alignment, you get to set things where you want them set, without having to argue with anybody or trust that they'll actually do what you request instead of just giving you 'lip service'. Ideally, your settings should be chosen by the type of driving that you do and how hard you do it. For example, the OE preferred -0.75° camber setting is not necessarily "ideal" for everybody.


I've got a slightly different write-up, kind of a compilation of about 30 years of doing all my own alignments.


Norm

jlwdvm

Thanks. With a 1" drop, is that only gonna change camber to more negative than stock? Won't toe, caster, etc stay the same, or will they be off since I have to remove the strut to change the springs? The manual didn't mention how to adjust the caster and camber if needed.

jwog666

any time your caster, or camber is changed your toe will also change. you could always go to a shop and tell them you want to see the before and after specs on the alignment, i do that for customers all the time. then you know what is being adjusted. i wouldnt chance wearing out expensive tires to save $70 or $80 on an alignment, the machines these days are very acccurate.

Argonaut

Agreed...but the techs usually aren't.

It doesn't matter how accurate the machine is if its mis-adjusted or mis-used, both of which happen entirely to often. The key of course is finding a good shop. To get the alignment precise takes time and shops don't put the time in. Very few shops do an adjustment and then drive around the block to settle any stiction and then do a follow-up measurement, it just takes to long and hence would cost to much. If you don't plan on doing alignments often and don't want to spend the time and effort to learn it yourself then you will need to find a good shop. A truely precise alignment, where both sides are very close to each other and close to what you specify will cost a lot more than the typical $80 you see at local tire shops. Doing it yourself, you can get better results than most of the typical shops will give you.

But of course, I'm talking about a agressive, track oriented alignment. If the OP isn't worried about that and only wants to make sure the numbers are in the ball park, than a standard alignment is fine.

Norm Peterson

The manual doesn't mention caster or camber adjustments because with the car in 100% stock configuration there is no adjustment capability for those parameters. Instead, corporate Ford (like most other mfrs of strut-suspended cars) simply provides a rather wide range of what's still considered acceptable. They'd really rather you left "their" design alone and only had original equipment type repairs performed on it.


Roughly, a one inch drop will shift the camber to somewhere between half a degree and 3/4 of a degree more negative than it was before lowering. Toe and caster will also shift slightly, but by not nearly that much.

If right now the cambers on your car sit right on the preferred setting (-0.75°), a 1" drop will put you up around -1.4°, which is getting pretty close to the maximum factory spec of -1.5°. For a mildly or moderately driven mustang, that's really too much; you'd need to be pretty serious about hard cornering most of the time for that to be a good setting.


Norm

jlwdvm

So there is no adjustment for camber, unless you want to drill out the holes and use camber bolts (if you wanted to follow Ford's instructions) if you needed more adjustment to get the front end into specs? Any suggestions for camber/caster plates? Been looking at getting the complete alignment kit mentioned above, but waiting to hear if it will work with 19"wheels. I have a 69 Trans Am clone that will be set up for some track time. So I figure if I align 2 cars the kit will pay for itself.