Using aftermarket bolts for camber correction got a whole lot less attractive once you hit that manhole cover.

As far as what the manhole strike did do, it could be anything from bolts that slipped up to the clearances in their holes to the subframe shifting to to bent steering and suspension components. Check carefully for tire and wheel damage, and pull the wheel so you can see the inner side clearly.

It may or may not be as bad as all that sounds. But as a matter of ancient history I had a similar incident where the steering wheel got knocked noticeably off center and I remember that lots of things got bent that day.



Norm

 

If you do end up using camber bolts, you may want to check these out ... less expensive than the Eibach kits, and Spohn is a solid suspension outfit:

http://www.spohn.net/shop/2005-2008-...-Bolt-Kit.html

 

They realigned the toe slightly and the steering wheel is straighter now. They said that the steering may be pulling to the right may be because of the difference in camber of the front 2 tires, one is 1.3, the other is 2.1*. They also said the suspension may have settled a bit since it was brand new. Its a pretty deep manhole cover mabe 2-3 inches drop then rise up, which i hit at about 40 with the front struts on medium setting. I checked for damage and there didnt appear to be any from what I can tell and they didnt notice any when re-aligning. The wheel may have been off before i hit the cover im not 100% sure, i did notice it right after though. Ill look closer when i get the bolts installed.

It seems wierd that one wheel is within spec and the other is much higher, mabe we should have loosened the bolts and tried to get a bit of the camber out just by loosening , pulling on the wheel and re-tightening, neither of us thought of that though at the time.

awesome, i wasnt looking forward to spending like 30$ on a pair of bolts. I think ill go with these, thanks.

edit* oh they are sold individually. mabe i only need one though anyway since the other wheel is only 1.3* camber for some reason.

 

Back to the question of decent "performance" front end alignments, I was running -1.5* -.25 +0 of camber on both sides with 1/32" toe out. This set up was great for autocross and spirited road driving - the toe especially helps with immediacy of turn in. I've been rotating tires with every oil change (3000 miles) to mediate any uneven wear but haven't really noticed anything after about 15,000 miles on this set up.

After a recent accident, however, the repair shop reset the alignment to stock. I'm racing the car this July before I decide to whether or not to put it back.

As an anecdote, I'm always amused when a shop claims they can do a "four wheel alignment" on the 'Stang.