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Alignment guys told me that SPC Rear Kit is USELESS?
Hello,
Ever since I've dropped my G37 Sedan on the Eibach Pro-Kit, I've had alignment issues. I am running the 19" coupe rims with 225/45/19 tires for the fronts, and 245/40/19 for the rears.
It's been my problem though as I've never brought the car to a reputable alignment shop. I've been using NTB since I had a "lifetime" package. Go ahead and laugh :P
So...being the smart person I am, I spent a few hundred dollars and bought the SPC Camber Kit for both front and rear. NTB technicians still weren't able to do jack about the alignment. It was always off and whack.
I called up two alignment shops (very reputable here in Miami) and that's ALL they do. BOTH told me that I wasted my money on the SPC rear camber kit because it's useless on the G sedan. They said that OEM comes with adjustable camber so I did not need the SPC kit.
What is going on? So confused...I would appreciate any tips and insight into this issue of mine.
I know that I'm definitely bringing it to one of the shops. One is Apex Alignment and the other is called Alignment Factory. If you all have any insight to these, please do share as well.
Pretty sure that's wrong. But, alignment is something which has confused me as well.
I'm also an idiot and bought the NTB / Merchants alignment thing as well (mine is for 3 years), and the first merchants i went too told me my car was in spec, but that their printer was broken and they couldn't show me. (Obviously, they just lied and didn't even put it on the machine)
The second Merchants i went too though, i got lucky and the guy seemed to know what he was doing. He was able to bring the rear camber in from -2.9 down to -2.3, toe into .05 and caster into 5.4. But he told me that he couldn't bring the camber in anymore without a camber kit and that if he tried to adjust it anymore it would throw off the caster or something like that. He told me if i installed camber kits and came back he could get it 100% in spec.
Obviously there must be some range of adjustment since he was able to change it, but i dunno. The car does track perfectly straight and drives well, before it was all over the place.
Hopefully someone who knows more about suspension / alignment can chime in..
The alignment guys you're talking with are either ignorant, or just don't want to mess w/ non-oem suspensions. The OEM camber adjustment is so minimal (as is the OEM toe adjusters) that you will not get camber & toe both in spec when dropping more than 1.25". You may be able to get toe in spec at the sacrifice of camber, but not both. With the SPC arms & toe bolts you will be able to get camber & toe in spec for drops up to about 2.5", and possibly even deeper drops. Being in Florida you should be able to find several alignment shops that know what to do. Good Luck!
Ever since I've dropped my G37 Sedan on the Eibach Pro-Kit, I've had alignment issues. I am running the 19" coupe rims with 225/45/19 tires for the fronts, and 245/40/19 for the rears.
It's been my problem though as I've never brought the car to a reputable alignment shop. I've been using NTB since I had a "lifetime" package. Go ahead and laugh :P
So...being the smart person I am, I spent a few hundred dollars and bought the SPC Camber Kit for both front and rear. NTB technicians still weren't able to do jack about the alignment. It was always off and whack.
I called up two alignment shops (very reputable here in Miami) and that's ALL they do. BOTH told me that I wasted my money on the SPC rear camber kit because it's useless on the G sedan. They said that OEM comes with adjustable camber so I did not need the SPC kit.
What is going on? So confused...I would appreciate any tips and insight into this issue of mine.
I know that I'm definitely bringing it to one of the shops. One is Apex Alignment and the other is called Alignment Factory. If you all have any insight to these, please do share as well.
Thanks!!
Tell that "mechanic" to go back to school and finish his training. I have a lifetime alignment through Firestone, my brother is the head mechanic there. Blnewt hit it right on the head. I am lowered on Swift springs, very mild drop but enough to put the rear out of alignment. My brother showed me the limit of the stock camber adjustment and its pitiful. I installed the rear SPC arm myself and I will tell you that it is very simple to install and is capable of a wide range of adjustment. The mechanics were probably not familiar with how to adjust the SPC arms and avoided it. Did they offer you another part to "fix" the alignment? if so, its all a scare tactic.
Tell that "mechanic" to go back to school and finish his training. I have a lifetime alignment through Firestone, my brother is the head mechanic there. Blnewt hit it right on the head. I am lowered on Swift springs, very mild drop but enough to put the rear out of alignment. My brother showed me the limit of the stock camber adjustment and its pitiful. I installed the rear SPC arm myself and I will tell you that it is very simple to install and is capable of a wide range of adjustment. The mechanics were probably not familiar with how to adjust the SPC arms and avoided it. Did they offer you another part to "fix" the alignment? if so, its all a scare tactic.
They didn't offer me another part to fix the alignment, but they said that they probably wouldn't use the SPC in the rear, so that they would charge me only the extra $ for the front two...
I didn't think SPC would make a useless part either...
Originally Posted by blnewt
The alignment guys you're talking with are either ignorant, or just don't want to mess w/ non-oem suspensions. The OEM camber adjustment is so minimal (as is the OEM toe adjusters) that you will not get camber & toe both in spec when dropping more than 1.25". You may be able to get toe in spec at the sacrifice of camber, but not both. With the SPC arms & toe bolts you will be able to get camber & toe in spec for drops up to about 2.5", and possibly even deeper drops. Being in Florida you should be able to find several alignment shops that know what to do. Good Luck!
I find that weird because this is literally all they do, and they have almost 5 star reviews from all of their customers. Both of them even do race cars...
Originally Posted by iCrap
Pretty sure that's wrong. But, alignment is something which has confused me as well.
I'm also an idiot and bought the NTB / Merchants alignment thing as well (mine is for 3 years), and the first merchants i went too told me my car was in spec, but that their printer was broken and they couldn't show me. (Obviously, they just lied and didn't even put it on the machine)
The second Merchants i went too though, i got lucky and the guy seemed to know what he was doing. He was able to bring the rear camber in from -2.9 down to -2.3, toe into .05 and caster into 5.4. But he told me that he couldn't bring the camber in anymore without a camber kit and that if he tried to adjust it anymore it would throw off the caster or something like that. He told me if i installed camber kits and came back he could get it 100% in spec.
Obviously there must be some range of adjustment since he was able to change it, but i dunno. The car does track perfectly straight and drives well, before it was all over the place.
Hopefully someone who knows more about suspension / alignment can chime in..
Hope it goes well for you as well...this sounds just like my story. Keep us updated!
I had a rear SPC camber & toe kit installed so that I could get the rear-alignment I wanted after dialing in the height I wanted with Tein coilovers. My mechanic installed the parts, and my Infiniti dealership's service department did the alignment... with me present and eyeballing exactly the camber I wanted.
Keep plugging away, OP. Based solely on your comment, it sure sounds like you were given poor advice.
Tell that "mechanic" to go back to school and finish his training. I have a lifetime alignment through Firestone, my brother is the head mechanic there. Blnewt hit it right on the head. I am lowered on Swift springs, very mild drop but enough to put the rear out of alignment. My brother showed me the limit of the stock camber adjustment and its pitiful. I installed the rear SPC arm myself and I will tell you that it is very simple to install and is capable of a wide range of adjustment. The mechanics were probably not familiar with how to adjust the SPC arms and avoided it. Did they offer you another part to "fix" the alignment? if so, its all a scare tactic.
Were you able to get away with just rear camber arms and toe bolts with your Swiss spring drop or did you have to get front upper control arms as well?
Were you able to get away with just rear camber arms and toe bolts with your Swiss spring drop or did you have to get front upper control arms as well?
Hey champ, you bumped a 4 year old thread to ask something from someone who hasn't been on the forum in 3 years.
Swiss spring... LOL Welcome to the forum.
It's not uncommon for people to get the rear kit and forgo the front because the front usually doesn't dial in as poorly as the rear. Not sure why that is, or even if that's accurate... just an opinion. Plus, the front arms are stupid expensive, so there's that.
Hey champ, you bumped a 4 year old thread to ask something from someone who hasn't been on the forum in 3 years.
Swiss spring... LOL Welcome to the forum.
It's not uncommon for people to get the rear kit and forgo the front because the front usually doesn't dial in as poorly as the rear. Not sure why that is, or even if that's accurate... just an opinion. Plus, the front arms are stupid expensive, so there's that.
Thank you so much for getting back to me. I knew it was a longshot but it’s hard to find any new threads. I’ve been on the forum since 2016 every once in a while that I can get some good info. I’m wanting to do the springs but not blow money on camber arms in the front if I don’t have to. I’d rather invest that money into a set of Koni Yellows. I’ve got a rwd sport sedan and I’ve already had to replace a rear shock with a set of KYB’s. Was going to just plan on wearing those ouch and the stock front struts. Thanks for your input brother.
Firestone is a ripoff and crooks. If you buy tires from them they quote a really low price, lets say $100 each, but then you have to pay for mount, balance, disposal, etc, etc, etc and by the time you are done you are paying $157 each for a tire. I had gotten a deal and was getting tires on my car there once, and was getting it inspected at the same time. He came and told me I had a burnt out marker light that would need fixed to inspect it. I told them to go ahead and do it. They charged me $7 for a $1 bulb and $10 to install it.
09-04-2016, 05:15 PM
