[DeTomaso] Alignment specs

[mikeldrew at aol.com]

John wrote:

If camber in the rear is an issue due to subframe collapse and or 
lowering the car then would then extended upper A arms make sense for a 
non flared car? 
http://www.precisionproformance.com/sc2020.htm 

>>>Well, the first thing you need to do is measure your camber and 
determine if you NEED to change anything.  I, of course, failed to do 
that, and stupidly assumed that because my car was such a disaster in 
virtually every way, that I would have these issues as well.  $500 
later, I realized that no, as a matter of fact, because both 
wheelhouses had been replaced, I was in fine shape.  In fact, with my 
bling-bling adjustable A-arms shortened as much as possible, I still 
needed a ton of shims at the bottom just to get to Zero camber.  So I 
eventually re-installed my stock upper A-arms (with new ball joints) 
and Dennis Quella kindly took my adjustables back and gave me a refund 
(or rather, credit which was used to fund the refurbishment of my stock 
A-arms).


>And if anybody has used these just how drastically does that effect 
tire clearance when you are trying to fit 17"- 335's under the rear? 
Then again if a guy really wanted to dial in the rear camber and 
toe-in, a set of A arms with adjustable rod ends would probably be the 
way to go. 
http://www.pim.net/Susp112606all.jpg 
bling...bling.....cha.ching. 

>>>These obviously give you maximum adjustability, at the expense of 
cost.  Depending on the degree of collapse your chassis has suffered 
(and/or how radical you have lowered your car from the stock setup), 
the fixed-length extended A-arms might be just as effective.  Or, not.


>Any thoughts on what is to be gained from adjusting the rear 
suspension beyond what it is capable from a stock and potentially 
sagging setup? 

>>>Well, the ambition is to return the car to a nominally stock 
configuration, with a bit of negative camber (about 1/2 degree?) at 
rest.  Cars that have been lowered and suffered chassis deformation can 
often deliver as much as 2 degrees of negative camber which is way, way 
excessive for street driving.

Mike
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