Pretarion
11-22-2005, 08:48 PM
I just had my car lowered and I am needing to get an aligment on my A3.
I was told by my local shop that they don't have the specs of the vehicle because it is too new.
Any ideas on where to get this from?
Thanks
danham
11-23-2005, 05:28 AM
But you may also need to dial in a "fudge factor" due to decreased suspension travel, esp. camber.
Just out of curiosity, how low did you go? I find the front body ground clearance on my A3 to be way less than my former A4 -- stock -- and would be very hesitant to lower it at all.
-dan
Pretarion
11-23-2005, 09:58 AM
I bought the H&R springs which dropped it 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches. Very nice drop for $200.
Looking at the rear of the car, my rear wheel camber is def. off.
Looking at the side of the car, the front does have a little bit higher gap than the rear, not much noticeable
danham
11-23-2005, 11:47 AM
Pretarion:
Unless your vision has been surgically altered to Bosch optical alignment ramp specs [grin], I would be very skeptical of trying to measure camber, caster or toe-in by eye (though you can get a very rough estimate of toe-in with very careful tape-measure work).
Also, if the ride height is off after spring installation, that has to be fixed BEFORE you try to make alignment changes, especially camber and caster.
I used to do Porsche 911 4-wheel competition alignments on a Bosch ramp and so I know how easy it is to chase yourself around in circles if you don't use a methodical and accurate approach. Sagging or mal-adjusted torsion bars on those cars, for example, would affect ride height and make proper alignment 100% impossible unless you fixed them first.
-dan
PD Performance
11-23-2005, 03:35 PM
Still have to do my alignment.
Front is only camber side to side, No caster adjustment.. so its actually easy to do the fronts. Just need actual toe specs.
Rears I"ve got mine down so the rear tires are tucked and I have only barely visual negative camber.. so I don't see how with that little lowering you would notice anything with your eyes.