MalvernDan Posted November 3, 2016 Report Share Posted November 3, 2016 Hi All, I have had my MX5 for 3 years now and have had the alignment done a couple of times and on both occasions they have been unable to achieve the fast road settings. The Caster I have been aiming for is around 5 degrees and they have only achieved about 3.5. Then camber I have been aiming for -1 degree front and -1.5 on the rear. They have been only able to achieve -0.34 on the front and -1.15 on the rear. The toe has been achievable. Is this a case of worn bushes preventing achieving the settings required? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hello Has the car been lowered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Hello Has the car been lowered? Morning Tony, the car is on standard shocks and springs, I replaced them about 2 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Well for those adjusters to max out in XYZ is almost impossible.... The company in question how clued up are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 The first company I used have a lot of knowledge on MX5s, the second I didn't rate the guy at all, he would normally only adjust to OEM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 How were things after the first place did the geometry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 It was OK but the car pulled to left a bit, I replaced all the discs and pads when I replaced the suspension so I knew it wasn't a warped disk. So you think that with 22 year old bushes in the lower arms that you should still be able achieve the fast road settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Without question... I'm really not convinced the cambers and toe cannot adjust to fast-road. Sometimes a rear camber won't adjust but it's obvious that corner has a bend. The castors could end up lower than FR but fuel load and suspension rake can cause that, so at the moment it's low but not end of days. As for the front toe not adjusting i'm struggling with that because it have over two degrees ( 12mm ) worth of adjustment each side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Thanks again for the info, good to hear I haven't got that job on my hands over the winter! What would you suggest, a trip down to you guys so you can have a look what's going on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Incidentally it was the Caster and Camber that they couldn't achieve, they got the toe fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 I think we need to see it.... We have done 100;s of MX5's and never heard of this problem before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Did you bolt up the suspension bushes with the car on the road or still on the ground? You could still have some pre-load in the bushes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Oh... I need a beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Some people have finalized the torque on the wishbones with the wheels off the ground locking the wishbone in a jacked position although i don't believe this has happened to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted November 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 You know what guys that may have happened. When I did the suspension, albeit around 3 years ago now so memory isn't great, we used a ramp that lifted on the strengthened ends of the chassis rails. Like I say my memory isn't brilliant but at the moment I can't remember torqueing up with the wheels back on. Also on the front drivers side I had to replace the lower arm last winter due to me damaging the ARB drop link fixing on the arm trying to cut out a seized droplink bolt. Again when I reattached the replacement arm and then the suspension I am pretty sure the car was still off the ground! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Oh... I need a beerOn the bright side, I've had a beer It might be worth undoing the bolts, bouncing the suspension to realign them back into place then re-torque them back up. Or take it to WIM if you're nearby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 4, 2016 Report Share Posted November 4, 2016 Be careful when undoing the bolts, if they are under a lot of tension they'll probably make a bang! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 Yep the bushings will snap into position.... You can get to the front one's with the wheels on the ground and full lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted February 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 Hi All, So the saga continues! But first can I say at the moment I am sapping the knowledge of this great forum and I do want to have WIM do a geometry set-up for me but until I am confident that the issues I have, that won't allow settings to be achieved, are resolved I don't feel it is worth the trip to WIM. So a few weeks ago I released the lower strut bolts at all four corners, drop the car back on the ground, bounced the car at the corner and then torqued the bolts back up. Today I went back to the company that first did my alignment around 3 years ago and asked for -1.5 on the rear and -0.5 on the front, as you can see on the attached image, again they were unable to achieve those settings. The main concern was on the Front Offisde corner and the setting you see in the image was the absolute maximum they could achieve, showing me the adjuster bolt at the maximum. They offered some advice in that saying that the lower arm could be bent or there could be an issue with the hub, I have replaced both within the last 12 months, new hub and a second hand arm from a reputable re-seller. Really I am looking for some advice on how I could identify the problem that is causeing the lack of travelling on that camber adjust on front right. They mentioned that the settings could be achieved fine on the front left. Thanks Dan https://photos.google.com/search/_tra_/photo/AF1QipPTdx9X6bQtPUqeArJZACa_wf-vlbKjuPY_E_vl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 19, 2017 Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 There's an error in the link can you try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted February 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 There's an error in the link can you try again. Give this a go Tony https://flic.kr/p/SiV8UV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 21, 2017 Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 Those numbers don't make sense unless the car have been converted to a 4X4. This has to be a workmanship problem reason i say this is the error is in all three plains X, Y, Z, which isn't possible unless the car has been off a cliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted February 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2017 Those numbers don't make sense unless the car have been converted to a 4X4. This has to be a workmanship problem reason i say this is the error is in all three plains X, Y, Z, which isn't possible unless the car has been off a cliff. Sorry for my lack of knowledge Tony but when you say all three plains are you referring to Camber, Caster and Toe and which case the front current settings? Bear in mind that the fronts were only set like that because the front right was dictating, front left they were able to achieve fast road settings but needed to set it to the settings as per front right. I did feel they rushed the toe settings on the front and could have achieved 0 toe on the front given a bit more time. They mentioned that the only way I could achieve more negative camber on the rears was if I were to have coilovers fitted or lowering springs. I think it may be time to give you a call and discuss my options further! Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 22, 2017 Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 X, Y, Z = left/ right, up/ down/ fore/ aft.... I understand about sacrificial settings when one angle isn't compliant but as an operator i would want to know why? And this is what i mean by why all plains are affected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalvernDan Posted February 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 X, Y, Z = left/ right, up/ down/ fore/ aft.... I understand about sacrificial settings when one angle isn't compliant but as an operator i would want to know why? And this is what i mean by why all plains are affected. I guess the job is for me is to find out why the drivers side front corner is not compliant, I just need to get it somewhere that can identify that and then fix or offer advice on what needs to be fixed. However the worrying thing in the back of my head is if the chasis is bent but I guess I need to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.