Call me a noob, but spent 4 hours on Tie Rod today

[projectRDM]

Originally Posted by Bigsyke

Whats your method of doing alignments? Ive been a member on Honda-tech since 02, and the road race/autocross boys still cant get it down right.

Your frame, preload on the bushings ect ect all comes into play when doing a diy alignment.

After every adjustment, you need toe plates that swivel on top of eachother to reset the bushing load after every change. You can roll the car back and forth a few times, but that usually throws the toe/steering off. SO without toe plates, you will never get a good alignment, and probably could just eyeball the tie rods better.

S14's rear wheel base is shorter than the front wheel base, that will throw a DIY alignment off too, so you need to compensate

You should also always do a proper alignment with yourself in the car, your body weight offsets enough to affect the final specs. The place I use here in Atlanta does full on race setups as well as basic shit, I sit in the car while they align, keep watch on the specs, and suggest my own settings as well for optimum feel. You should also make sure there's nothing else in the car to throw off readings, like a floorjack or shit you happen to be carrying. An extra 100lbs on one corner of the car can alter the setup later when it's removed. No point in doing a quality, high end alignment if you're not going to do it right.