alignment and issues
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 1,846
Likes: 29
From: Canada
eclectic assortment of cars
alignment and issues
Okay, so I've had the car a couple of weeks now. I noticed the car drifting a bit left, so about 10 days ago I had it aligned. But it's still drifting a bit left, and most of the time I have to dial in a bit of right steering (say, just a few degrees). Not much, but it's annoying, especially if I am going to take the car on long road trips in the future.
The specs the shop used show 'C Class Classic / Elegance'. They got everything within spec except for caster and rear camber. A scan of my results is attached.
The shop told me there were a couple of issues. First, the caster was off beforehand. They couldn't get it within the specified minimums, so they set it as close together as possible. And of course, they couldn't adjust rear camber. Both of these could lead to the front wandering.
I understand there is a factory camber/caster adjustment bolt, but it's limited as range of adjustment. Also, I think the bolt is in there already. I reviewed the dealer service records before I picked up the car, and I recall seeing notes about the bolts being put in. I'm going to double check on that.
The tires are pretty marginal at the moment too. I have new ones on the way - new Conti winter tires in non staggered 225/45/17s. I also think the car was probably tweaked a tad in a previous accident. So there are a couple factors.
I'm thinking of snagging the KMac front kit, Jeff/Speedybenz's rear camber arms and doing the alignment again, and probably with a different shop that I've used before too. And since I'll be getting into it anyway, probably a set of Vogtlands springs with new pads too. The springs were on my mod list, but it makes sense to me to snag them now if I need to align the car anyway.
Any suggestions? Will these parts help iron out the leftward drift? Do the rear camber numbers suggest a possibility for the leftward drift? It's only a half degree out...
Thanks for any assistance.
The specs the shop used show 'C Class Classic / Elegance'. They got everything within spec except for caster and rear camber. A scan of my results is attached.
The shop told me there were a couple of issues. First, the caster was off beforehand. They couldn't get it within the specified minimums, so they set it as close together as possible. And of course, they couldn't adjust rear camber. Both of these could lead to the front wandering.
I understand there is a factory camber/caster adjustment bolt, but it's limited as range of adjustment. Also, I think the bolt is in there already. I reviewed the dealer service records before I picked up the car, and I recall seeing notes about the bolts being put in. I'm going to double check on that.
The tires are pretty marginal at the moment too. I have new ones on the way - new Conti winter tires in non staggered 225/45/17s. I also think the car was probably tweaked a tad in a previous accident. So there are a couple factors.
I'm thinking of snagging the KMac front kit, Jeff/Speedybenz's rear camber arms and doing the alignment again, and probably with a different shop that I've used before too. And since I'll be getting into it anyway, probably a set of Vogtlands springs with new pads too. The springs were on my mod list, but it makes sense to me to snag them now if I need to align the car anyway.
Any suggestions? Will these parts help iron out the leftward drift? Do the rear camber numbers suggest a possibility for the leftward drift? It's only a half degree out...
Thanks for any assistance.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,475
Likes: 5
From: City with Tall buildings!
C43/55,2k11 Volvo S60 T6AWD,2k Audi B5 S4,95 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD 500+awhp
Okay, so I've had the car a couple of weeks now. I noticed the car drifting a bit left, so about 10 days ago I had it aligned. But it's still drifting a bit left, and most of the time I have to dial in a bit of right steering (say, just a few degrees). Not much, but it's annoying, especially if I am going to take the car on long road trips in the future.
The specs the shop used show 'C Class Classic / Elegance'. They got everything within spec except for caster and rear camber. A scan of my results is attached.
The shop told me there were a couple of issues. First, the caster was off beforehand. They couldn't get it within the specified minimums, so they set it as close together as possible. And of course, they couldn't adjust rear camber. Both of these could lead to the front wandering.
I understand there is a factory camber/caster adjustment bolt, but it's limited as range of adjustment. Also, I think the bolt is in there already. I reviewed the dealer service records before I picked up the car, and I recall seeing notes about the bolts being put in. I'm going to double check on that.
The tires are pretty marginal at the moment too. I have new ones on the way - new Conti winter tires in non staggered 225/45/17s. I also think the car was probably tweaked a tad in a previous accident. So there are a couple factors.
I'm thinking of snagging the KMac front kit, Jeff/Speedybenz's rear camber arms and doing the alignment again, and probably with a different shop that I've used before too. And since I'll be getting into it anyway, probably a set of Vogtlands springs with new pads too. The springs were on my mod list, but it makes sense to me to snag them now if I need to align the car anyway.
Any suggestions? Will these parts help iron out the leftward drift? Do the rear camber numbers suggest a possibility for the leftward drift? It's only a half degree out...
Thanks for any assistance.
The specs the shop used show 'C Class Classic / Elegance'. They got everything within spec except for caster and rear camber. A scan of my results is attached.
The shop told me there were a couple of issues. First, the caster was off beforehand. They couldn't get it within the specified minimums, so they set it as close together as possible. And of course, they couldn't adjust rear camber. Both of these could lead to the front wandering.
I understand there is a factory camber/caster adjustment bolt, but it's limited as range of adjustment. Also, I think the bolt is in there already. I reviewed the dealer service records before I picked up the car, and I recall seeing notes about the bolts being put in. I'm going to double check on that.
The tires are pretty marginal at the moment too. I have new ones on the way - new Conti winter tires in non staggered 225/45/17s. I also think the car was probably tweaked a tad in a previous accident. So there are a couple factors.
I'm thinking of snagging the KMac front kit, Jeff/Speedybenz's rear camber arms and doing the alignment again, and probably with a different shop that I've used before too. And since I'll be getting into it anyway, probably a set of Vogtlands springs with new pads too. The springs were on my mod list, but it makes sense to me to snag them now if I need to align the car anyway.
Any suggestions? Will these parts help iron out the leftward drift? Do the rear camber numbers suggest a possibility for the leftward drift? It's only a half degree out...
Thanks for any assistance.
I have the Vogtland setup. Did not do anything for the front yet but my car does track perfectly and it was recently aligned.
Super Member
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 592
Likes: 0
From: Sacramento
AMG C43, 1999
Sab,
With the toe in the front higher on the right then the left, this will tend to pull the car to the left and this result is made worse due the the rear , left toe being greater than the rear right toe.
With the front and rear toe settings set-up like this the car will want to rotate to the left.
So getting those set up correctly will help you out greatly.
Jeff
With the toe in the front higher on the right then the left, this will tend to pull the car to the left and this result is made worse due the the rear , left toe being greater than the rear right toe.
With the front and rear toe settings set-up like this the car will want to rotate to the left.
So getting those set up correctly will help you out greatly.
Jeff
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
From: Philippines
95 C36 AMG, 02 SLK320, 06 Accord V6, 08 BMW 335i
C36 alignment
I have a 95 C36 and she tracks perfectly once you get the settings correctly. The AMG's specs are different from an ordinary W220 C280. The correct data are listed below. they are from my C36 AMG Service book S-2653-095.
CAMBER: -0 degrees 35' +/- 20'
CASTER: +4 degrees 55' +/- 30'
TOE-IN : +0 degrees 25' +/- 10' (total)
Note that these data are in degrees-minutes format. If the calibration machine that you used is in DECIMAL DEGREES then it can be converted as:
CAMBER: -0.58 degrees +/- 0.30
CASTER: +4.92 degrees +/- 0.50
TOE-IN : +0.42 degrees +/- 0.16 (total)
Camber adjustment is done using a notched bolt and washer in the lower suspension arm. Note that this bolt is NOT an eccentric bolt and the way to adjust it is to pull it out and rotate it so that the notch is either inwards or outwards. There is a corresponding hump in the washer to lock it in place.
CAMBER: -0 degrees 35' +/- 20'
CASTER: +4 degrees 55' +/- 30'
TOE-IN : +0 degrees 25' +/- 10' (total)
Note that these data are in degrees-minutes format. If the calibration machine that you used is in DECIMAL DEGREES then it can be converted as:
CAMBER: -0.58 degrees +/- 0.30
CASTER: +4.92 degrees +/- 0.50
TOE-IN : +0.42 degrees +/- 0.16 (total)
Camber adjustment is done using a notched bolt and washer in the lower suspension arm. Note that this bolt is NOT an eccentric bolt and the way to adjust it is to pull it out and rotate it so that the notch is either inwards or outwards. There is a corresponding hump in the washer to lock it in place.
