Performance alignments

[douglas.carter@platinum.com]

After recently installing the Neuspeed adjustable Koni's with the Neuspeed
Sport lowering springs, I had my geometry re-aligned to the specs listed
out on Neuspeed's instructions (if you can call them that).  The guy who
did the alignment gave me a REAL hard time about the specs I requested,
saying, "I've been doing this for 10 years, let me do it the right way."
Well, this is similar to brushing the coat of the cat the opposite way with
me, and I got real irritated. I proceeded to inform him that Neuspeed has
spent countless dollars and hours testing these settings, and this was what
they found to be the best compromise for performance and tire longevity.
He still didn't appear to be to excited about doing it my way. He also
didn't want to put toe out into it.  Honestly, I come from a rear-drive
past, in racing and street, and toe-out, in my experience, causes each of
the front tires to wander in different directions. My interpretation of the
need for toe-out was to compensate for play in the front-end components to
allow the front wheels to be straight under acceleration. I do not have any
idea why a front-drive system would need toe-out.

Well, he said he completed the alignment to my specs, but without a
computer printout, I'm skeptical. Don't ask me why I left without it.

What does the car do?  Well, around town, it tracks better than it ever did
from the factory... straight as an arrow.  On the expressway, above 80, it
pulls hard to the left.  Also, there is a pronounced tourque-steer, more
than ever at the beginning of a hard punch of the loud pedal. This is
really nothing more than irritating only if I'm trying to drive with one
hand. The obvious solution is to take it back and make them do it over
again, but can it be any closer than it already is?  I have heard that our
cars are not usually aligned sharp anyway.

My question is, has anyone else used different settings other than the
prescribed 1/16th toe out and 1 degree camber?

Turbo Tim?  Aaron, are you out there?  Arthur?


Thanks guys,
Doug