finaly did my alignment today.....

[hocus focus]

i finally did my alignment to day,ive been to busy in my shop lately to get the time...i was amazed to notice that after instaling my H&R springs that the only ting out of spec was the front toe (0.11 left /-0.42 right)i was amazed of this but itells you that our cars do have a decent design in the performance aspect......

------------------
2001 zinc yellow 5 speed premium package, moonroof
edge shifter,H&R springs,cool-flo, custom hood air intake,focussport stress bar,esslinger udp,....future mods?....we'll see what the future brings!......

[icemanZX3]

I have had H&R springs on my ZX3 for a couple of months now and I still havent gotten it aligned yet.

[ZX3 Rally]

I heard that with H&R springs they don't lower it enough to make it necessary for alignment.

[SE SPORTNY]

Any time you have ANY kind of suspension work you MUST have the car realigned!

------------------
Mid-Atlantic member
Focus Registry
Mods:
FocusSport Cool-Flo intake,street header,exhaust,sparkplug wires,springs,stress bar,windshield banner,Hella Quad-projection headlights.
New Edge Performance Powerstop Cross drilled rotors, B&M short throw shifter
Tire Rack 17" Borbet Type T rims, Yokohama 520's 205/45/17
Hose Techniques Silicon hose kit
KKM Richbrook Aluminum parking brake handle, Aluminum pedals, Aluminum oil filler cap
Speedpeople Indiglo gauges

[focusZoomin]

from both experience and from hearing it from others, the h&r's really don't lower it enough to throw off the alignment badly enough that you would need an alignment. i haven't noticed any strange pulls or anything like that, and there doesn't seem to be any bad camber adjustments needed. seems to go just right.

------------------
T. Lowe : TEAM Mid-Atlantic
INFINITY Sport Tuned Performance
Proud customer of: Modern Performance
focusZoomin@infinityx.cjb.net

[tuned_focus]

hade a local place install and alinged...6 mounths later and the tirres are wearing funny...take it back to the shop and they said it was the springs and they could not adjust it to work right...help

[lt7d101]

tuned focus, what springs did you put on?

[hocus focus]

somethings not right with that ,it doesnt go that far off,the onlything i felt is a slight drift when i would go over some ice,also make sure they have had there alignment machine calibrated...some companys dont do it often,also if they could have them alighn your car with you init,sounds funy but when you sit in your car the geometry of the suspension could change slightly,also have them give you a print out of the specs factory ,before ,and after to see how much its of, and to see if there even doing anything,some shops will say they aligned a car but just take it for a ride to see if it pulls or feels funny,if not they will then tell you that they did there best and that its ben lowered theres no more room for adjustment....bring it to another place and ask for this info.....

------------------
2001 zinc yellow 5 speed premium package, moonroof
edge shifter,H&R springs,cool-flo, custom hood air intake,focussport stress bar,esslinger udp,....future mods?....we'll see what the future brings!......

[danger_man]

Get an alignment. I have the H&Rs and my back tires were near bald toward the outside within 6000 miles. Play it safe, not cheap.

[swooshUSN]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by danger_man:
Play it safe, not cheap.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My thoughts exactly!!

[tuned_focus]

the H&R's

[fast_focus_1]

Have any of you guys that have lowered your foci installed the rear camber correction kit? I just ordered it because I noticed that the wheels were tilting in after I put on my wheels.

------------------
2000 SE Sony Limited Edition w/Esslinger UDP, AEM UDP, AEM intake, Borla Exhaust, JBA header, Hella Headlight Conversion, Progress Springs, Eibach sways f/r, energy suspension bushings, 17 ICW's, FS Strut brace, FS wires

[S. on Da 5]

Truth.

I installed my Koni/Eibach Pro-kit Spring/Energy Suspension Hyperflex Bushing kit and the car felt great. It seemd that the car wanted to pull just a tad to the right. Hardly noticeable unless you let go of the wheel and let it roll for for awhile. It even braked straight with my hands off of the steering wheel.

To play it safe I took my Focus to an alignment shop. I went with a manual alignment shop because I heard that once the stock suspension of a Focus has been modified the computer based aligment machines will no longer work since they are programed to work on a stock base suspension.

Well the guys that did my alignment did not do a very good job the first time. It is pulling to the right now. Way more than before. Also they now want to sell me a front Camber kit and the rear.

I think they just want to make some extra money.

I know how to set the Toe in the front and the rear. It is not easy to do manually. It requires patience and skill. That is why I took it to a shop. I think they gave up rather quickly.

I am going to take my car back to them this monday. Hopefully they will try again. I know I don't need camber kits for the front or the rear.

[This message has been edited by S. on Da 5 (edited 10-06-2001).]

[ZX3 Canuck]

What about if you have coilovers? Since they are height adjustable, when do you get an alignment done? I have a set of FK coilovers, they're not cranked down all the way, and I'm still running the stock 15" wheels. Next spring I'm planning on getting some 17" rims which means I might be re-adjusting the height of the coilovers again.

Will I then have to get another alignment done?

------------------
'01 Malibu Blue ZX3 (5-Speed)

Mods So Far:
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
FK Highsport Coilovers From ZX3 Tuning
Iceman Air Intake + K&N
Ford Racing UDP
Ford Racing Plug Wires(Blue)
B&M Short Throw Shifter
Shorty Antenna From ZX3 Tuning

PICS

[S. on Da 5]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ZX3 Canuck:
What about if you have coilovers? Since they are height adjustable, when do you get an alignment done?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


I would say that to "play it safe" you would want to get an alignment each time you adjusted the ride height or your coilovers.

[ZX3 Canuck]

Holy crap, that could get expensive at $100 for every alignment......

[PointFocus]

It still could get expensive, but I just had my Focus aligned after installing the Eibach Pro-Dampers and Pro-Kit springs, and a four wheel alignment was only $49.00. The only spec that was out alot was the right front, but they had to tweak the settings at the rear as well.

------------------
2001 Twilight Blue ZTS
Mods(so far)FocusSport Stress Bar, FocusSport Wires, Iceman Intake ,Eibach Pro-Kit Springs (1.2") with Pro-Dampers, Bosal Catback, FocusTuning Pedal Covers

[corey_dyck]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by S. on Da 5:
To play it safe I took my Focus to an alignment shop. I went with a manual alignment shop because I heard that once the stock suspension of a Focus has been modified the computer based aligment machines will no longer work since they are programed to work on a stock base suspension.

Well the guys that did my alignment did not do a very good job the first time. It is pulling to the right now. Way more than before. Also they now want to sell me a front Camber kit and the rear.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've got the same springs and dampers. I took mine to my local Ford dealer. I got great service when I was paying! $35 Canadian for a 4-wheel alignment. It took about an hour. Only one of the front wheel's toe was out of spec, so they tweaked it back in line. No need for any kits.

Guys, it's worth the money! Even if you have some serious alignment problem, you may not be able to feel it. It could burn through a set of tires pretty fast, as danger_man said. That will cost way more than the alignment ever did!

[hfatboyd]

Sorry about the caps, but I need to express this clearly ... WHENEVER YOU DO ANY KIND OF SUSPENSION CHANGES, YOU NEED TO GET A 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT!!!

Got it? Good.

------------------
2001 ZX3 S2 Sangria Red

Upgrades:
Eibach springs
Magnaflow exhaust
AEM CAI
Fog light mod
Shortie antenna