Howdy,
I'm going to be ordering a set of Monroe Quickstruts for my front suspension soon (got a set for the rear and they're great for a dd) and I was wondering if it will be necessary to have an alignment done afterwards.
Now, I know that's probably been covered in another post, but I have more...<--whatever the hell that is, it felt appropriate =]
I was doing some reading (here) and it seems like it would be a good idea to dial in a slight negative camber on my front wheels when I do the struts. I'm not a crazy driver, but I do like to take corners fast and a -1 camber angle, from what I've read, would reduce understeer and make cornering better. I'm assuming that the stock camber angle is zero. So, I was thinking about ordering the Moog camber adjusting bolt kit p/n K90474 when I order the quickstruts. Has anyone here done a negative camber angle adjustment with bolts or otherwise?
Any and all input appreciated (as long as it's coherent, sensible, and on topic)

 

You don't need any alignment after replacing suspension parts, it's ok that you destroy the tires and have darting and pulling issues.

Of course you need to have an alignment (if your smart enough you can actually do it yourself). when ever camber is changed, toe-in is also effected. Toe will really raise hell on tire wear and stability.

 

I ask because (with my very limited knowledge of suspensions) the strut assemblies are verticle, and to me, it doesn't seem like it would affect the alignment as much as changing out tie rod ends or control arms. Meh, maybe it was a dumb question.
I know toe angle can wear out your tires quickly, but would a -1* camber angle from stock make that big of a difference?

 

Oh it will affect toe HUGELY

To make camber change, the top of the spindle will move in. when that happens the arm that attaches to the tie rod also moves in. What do you suppose will happen to toe when this happens?

 

Nice explanation! It's like a rolling quarter when it loses momentum. The measurements are camber, caster, and toe. Similar to Ohm's Law in electricity. Each measurement is equally affected by the other two. Sound about right?

 

Kinda sorta. Caster is non adjustable so that's nothing to worry about. Camber would then be adjusted next only if you have eccentric cams installed in the struts and then finally toe because changing camber affects toe but changing toe does not affect camber. Also I believe 0 camber would be optimal especially if you want to prolong the life of your tires.

 

There are always methods for changing any alignment angle even if there's no "factory" adjustment.

Camber change does effect toe that's what I said earlier. The optimal camber depends on the application for the vehicle (lots of highway vs, lots of intown). The suspension engineering and geometry also determines optimal static camber angle. Some vehicles don't gain sufficient camber in hard cornering, so more camber needs to be put in on initial alignment.

 

hey guys whats up, i got 03 neon sxt, i just put in new Monroe front struts, and its running great. but the rear struts are gabriel struts. Is this a big problem or not? and also the strut mount on the rear right is bad, but the left rear is good. should i buy new complete rear struts or just change the strut mount? thank you

 

No and change the mount. You don't need to replace the struts unless they are bad.

 

You can change the mount if you have a spring compressor. Most people don't have access to these tools so it's usually just easier to buy a Quickstrut which is the whole assembly and do it that way.