wrx9181

iTrader: (2)

Hi mate I wouldnt think string was the way forward mate
Get it laser aligned at a specialist if you want it spot on if not then why post up?
It's a car travel to the best place for your car and what you want

dunx

iTrader: (3)

If it's done by Mr. Tamms @ HDC's premises then worry not !

dunx

P.S. Track Torque can also corner weight your car ( for track use ) too !

SRSport

You see my point?

I dont know his name but I think HDC/Howard only uses one man and as far as I know the guy comes to the workshop. Have you had experience with him/there then?

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Mr. Tamms Snr trained F1 mechanics...

Nowadays his son does the Mercs, Audis, Rollers, and the odd Scoob.

Sorry I don't have a contact number, and mine's still work in progress.

dunx

Arnie_1

You can definitely get a car lasered or strung, doesn't matter. They can be done well or botched using either method. the important thing is the tech doing the job and how good they are. Having a laser alignment rack does not guarantee a good alignment. However, a guy "still" using strings does show that he knows what he is doing. And don't discount someone who uses strings to align. Teams use strings on track all the time to align. I can use string, 4 jack stands and a tape measure to align perfectly.

I've come upon 3 types of folk aligning cars:

1. General mechanic/alignment guy. Does only what's on the computer. Punch in car details, set to "green". Done.
2. Guy who begrudgingly accepts your requested specs and gets them pretty close. But he does it with a big "sigh" and rolls his eyes.
3. Guy who listens to what you want, asks you what you plan to do with the car, explains what/how the specs you requested will make the car handle, perhaps suggest his own, throws weight into to driver's seat to approximate your weight (or has you sit in car very very still), and gets the numbers spot on.

You want guy #3. If you have to, settle for #2. Guy #3 is where all the race shops and teams send their cars. You might have to pay a bit extra. He will be worth it. Call the guys recommended here, or check with local racers and see who they use. Call them and talk to them. Learn about alignment and what it does for your car.

SRSport

Nice post, thanks.

Ginola

iTrader: (25)

Its a massive distance from you but thought i would post my experiances with this.
I had this done by FB Tunning last week in berkshire after fitting new shocks eibach springs and whiteline droplinks, it has transformed the way my wagon handles, its very nutral through the twistys now and lots more lateral grip.

Richard (FB tunning) spent about 1hour 30 getting all the settings just right with weight in drivers seat etc, set with similar settings to prodrive, 1.20 deg at front 1.35 at rear (camber) , toe out on front 0.05 and 0.00 at rear (i do some motorway mileage).
I had to buy some camber adjustment bolts at the rear to reach said angles.

the cost of doing a proper geometry setup vs taking it to somewhere like kwick-bodge and getting "ROUGHLY RIGHT ON THAT SIDE I CANT UNDO THE OTHER ONE BUT IT LINES UP ABOUT OK" is really worth it you wont regret spending the extra and will notice it the first corner you drive round.

Dave.

SRSport

Been there, got the bodge, never again. The only place I have ever taken it where I paid someone to hand me back a car that was worse off than before I started. This was when I was young and foolish though.

SRSport

I have just got off the phone to Prodrive who have said that the Prodrive settings can/should only be applied to cars that have prodrive springs and/or dampers fitted not the standard Subaru ones. Does this sound right? Im sure I have read that people have applied the Prodrive settings to a standard set up?

Markyscoob

Trouble with the standard Subaru setting is the car sits on it's bump stops all the time! Prodrive uses stiffer, shorter springs and much shorter bump stops so the damping is allowed to work properly.

My car is still standard, but has more or less -1.3' of camber dialed in at the front. Before it wore the outside of the fronts out. much better now and still nice and stable. I've added a Whiteline 22mm ARB on the rear and that also improved things and finally (for a while until budget allows) the anti-lift kit. This made the biggest difference and got rid of harshness braking on rough roads and also got rid of some understeer accelerating on less than perfect surfaces.

The Standard car has really soft springs, and relies on the bump stops to add springing. The dampers are set for the rebound from full compression which is why they are rock hard on slow speed small bumps as the car is wildly overdamped. Putting stronger springs on and shorter bump stops makes the damping less harsh more of the time and works nicely.

Thus the problem with Homologation specials. The race cars carry over none of the road car specs so why bother...just rip them off and fit proflex instead.

SRSport

Interesting 1st post.
Adding ARBs and powerflexes cost quite a bit more than the actual cost of buy and fitting them. Insurance companies are by far the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to having these fitted, well they are for me.

Anyway what about applying prodrive settings to a standard set up, Im assuming from what you've written its ok?

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

A Subaru dealer quoted me on a standard set up and said it would be fine. Now have the Prodrive springs so I waited till these where fitted and then had a specialist in Surrey do the set up.

wrx_2005

hi, did phonix motorsport in accringtondo your geometry set up ?