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Old 04-04-2012, 09:38 PM   #1
Jeff_DML
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alignment measurements

I did not back out of my work parking spot enough and ran over the curb pulling forward. Ever since then my alignment seemed odd, seemed to pull to the left at times, so i had my wife take it to the dealer. They drove it around the block or so and said it felt fine. Since my wife was there I told them to go ahead and do a front end alignment, attached are the results:

Only thing that looks odd to me is the front right wheel almost has -1 degree of camber verus left has 0 or am I reading that wrong? According to their numbers that is in range but I would not think you would want the left to right to vary so much. Could that cause a pull to the left or other odd behavior. Anything else look odd?

TIA
Jeff
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Old 04-04-2012, 11:57 PM   #2
bren
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They will often add a bit more camber and caster to the right side so the car doesn't follow the crown of the road into the curb - downside is on roads that aren't heavily crowned you can drift left.

Yours just looks like the guy was lazy once he saw all green on the machine.
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Old 04-05-2012, 12:48 AM   #3
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The other thi about the camber is that you probably get a little more on the left side when you're in the car compared to it being empty up on the rack. In a perfect world, or if it's critical enough that you'll insist on it, you want to do an alignment with you, or someone your weight, sitting in the driver seat.

I also agree with Bren about seeing green and the guy mostly leaving it alone. I bet most of what you think you're feeling is in your head, maybe more sensitive to what was already there. You checked tire pressures, right? If you knocked 10psi out of the left side compared to the right, You could feel a bit of a pull, especially in combination with other slight changes.
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Old 04-05-2012, 01:01 AM   #4
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Thanks guys, so sounds like it is ok but still confused about the guy seeing green. Does that mean ok but not perfect?
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Old 04-05-2012, 01:26 AM   #5
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"Green" means it's in the manufacturers tolerance ranges. When the car is on the rack, the gear hooked up, and the car info in the computer, it displays the measurements and ranges on the screen. If the measurements are in the acceptable range, they are displayed in green on the monitor.

The specs set by the mfr do not include a "perfect." For most drivers in most cars under most normal street driving conditions, you won't notice any difference as long as you're within that acceptable range. At most, you may get some slightly accelerated tire wear if you're on the outter edges for toe.
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Old 04-05-2012, 01:48 AM   #6
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Thanks, I actually understood green but wasn't sure if it was acceptable and I should take it back. Sounds like it is.
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Old 04-05-2012, 09:06 AM   #7
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The other, other thing about the camber is that it may not even be adjustable. I don't know Mazdas well enough to say.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff_DML View Post
Sounds like it is.
Yes, it's within mfr suggested range. The numbers would literally be red on that sheet if they were out.

I also think it's kind of interesting that the mazdaspeed has a different alignment spec.
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Old 04-05-2012, 09:11 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bren View Post
I also think it's kind of interesting that the mazdaspeed has a different alignment spec.
The RX-8 has different specs for nearly every option combo.
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Old 04-05-2012, 08:59 PM   #9
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FWIW, front-wheel only alignments are just about useless.

As has been hinted at here, the only thing that will make a car pull one way or another is more camber at one corner of the car. And the front of a Mazda 3 (or Mazdaspeed3) is not adjustable for camber. Only way to "adjust" it would be to bend a strut or a control arm.

Bren's comment about more camber to account for road crown is correct. It's still annoying. I even out the camber in my cars for that reason.
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Old 04-05-2012, 09:28 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John V View Post
FWIW, front-wheel only alignments are just about useless.

As has been hinted at here, the only thing that will make a car pull one way or another is more camber at one corner of the car. And the front of a Mazda 3 (or Mazdaspeed3) is not adjustable for camber. Only way to "adjust" it would be to bend a strut or a control arm.

Bren's comment about more camber to account for road crown is correct. It's still annoying. I even out the camber in my cars for that reason.
Well I only hit the front left wheel so I am assuming the rear would be unaffected, it is basically a brand new car. They had rear numbers on the above printout so seems like they measured it.

Still pulling to the left at times, going to rotate the tires right now to see if that makes a difference
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