I recently installed a set of tein coilovers but i havent gotten an alignment done yet. Is it really necessary or optional? is it still gonna be fine if i set the camber to as close as 0 like stock?

 

While you can perform an alignment on your own, I would highly suggest having one performed with the use of an alignment machine. This way, you can get the car set so the adjustments are even on both sides.

Otherwise you're not only risking having poor handling but also increased tire wear.

 

Having 0 camber without looking at the toe angle will still make your tires wear out quickly. You want the toe close to zero for tire longevity. It's ok to run with negative camber as it improves cornering grip.

 

There's an excellent alignment specialist here in Phoenix that did the alignment on my vehicle and suggested a -1 degree of camber on all 4 wheels and then went with any caster and toe adjustments I requested. This gives, in my opinion, the best compromise between cornering performance and daily driving wear on tires.

Your alignment all depends on what you're doing with the car. I put several thousand miles of daily driving on my tires between track sessions so lasting tires is more important to me than overall track performance.

We've got a couple threads on alignment specs and who runs what. It's a good read.

 

OK so what you sugesst Ray????

I put hks coilovers and progress sways from you I know I need alignment. I have a feeling like my car is handling worse than before.

 

thank you!

 

To be clear....

Get an alignment......it's WAY cheaper than tires

 

yesterday, i swapped my 5zigen wheels back on. they are wider and less offset then stock. when i took it out for a ride, i could feel that the ride was better than using the stock tires when making a left turn. however, when i was turning right, there were some click noise coming from the rear suspension. it sounds like a torque wrench reached the selected torque. there shouldnt be anything to do with the rims cuz the noise was discrete. what should it be? Is it related to an alignment?

 

what was said tq? the correct answer is 108 ft lbs..

beers

 

thats a ridiculous amount. i stick to mazda's original 62-85 ft/lbs.

unless you can give me a really good reason. i never have a problem with my lugs ever coming remotely to loose.

 

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...2-04-1301b.pdf

That is where the revised 108ft/lb is coming from. Take it for what its worth, just letting you know why swoope said 108.

 

I actually have this issue as well as MazdaManiac can speak about. I have not had the opportunity to spend some time with the suspension to see what my issue is.

I have clunking when the rear suspension adjusts and I now have it coming from the front as well when I go over speed bumps or any of the suspension flexes. I am unsure if it's sway bars or my coilovers. I have had issues with a lower locking ring coming loose and allowing the coilover to turn when it shouldn't be.

 

i guess i will remove the wheel to see the lowering lock then.

 

If you have ever really torqued your lugs, w/ a 1/2" drive torque wrench, you will see that 108 ft lbs is not a rediculous amount at all. You are probably tightening them more if you aren't using a torque wrench. (Which most people don't)

Then, when you read the above service bulletin, you will see that Mazda's recommendation is 108 ft lbs if the wheels are ever removed.

 

i checked the lowering seat on my coilover, it had no problem. what else could it be. i correctly torqued my wheels as well. I think it might be the sway bars cuz i remember when i was installing my rear shocks, i found out that when the suspension was lowered, my rear endlinks was blocked by those 2 metal pieces welded on the control arms which are also connected with the endlinks. then i unbolt the sway bars and twisted it a little bit to let the endlink be as verticle as possible. was this move actually wrong?

 

BTW, can anyone post pix about what their rear endlinks look like

 

Not the best images for you, but maybe it helps.

 

damn, i really have no idea now, everything looks find to me....i already booked an appointment with one of the local mazda dealerships for a wheel alignment, i will see how it goes....really, now, it doesnt only happen when i was turning right, it even happened when i was tring to drive on a little incline.

 

oh i know why swoope said 108, read the note right under that section then read my post, i said "original" for a reason.

and yes i do know. i always tighten my lugs to spec with a torque wrench. sorry, im not a noob.

 

alright, i did some search, eventually, i decided to order a set of endlinks to replace the stock ones; there are two reasons why i want to do it. 1-Stock endlinks might undergo more force than before lowering the car since they would have been tilted and stretched more. 2-Stock endlinks are originally weaker than some of the aftermarketing ones.
correct me if i am wrong....i would like to take some advises first before ordering them cuz i dont waste money on something that i dont have to.

 

I had similar issue after installing my coilover setup plus sway bars. Strange noises coming from the front every time I hit the hole or bump first on the right latter on the driver side. And I have aftermarket endlinks too. I take off the wheels retighten all the bolts( lower coilover bolt, endlinks bolts, and sway bar bolts, Iam not shure about the last one should I do it or nut couse of the bushing) but anyway for now the noise is gone and Iam going for an alignment next saturday. The rear are fine but to install my rear I was using air gun for the front just hand tools so maybe you should check and make sure everything is tight.

 

lol, we learn stuff from everytime when we made mistakes;

Did anyone experience the endlinks joint ball broken issue? I wanna hear what it exactly sounds. Can anyone provide it if they had before?

I think the last post might be right. I didnt have much time when i was installing my coilovers; i spent 9 hours and almost got it over night; and i was kinda rush by the end plus i didnt really read the shop repair mannual for correct torque; but i tightened all the bolts to what i could since i didnt even use a torque wrench (cuz its got longer distance, it will provide much more torque when needed) to unbolt everything.anyways, i will order the evo-R endlinks tmr and redo all the bolts when they arrive.

I will keep updating it until i found out what this exactly is. I am going to mazda for an alignment first tmr and see what an alignment can do for this.

BTW, the evo-R endlinks should work well with stock sway bars right? I dont have money to ungrade my sway bars this summer.

at least this thread will provide more info about this issue for members to search.

 

Here is a different pic.