UK Alignment specs

[Vezna31]

The UK alignment specs are more aggressive than the U.S. version and are widely believed to make the car handle much better.

Front Camber -1
Caster 6.0 or higher (get as high as possible)
Front Toe – zero (NO POSITIVE TOE!  Slightly negative won't hurt.  Makes the car track straight.)

Rear Camber -2
Rear toe - .25 total (-.12 each side). Again - NO POSITIVE TOE!

Car should handle exceptionally well.

Edit...I originally had listed .25 each side for toe-in, but that is too much.

[Hockey]

Been running with the UK Specs for almost 4 years.  Little to no additional inner tire wear.  Some people are scared of running these settings because of that, but my experience with them tells me it is fine.

-Hockey

[Jon3615]

Vinny, after you gave me those specs, I apllied them to the car, and love it.  Of ourse, the limiting factor then became the crap, hard-compound tires I'm running...  But, initial turn-in is more crisp, and the rear-end is finally light enough to slide the car at the drop of a hat.

Wet roads this morning, I had a wild hair, and it looked like a D1 demo from Mission Bch to Miramar!  LOL

[Vezna31]

Vinny, after you gave me those specs, I apllied them to the car, and love it.  Of ourse, the limiting factor then became the crap, hard-compound tires I'm running...  But, initial turn-in is more crisp, and the rear-end is finally light enough to slide the car at the drop of a hat.

Wet roads this morning, I had a wild hair, and it looked like a D1 demo from Mission Bch to Miramar!  LOL

It's amazing how you start to be able to recognize what the limiting factors are after knowing the car for such a long time.  The tires I have on my car are the Goodyear F1 GS D3.  Awesome tires for everyday use, well-known for great dry traction and exceptional wet traction.  Rated by Car & Driver as the best tire on the market in a tire test conducted a few years ago.

For aggressive driving (Palomar Mtn) and track days, I use Toyo RA-1's on my stock rims.  They are just phenomenal, plain and simple.  I even used them on a torrential rain Palomar drive in August and they worked well in the wet all things considered.

[s2kx2]

Hey Vinny,

Thanks for these, I have an appointment with West End Alignment next week to fix the "Train Wreck" alignment done to the red  S2000 a few weeks ago by Tire Pros Temecula. I may not drive this on Saturday to the Wash thing.

[Satisaii]

I think you will be happy with West End.  I took my Miata there, and he was able to tell me all sorts of things that were wrong with it, an then make a suggestion about how to maximize it's potential with those problems.

As for the wash thing, isn't that why you have 2 of them?

[s2kx2]

Hey Satisaii,
Are you running the UK specs as well? If so how do you like them on an AP2? Based on Vinnys experience with his AP1 I would like to try these on my red 01 first. Thanks and we will see you Saturday.

JQ

[Satisaii]

My car is very predictable.  I am not sure if I am running true UK specs or not, but I have to do something very stupid to get the rear to step out.  I might have gone with a very aggressive alignment since I really don't drive it very often.  The insides of the rears are wearing faster than the outsides.  I need to get them swapped before this weekend drive to extend the life... I believe that I am at the wear bars on the insides.

[monkeymaker]

FYI, the posted UK specs were originally recommended for the '00 and '01 models only.   That said, I've used them for years on my '02 and loved it.  Over time I gotten even more agressive on the rear camber settings and had the castor maxed out each time, but for a superb compromise setup for agressive street/track use (with a stock suspension) I'd highly recommend these alignment specs for any AP1. 

I dunno how well they work with the AP2 considering how much softer the stock suspension compared to the earlier model years.  I'd guess the caster and toe recommendations wouldn't need to change but perhaps a little less rear camber is needed?

[Vezna31]

FYI, the posted UK specs were originally recommended for the '00 and '01 models only.   That said, I've used them for years on my '02 and loved it.  Over time I gotten even more agressive on the rear camber settings and had the castor maxed out each time, but for a superb compromise setup for agressive street/track use (with a stock suspension) I'd highly recommend these alignment specs for any AP1. 

I dunno how well they work with the AP2 considering how much softer the stock suspension compared to the earlier model years.  I'd guess the caster and toe recommendations wouldn't need to change but perhaps a little less rear camber is needed?

I don't know either.  John is our resident AP2 specialist.   

[chazdawg35]

I had mine set for -1.5 camber in the rear what do you guys think should I go more?

[Satisaii]

It it a trade off.  More negative camber will wear the tires faster.  I am running much more than that, but only drive ~4k miles per year.

What are your toe settings?

[Vezna31]

I had mine set for -1.5 camber in the rear what do you guys think should I go more?

I use the exact settings above.  It is all preference.  If you feel a difference, then use the ones that you like better.  If you don't feel a difference, use the ones that will save you money.