- Can I use the CS alignment spec on my basic 360? - Other than stiffer bushings, are the CS suspension the same? - What should I expect in terms of handling change? - Is the factory alignment spec the best optimal setting for street use and no one should try - - to out smart Ferrari test driver/engineer? - I have 18" challenge wheel which is 1/2" wider and lighter, do I have to compensate for that?
im sure many others will be along to comment but: you can use any alignment settings on your car that you like, but how it responds will be the million dollar question. have you identified something on your cars handling that you suspect pushing towards the CS alignment values will correct? the CS suspension is vastly different. different springs incl different rate, different bushings, different sway bar and different control ECU. there is also a significant difference in unsprung weight so all this reacts and interacts in a different way also. assuming you were to just plump the CS figures into your car id wager that what you should initially look to expect would be huge bump steer from the rear followed by bump stop understeer from the front end when you push past this. these traits are present in the CS even with the changes above. with softer springs and a different setup i would expect it to deal with these things with even less aplomb than the CS does. the factory alignment spec is just that, the alignment the factory felt best suited the car for what it felt was the majority of its customers and the majority of situations they found themselves in. now depending on how you use the car, and how you drive relative to this estimate from the factory there are countless possibilities to adjust things to change how it drives. the big question is whether any improve things and if so what are the drawbacks. depending on your useage you may be able to compromise some characteristics that dont really apply to you in exchange for improvements in areas that do. unless you have experience with these changes as a result of racing or experimentation or have someone who does to just go changing these settings isnt too smart a move. if on the other hand there are specifics you feel could be improved upon and have knowledge on how to address them then there is definately potential here to tune the car to however you want it. with wider front wheels you should have more front grip and experience less understeer, though with the obvious caveat here regarding whether you are running a wider tire to take advantage of the wider rim? if you have the stock width on the wider wheel you arent really benefiting from this additional 1/2". with a 1/2" change any character change is going to be less pronounced than if you went up further in width also. its not significantly larger thats for sure. you will probably yieldpositive results fine tuning pressures front and rear however to maximise the feel of the challenge wheels if you are now running tire widths that differ from those specified. its also easy to try. what is it with the handling of the car that you dont like or want to change? if you give some more info people may be able to offer you some good advice. i recently went through a rather lengthy process with the factory to get my 360 exactly as i wanted it and had them change out most of the car in order to do this so i definately understand what it is to want more from a car. the problem however is that changing things without an objective, or one that is unrealistic never ends well and in the case of performance cars can be outright dangerous.
