Front alignment?

[71mopar383]

Does a car with manual steering have different alignment specs tha one with power steering?

[mopar1968]

Does a car with manual steering have different alignment specs tha one with power steering?

Nope.  All the same.

[mikepmcs]

 

[Plumcrazy]

Yes it does.
Caster with manual steering is 0* to -1*              -.5* preferred
Caster with power steering is +.25* to +1.25*    +.75* preferred

[mikepmcs]

 
well, there you go.  learn something new every day.  thanks plum
v/r
Mike

[71mopar383]

Let me guess as much camber as I can get

[mopar1968]

Yes it does.
Caster with manual steering is 0* to -1*              -.5* preferred
Caster with power steering is +.25* to +1.25*    +.75* preferred

By the book of course.  The alignment shop will use a combination of settings to Tailor the alignment to both the driver and the road.  No doubt, those are great starting points though.

Just like these old cars, there isn't a 1 size fits all.  Especially if you have upgraded suspension and wheels\tires.  Make sure it drives straight down the road after they are done, and doesn't bump steer.  Remember to test it on a flat piece of road as most are crowned.  Some shops put aggressive toe and caster in the alignment to compensate for local road conditions.  I don't care much for that, I'd rather have it drive straight and true on flat ground and adjust my driving locally.  Makes for better\neutral car and a great freeway cruiser.....  another .02 from me now equals .04

[Plumcrazy]

The reason for the caster differance is because the more positive caster you have the more the car wants to go straight. They run less caster to reduce steering effort with manual steering.

The manufacturers compensate for road crown by running more positive camber on the drivers side of the car. If they didn't the car would lead to the right most of the time since most roads are crowned.  They design roads that way for drainage. 

[Mike DC]

 
Caster is something to consider partly just because of the way we all set our cars up nowadays. 

Practically every streetgoing Mopar I see these days has the front torsion bars sitting at least a little bit lower than stock.  (It's so common that many people probably don't realize just how high the "stock" setting really was anymore.)  And then a lot of cars are set at least a little bit higher than stock in the rearend just for cool points.

Both those changes in suspension heights work to take caster out of the suspension.  So it's common for a car to need a good bit more than the stock caster setting just to end up with "stock" road manners.

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Modern radial tires are another little thing to consider.  They'll take more camber before wearing unevenly than the original bias-ply tires could take.  So you can throw in some extra negative camber over the factory setting.  (More negative camber is good for handling.)

 

[chrisII]

a little tip that i learned circle track racing, to get more + caster you can slightly shorten the spacer in the strut rod bushing. this allows you to tighten it up a bit more and pull the lca forward. i wouldnt go more than a 32nd max , but it may help on cars with the rear up and front down from stock settings. keep in mind this does also cause a slight bind if you go too far.