sick of ALWAYS getting an alignment - what can I upgrade to help?

[calonzo]

Here are the specs after the accident, before replacing the knuckle

I guess the other theory is that there is still something weak leftover from the accident, and that a pothole was not the cause?

 

[JO3L]

@nickname Yes you can pull the front strut locating pins for an extra 0.3 degrees negative camber at little to no extra cost. You could buy an adjustable lower ball joint to add more negative or positive camber back in. From the factory though, camber isnt really adjustable so for it to be that far off from left to right something is definitely bent. how does it look now after replacing the knuckle? also your total toe is negative which is toe out. this means your wheel will pull left or right following the crests in the road and not track straight.

 

[nickname]

I guess the other theory is that there is still something weak leftover from the accident, and that a pothole was not the cause?

Agreed.

Mind you this was many alignments ago, pre knuckle replacement.

But for the life of me I can't track down what component is causing these alignment problems.

I'll post my most recent specs when I get home.

 

[nickname]

@nickname Yes you can pull the front strut locating pins for an extra 0.3 degrees negative camber at little to no extra cost. You could buy an adjustable lower ball joint to add more negative or positive camber back in. From the factory though, camber isnt really adjustable so for it to be that far off from left to right something is definitely bent. how does it look now after replacing the knuckle? also your total toe is negative which is toe out. this means your wheel will pull left or right following the crests in the road and not track straight.

Good point about the toe angles.

This printout was after the accident and pre knuckle replacement. Honda of Katy had to shift the subframe and this was their best result. Unfortunately, the foreman knows what this car has been thru and refuses to perform any steering or suspension work. His diag is a bent subframe, but from my understanding that would change the caster as well.

I'll get another alignment in a few days and post the specs. Also I'll request a slight toe in to prevent road pull

Edit: to answer your question, everything has been in spec since the knuckle replacement

 

[jayy_swish]

Side note; what you use to lower it?
I have a theory the stock struts are weak - making them lighter (fuel economy) and also easier to bend (job security)

I’m on lowering springs, so still using stock struts

You haven't hit the Big One yet.

I’ve hit some pretty nasty ones, but to be fair on streets I know that are pot hole ridden I don’t care if I’m honked at I will drive below the speed limit

 

[hondabandit]

My alignment is rock solid after driving for 2 yrs on NY roads. Took some hard hits that couldnt be avoided, and took it in to check a couple of times. Considering how pliable control arm bushings are, it would take considerably hard hit to bend something. When I installed my exhaust, I checked subframe bolts, and none of them were toruqed to spec. Chances are, subframe is moving around every time you take a hit.

 

[nickname]

My alignment is rock solid after driving for 2 yrs on NY roads. Took some hard hits that couldnt be avoided, and took it in to check a couple of times. Considering how pliable control arm bushings are, it would take considerably hard hit to bend something. When I installed my exhaust, I checked subframe bolts, and none of them were toruqed to spec. Chances are, subframe is moving around every time you take a hit.

Whats the correct spec?

 

[hondabandit]

There's a thread on subframe torque. You should be able to find it easily.

Whats the correct spec?

 

[nickname]

There's a thread on subframe torque. You should be able to find it easily.

lol ok

 

[nickname]

There's a thread on subframe torque. You should be able to find it easily.

I mean, if you kne3w off the top of you head, itd be great to just post it here. So that information is spread out on these forums.

But if you have to be "that guy" then that's cool too.

I'll just get my Honda dealer to print the r&r of the subframe removal with the specs listed

 

[JO3L]

76 ft lbs for the subframe bolts and 67 for the rear stay bolts. On the topic of subframes though you might want to look into the Spoon rigid collars or the cheaper Magic collars. These will hold your subframe in place better and get rid of any misalignment.

 

[nickname]

76 ft lbs for the subframe bolts and 67 for the rear stay bolts. On the topic of subframes though you might want to look into the Spoon rigid collars or the cheaper Magic collars. These will hold your subframe in place better and get rid of any misalignment.

So let me get this straight
The diameter of the subframe holes are larger than the diameter of the bolts holding it in? Thus causing frequent subframe shifting and subsequently the bolts to essentially losing the factory torque?

This was a similar issue on my mk5 jetta. The bolts were designed to break in the event of a collision, and were narrow, causing a popping sound going over speed bumps. The replacement was to swap them with Audi A4 subframe bolts.

 

[JO3L]

@nickname

Yes you got it exactly. The subframe holes are larger to speed up the assembly line process. The extra gap in between the bolts allows the subframe to shift and cause misalignment angles from left to right.

 

[REBELXSi]

Funny, I live in Philly and our roads are complete trash. I don't ever remember getting an alignment other than after installing new suspension components. My tires never wear unevenly and my wheel steers true lol what are you guys doing?

 

[nickname]

Funny, I live in Philly and our roads are complete trash. I don't ever remember getting an alignment other than after installing new suspension components. My tires never wear unevenly and my wheel steers true lol what are you guys doing?

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