TA alignment on GTS with lowering caps

[KB Viper]

another forum member recently had the tomball lowering caps installed on his gen V GTS and had the dealer do a TA alignment on the car. the member loves the ride quality and feel/tightness of the car. i am considering doing this also since i just installed the lowering caps and need an alignment and was quoted $369 for either the GTS or TA alignment by the same dealer. has anyone else done this? does anyone know of any negative consequences of doing this since the spring rates, compression, and rebound are different on the TA vs GTS.

[Zybane]

I'd also like to know how much faster the TA alignments wears out the tires versus the "regular" alignment.

[Bruce H.]

Venom V did the TA alignment, actually even a bit more front negative camber and will hopefully chime in.

I have 12,000 miles on a rear Corsa and it's just at the wear bar on the inside and maybe close to 1/16" less wear closer to the outside. But the very outside edge is wearing more due to tracking and will cause the tire to be replaced now. The front Corsas wore out on the very outside edge for the same reason, but otherwise had similarly even wear across the face. In other words, the TA alignment does not prematurely wear out the tires, but tracking them will...and you'll definitely want the TA alignment for longevity if you do.

[BDZ1984]

I have the lowering caps on my LE GTS with the Alignment at the T/A specs and love the way the car handles. I have about 1k miles on the car and havent noticed any uneven tire wear

[KB Viper]

I have the lowering caps on my LE GTS with the Alignment at the T/A specs and love the way the car handles. I have about 1k miles on the car and havent noticed any uneven tire wear

did you have the dealer do the alignment or a shop? i'm just confused on why it's 369 to align these cars, am i missing something?

[BDZ1984]

did you have the dealer do the alignment or a shop? i'm just confused on why it's 369 to align these cars, am i missing something?

I am the service manager for a McLaren Dealership and had one of my techs do the alignment. it cost me a bottle of crown ;)

[FrgMstr]

I have my Gen IV with MCS suspension set up with -2.5 front and -1.7 rear camber now for 10 months, same set of tires, a few thousand miles and I have seen no wear issues with the Mich PSS tires. Cobb tuning in Dallas did my alignment. Car drives like it is on rails, better than it has ever driven before. And the car does get "driven." I had to bail on my last two sessions (of 5) at CoTA due to electrical issues, but I could not tell that the tires had even been on the track.

Edit: Vorshlag here in Dallas did the corner balance.

[sammyv]

I'm considering an alignment change before my next track event.(spring) Can anyone post the specs for the TA?

[Steve M]

I'm considering an alignment change before my next track event.(spring) Can anyone post the specs for the TA?

http://media.chrysler.com/dcxms/assets/specs/2014_SRT_ViperGTS_SP.pdf

[FrgMstr]

I'm considering an alignment change before my next track event.(spring) Can anyone post the specs for the TA?

-2.5 / -1.5

[bluesrt]

I'd also like to know how much faster the TA alignments wears out the tires versus the "regular" alignment.

not much

[Crotalidae]

I am the service manager for a McLaren Dealership and had one of my techs do the alignment. it cost me a bottle of crown ;)

Nice!!!

[VENOM V]

I have 13,000 miles now, probably 11,000 on these tires (I have another set of track wheels that get occasional use on the street).

My P Zeros have not had any track miles on them, and they are in excellent condition. The inside wore a little faster with the TA alignment, but not much. You can see tons of tread depth left across the entire width, I would estimate it has 2/3 of tread depth remaining, maybe 1/2 at the inner edge.

If you plan to track, do the TA alignment. It is awesome! I'm at -2.8 degrees F / -1.5 degrees rear and it beat the ACR's track record at Buttonwillow by 3 seconds with Hoosiers. So this alignment is the real deal.

What really kills tires is toe, so if you stick with stock toe specs, you should be good to go and handle on rails.

[plumcrazy]

($369) thats a lot of money to do any alignment

[mjorgensen]

($369) thats a lot of money to do any alignment

That should include a corner weighting, add in a bumpsteer adjustment and you will spend 4-6 hours doing this so $350 is pretty dang cheap in my book.

[Steve M]

That should include a corner weighting, add in a bumpsteer adjustment and you will spend 4-6 hours doing this so $350 is pretty dang cheap in my book.

Is the bump steer adjustment a Gen 5 thing, or is that something that should be addressed on the Gen 4s as well? I only ask since I'm looking into a more aggressive alignment for my own car...

[mjorgensen]

Is the bump steer adjustment a Gen 5 thing, or is that something that should be addressed on the Gen 4s as well? I only ask since I'm looking into a more aggressive alignment for my own car...

It is not something that most places even have the capability to do so it is largely overlooked. Any Viper that is lowered and having handling issues should be checked and re set. JD's car has settled a bit and when it gets back here I'm going to re check it and look for improvement there to help the un easy feeling he gets under very hard brake zones. Dodge makes a tool for the Viper that attaches (to some) alignment racks that will allow you to pull down on the car and plot the toe changes, then you raise the car the same 2" sweep and check the pattern to see if it needs adjustment. This process takes time to get right add in a complete corner weight and ride height adjustment and you have a very long day on the rack, $350 doesn't even put a dent in it really.

[Steve M]

I wish you were closer to Dayton...

[mjorgensen]

I wish you were closer to Dayton...


I wish we were closer to a lot of places LOL, but that's why we have 7 trailers running all over the country ;-)

[TrackAire]

($369) thats a lot of money to do any alignment

If done right (camber front and rear, bump steer front and rear, caster front and rear, toe front and rear) and corner weight the car if on adjustable coils (important part of the alignment), $369 would be a bargain. But, if just checking front camber, toe and caster and setting the rear camber then maybe a tad too much.

According to Dan Cragin, since the rear toe link is short, lowering the car can cause the rear to self steer so it is probably a good idea to have somebody who REALLY understands what is going on align the car. Rear steer is the number one cause of "Viper Bites" when you get snap oversteer IMO.

[Steve M]

I wish we were closer to a lot of places LOL, but that's why we have 7 trailers running all over the country ;-)

Let me know if you have an empty trailer heading your way that goes through these parts.

[mjorgensen]

Let me know if you have an empty trailer heading your way that goes through these parts.

I have a trailer delivering to PA on the 8th but I'm picking up a Viper in St Louis on that trip back, I'll leave a note on my desk though and let you know if something goes through your area. ;-)

[sammyv]

Thanks to those who responded!

[KB Viper]

i didn't realize what all was involved. i'll be paying the dealer the 369 and having it done. the reason i wasn't sure is that they quoted the same price for the GTS alignment.

[outnumbered]

I guess I should worry then that my local dealer quoted $175.

[VENOM V]

I have my alignment at the top alignment shop in the bay area. They do alignment on tons of track cars. The owner is the safety marshal for the Shelby Club track events. I wouldn't take it to just anyone. This is the one thing that I don't have my dealer do, but they may be fine since they have special tools for the job. Mark Jorgensen may be able to advise you on whether a typical dealer with Viper training and a Viper tech is sufficient. Probably is.

[KB Viper]

i just confirmed with the dealer and they DO NOT do a bumpsteer or corner weight balance.

[VENOM V]

i just confirmed with the dealer and they DO NOT do a bumpsteer or corner weight balance.

The corner weight isn't adjustable on our cars, only ones with aftermarket coilovers. So this is probably not a big deal. My alignment guy checked it and verified it was excellent from the factory.

However, it is preferred to check for bumpsteer throughout the full range of suspension travel.

[KB Viper]

i just spoke to a local shop and they are saying $170 for the TA alignment and they will check the bumpsteer and adjust if necessary.

[cashcorn]

^^^^ KB Viper, can you pm the info. I've been looking to do this. thanks!

[KB Viper]

^^^^ KB Viper, can you pm the info. I've been looking to do this. thanks!

I will once i get one more thing figured out.

[Simms]

Were anyone's rear caps loose after the install (prior to bolting the shocks back on)?

[mjorgensen]

Yes the first time they are loose. After to set the car down and Jack it back up the shocks will not droop enough for it to be a big deal. The TA springs are stiffer than SRT/GTS cars so their free length does not have to be as long.


Were anyone's rear caps loose after the install (prior to bolting the shocks back on)?

[Simms]

Yes the first time they are loose. After to set the car down and Jack it back up the shocks will not droop enough for it to be a big deal. The TA springs are stiffer than SRT/GTS cars so their free length does not have to be as long.

Thank you Mark! Much appreciated.