Alignments? Chrysler Dealers

[Zagzoo71]

All..
Are the viper techs good at aligning vipers at the dealership? Anyone have experience or look elsewhere?

Thanks

Frank

[Uncle Paul]

Chryser provides to dealerships with certified ViperTechs a special tool that is used to align the rear tires on Vipers.

Some dealerships will have these, but others will not.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

It has been my experience since 1993, and 15+ Vipers, that a good, NON-STOCK, performance alignment can result in handling and enjoyment benefits far beyond many other performance mods.

And NONE of my alignments have been performed by a Dodge dealer.

Trust me on this: The OE alignment was developed and set up on a $1.5 mil machine to maximize tire wear and fuel mileage. And this at the sake of GREAT HANDLING! I am sure that a tiny handful of Dodge dealers are capable of setting up a performance alignment. But MOST of them adhere blindly to 'factory specs' and the resulting flat-footed, seam-following handling, that eats outer shoulders if and when you try an autocross or track day.

Hint: a little bit of negative camber can be a VERY POSITIVE THING!

[XSnake]

All..
Are the viper techs good at aligning vipers at the dealership? Anyone have experience or look elsewhere?

Thanks

Frank

Where are you located?

[FrgMstr]

I had Cobb Tuning mine locally, and was not that expensive. -2.5 fronts, -1.7 backs, and the damn thing handles like a a laser guided missile, not that I have ever driven one, but I think it would be close. Worth every penny.

[plumcrazy]

what jonb said.

[Zagzoo71]

I live in youngstown, ohio. There is a local chrysler dealership that has viper techs. Bob & Chuck Eddie Chrysler Jeep Fiat Dodge.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

I live in youngstown, ohio. There is a local chrysler dealership that has viper techs. Bob & Chuck Eddie Chrysler Jeep Fiat Dodge.

For the most part, a "Viper Tech" is a person who went to a 3-day classroom mostly about the computer/electronics systems. Ask them what they suggest for a PERFORMANCE ALIGNMENT, and not a factory alignment. One Simple Question!

Randal Arnold recently mentioned an 'old fashioned' OH race shop that can do performance alignments. Randall and you should arrange a GROUP BUY... his Viper is squirrelly too....

[Zagzoo71]

For the most part, a "Viper Tech" is a person who went to a 3-day classroom mostly about the computer/electronics systems. Ask them what they suggest for a PERFORMANCE ALIGNMENT, and not a factory alignment. One Simple Question!

Randal Arnold recently mentioned an 'old fashioned' OH race shop that can do performance alignments. Randall and you should arrange a GROUP BUY... his Viper is squirrelly too....

Dont think I met Randal yet on here. Soon as I buy my tires I will have to meet up with him.

[2010.Blue.White.ACR]

Dont think I met Randal yet on here. Soon as I buy my tires I will have to meet up with him.

PM sent

[mjorgensen]

I think a performance shop can do an alignment, but alignments can be like suspension setting in that the same one does not work for every driving style or conditions. I would always check with a shop that has actually spent track time or autocrossing time with the Viper instead of a one size fits all. You have to remember that the Viper tire is WIDE and you don't need all that much camber for short events. This will also be determined by the tires you choose and pressures you want to run. FWIW

[FrgMstr]

I think a performance shop can do an alignment, but alignments can be like suspension setting in that the same one does not work for every driving style or conditions. I would always check with a shop that has actually spent track time or autocrossing time with the Viper instead of a one size fits all. You have to remember that the Viper tire is WIDE and you don't need all that much camber for short events. This will also be determined by the tires you choose and pressures you want to run. FWIW

I so what is your go-to setup Mark?

[mjorgensen]

I so what is your go-to setup Mark?

It really depends like I said, do you only do track days? Autocrossing? or just street?

Street:

Front camber -1.6 to -1.7
Rear camber -.6 to -.8
Front toe set at 0
Rear toe "in" .17 to .20 each side, the more toe the more stable.
Front castor I like 5.5 to 6.0
Rear castor I keep the stock setting by adjusting the 2 lower control arm adjustments the exact same amount when setting camber.

Autocross:

Front camber -1.7 to -2.1
Rear camber -.8 to -.9
Front toe set at 0
Rear toe "in" .10 each side.
Front castor I like 5.5 to 6.0
Rear castor same as street

Track:

Front camber -2.0 to -2.5
Rear camber -.6 to -.8
Front toe set at 0
Rear toe "in" .15 each side.
Front castor I like 5.5 to 6.0
Rear castor same as street

*** For the street you can add a tiny bit of front toe "in" if you feel the car is to skittish for you, for autocross you can do the opposite.

*** For short events or autocross I run less camber so the whole tire works "right away" on turn in, braking and on power. This will wear the tire faster of course, but it has its benefits for "me". Some tires like Hoosiers require more camber to work at the track and stay alive for any length of time. For me a 20 minute session is not a long time so I actually leave my autocross setup on all the time. The car will be very "loose" though so be careful, I happen to drive best this way though. I did go through 8-12 sets of race tires (A6) a season though doing 20+ National and local autocross weekends (15-18 minutes per set) then burned the rest off at 10-20 track days so it's not for everyone, the larger camber settings will help most people with wear.

These are also car dependent, with adjustable MCS shocks you can tailor the ride height and rates for even better performance so like I said there is no real "one and done setup". I help many people over the phone etc. after determining what they have and what they "feel" though.

[FrgMstr]

Thanks Mark!

[Black_Venom]

My car alignment as before 😱 and after , drives way better but still the car under full throttle jump to the left side on 2nd gear about 3K rpm (peak) , I don't know if that's normal

My car is 2006 viper coupe bone stock on nitto invo 345 r

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

My car alignment as before  and after , drives way better but still the car under full throttle jump to the left side on 2nd gear about 3K rpm (peak) , I don't know if that's normal

My car is 2006 viper coupe bone stock on nitto invo 345 r

NOT NORMAL !!!

Shitto Invo has a 'weak' sidewall compared to a Top-Tier road racing tire like Michelin, Pirelli, Toyo, or even the Nitto NT05. I just wonder and suspect if torque load at WOT is displaying the squirrelly nature of the Shitto Invo? Then again, maybe you have a broken belt in a tire.

Try this, carefully: Inflate the rears to 38-40 PSI and go do a couple WOT runs where it is safe to do so. Try to provoke and repeat the pulling. If the fuller tire performs without the pulling, you have isolated the problem. But DONT leave the shittos at 40 PSI! Get new tires!



Then again, you could have a suspension mount or even motor mount issue....

[DNRossi]

OP - I think you got your answer but just to confirm, doing an alignment on a Viper does not require anything different or special tools. You just need to weight the car and set the specs for your specific conditions and use. I was able do an alignment on our Viper in about 45 mins start to finish including weighting the vehicle and getting it on and off the rack (making adjustments on all 4 corners). As long as you have someone who is good at alignments, and you know what you want your car set up for, then you should be fine.

Dugan

[James430]

I think a performance shop can do an alignment, but alignments can be like suspension setting in that the same one does not work for every driving style or conditions. I would always check with a shop that has actually spent track time or autocrossing time with the Viper instead of a one size fits all. You have to remember that the Viper tire is WIDE and you don't need all that much camber for short events. This will also be determined by the tires you choose and pressures you want to run. FWIW

Mark is correct.....was going to get the Viper Tech at Tomball Dodge to align mine a week ago,but he asked me what I wanted a track or street alignment???....That screwed me all up!.....does that mean if you only track 3 or 4 times a year you need to get a street alignment in between track sessions? $$$$$$$$

[mjorgensen]

Mark is correct.....was going to get the Viper Tech at Tomball Dodge to align mine a week ago,but he asked me what I wanted a track or street alignment???....That screwed me all up!.....does that mean if you only track 3 or 4 times a year you need to get a street alignment in between track sessions? $$$$$$$$

No you won't need to change it back and forth. A fairly aggressive track alignment will be just fine for the street unless you drive 15K a year, the car will actually drive better on the street this way.

[DaveW]

If you're in the NC area, Tom Sessions works miracles with a Viper's alignment. I can't seem to make my Michelins wear with 20,000 miles on the rears, and no feathering at all on the fronts after 10. Don't know how he does it, but the wand, an old hickory stick, on the wall of his shop occasionally shoots out sparks if you're looking out of the corner of your eye...

[GTS Dean]

OP - I think you got your answer but just to confirm, doing an alignment on a Viper does not require anything different or special tools. You just need to weight the car and set the specs for your specific conditions and use. I was able do an alignment on our Viper in about 45 mins start to finish including weighting the vehicle and getting it on and off the rack (making adjustments on all 4 corners). As long as you have someone who is good at alignments, and you know what you want your car set up for, then you should be fine.

Dugan

Your car must have been close to start with, or you have a pro race mechanic doing the work. Otherwise, I call complete bullshit on a 45 minute align/corner weight.