Wheel Alignment 94 RT 10 help

[Tim]

I have a 94 RT10 with Pilot Sports all the way around. 24,000 miles on the car. My Mopar dealer says my alignment is with in spec.’s and does not need changing. A Viper Tech in Edmonton Alberta to work on this, forget it. 1000 miles away maybe. My problem is an inherent with the 1st Gen cars is the darting or wandering on uneven roads. This is to the point of where it could/is dangerous at normal hi ways speeds when passing or even fighting to stay in my lane. Smooth roads the car is excellent and no complaints. I'm at the point of selling the car if I can’t fix it. Most of my driving is on long straight roads in Northern Canada with the odd trip to the mountains. High-speed stability is my primary concern with handling on the few corners that I do get to run a close 2nd.

Do I use 95 specs or 97 and newer.

Caster of +6 deg+
Camber of -1.7 to -2.3
Toe out of 1/8

Back wheels?????? are new to me as I'm an old B body man myself.
Am I in the ball park?

 

[Jack B]

Give Archer Racing a call. They did alignments at a race event I attended. I don't believe what your describing can be totally eliminated due to the tire size.

 

[GTS Dean]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tim:

Camber of -1.7 to -2.3
Toe out of 1/8

Am I in the ball park?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If that's what your car is set up for now, you're more likely to be in the ditch than the ballpark. No wonder it's "darty." That much negative camber will have most of the weight on the inside shoulder of the tire, giving you a trapezoidal contact patch. The toe-out at the front really helps cornering turn-in, but also contributes to wander when going straight.

Go with the '95 specs and be happy. A tad more toe-in at the rear helps corner exit and reduces wheel hop. -1/2 deg front and -3/4 deg rear camber settings will treat you right on the highway.

 

[Tim]

No these are not my settings. These are what I have tried to pick out of the messages on the board. All I know is that mine are with in 95 book specs. I will be setting this car back on the rack to get the actual numbers and go through the set up procedures the alignment man. I’m a 1000 or more miles from anyone that really know what they are doing with the Viper. Learning curve for both the Dodge dealer and myself will be steep. Keep the toe out to around 0.001 to 0.002 on the front and a little more on the rear?

The car was bought in Vancouver BC from a Chinese student from Beijing that was attending University, believe it or not.

Thanks

 

[GTS Dean]

You should have *toe-in* both front and rear.

The Viper's extremely wide tires contribute to a very high sensitivity to road surface imperfections. Some of this simply cannot be adjusted out. The front camber should be about 1/4 to 1/2 deg *less* than the rear.

Proper torquing of the suspension links at the required (ballasted) ride height is essential to consistent performance front/rear and side/side. Assuming your car has not sustained frame or suspension damage, simply ballast the car per shop manual requirements, jounce the car, then carefully relax and retorque the inner wishbone bolts.

 

[Tim]

I have just had my wheels aligned on my 94 RT 10 at Leduc Chrysler here in Nisku Alberta (Edmonton). Mike at Jack Powel Dodge in California helped us over the phone with his recommended alignment specs. All I can say is "Wow" what a difference in the way this car handles. It is no longer the 2 handed challenge to drive on some of the roads. At times it was down right dangerous to the point that I couldn't believe that Chrysler was able to even sell the Viper and I was at the point of selling mine. (I bleed Mopar) No matter what anyone says these cars when set up properly are not darty even on the worst of the roads.

Make sure that you don't mix XGTZ with Sports no matter what Michelin says. In all fairness half of my problem was when I was running XGTZ on all 4’s. Not great handling but still pay attention as it will bite.

XGTZ on Front with Sports on the back. Michelin says this was fine as the tires are compatible (front Sports were still on the boat from France) That is not the case as I learned. THESE TIRES ARE NOT COMPATABLE AND ARE DANGEROUS WHEN MIXED.

1 XGTZ on the front (problem mounting other tire) and 2 Sports on the rear. Definite improvement in handling and dartyness. This was interesting I thought.

4 Sports and big difference on handling, minimal dartyness.

4 Wheel alignment and the difference from night to day on handling, no dartness and now stable on the road at 155 MPH.

Summary: Don’t mix and match your tires even if the Michelin Tech. recommends it. Proper wheel alignment and these cars are not darty.

Now my neighbor’s 99 GTS is all over the road @ 50 MPH while I’m doing 80 and in the middle of my lane. He’s booking his in next week to check his alignment.