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Forum nameHandling/Suspension
Topic subjectSPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Topic URLhttp://forums.2gnt.com/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=32306
32306, SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by John99RS, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
I did a search on this and couldn't come up with anything that helped so here it goes...

I had an Ingalls front camber kit(anchor bolts) on my car for the longest time that was adjusted out as far as safely possible and the car rode perfectly straight. Even though there was still a slight negative camber in the front, it was dead on straight. Well, since I was buying new tires at the time(about a year ago), I decided to replace this kit with the SPC upper ball joint since it has a lot more adjustment(withought moving the control arm) and also lets you adjust caster if needed, although caster has never been an issue. Well, after an allinment, my best friend and I could not get the car to go straight; the car has a hard pull to the right. All the specs were within range and the front camber was zero...perfectly straight. On paper everything was exactly where it should be, but it still pulls to the right. After doing an allignment 4 times he finally made adjustments to actually pull it left to compensate for the pull to the right.....still pulls right! We gave up out of frustration and I've delt with it until now.

Well, it is now time for new tires because of this problem and I'm not sure what to do here. Should I go with the kit I had before(any recommendations) or try adjusting this kit again when I get my tires? Anyone else using the ball joint kit and having allignment issues?
This really puzzles the hell out of him, because he does allinments all the time(Audi Tech.) and has never had this problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and sorry so long.
32307, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by eclipse982nrRST, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
ALIGNMENT. Thats the proper spelling, lol.

Okay, so the front Camber/Caster is good. What about the front toe?
What about the rear, is anything out of spec in the rear?
Is anything loose in the front end?
Did you bother rotating the tires from front to back to see if you have a bad tire?
32308, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by Black Cotton, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
i agree with above said. however feel your more so dealing with a bad tire issue. insted of a bad control arm/ball joint issue. SPC makes VERY quality parts for a long time. and i have yet to hear any issues with any of their products, other then the old style spring band to hold the boot on, would fall off.
32310, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by John99RS, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
Hehe...sorry about the spelling...duh.
Every time we did the alignment, all the specs for camber, caster and toe were all good front and back; nothing is loose. We were also thinking it was related to tires because it was riding perfect with my Bridgestones and a slight negative camber in the front the whole time I had them. The new tires we installed with the new SPC ball joint were Falken Ziex 512s(never really liked them). Yes we made sure they were all installed in the right place and direction and we even tried swapping them around front to back. He even remounted the left side and reinstalled them on the right to see if that would change anything, but it didn't. The only thing I can think of to do is after I get my new tires and do another alignment, if it still pulls, I'll just get the kit I had before and reinstall the OEM ball joints. I'll just have to deal with a little negative camber in the front again...oh well.
32314, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by Tuxdreamerx, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
My car had a good alignment and pulls the the right. My passenger stabilizer link is bent though so i'm thinking that might be causing it. If you decide to go with your old camber kit let me know if you want to let go of those SPC ball joints just PM me or something.
32318, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by freelancefool, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
Did you even the caster out between the left and right sides of the car? Caster is set to about 4.5 degrees on the left side of the car and about 3.0 degrees on the right side of the car. Did you add more caster so you have the maximum allowed 6* right / 4.5* left? Or is it an even 4.5* on either side of the car?

Caster will make a huge difference in how the car tracks, pulls, and turns.
32319, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by John99RS, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
We'll be sure to pay particular attention to what you just said about caster. It was so long ago and I don't have the print out so I can't discuss the caster settings I have. If it's not the tires then it would have to be caster that is causing the problem. We were never able to change caster with the previous kit I had, therefore it drove straight with no pull at all. Now that this kit has the ability to adjust caster, that must be the problem I guess. Thanks for discussing those caster settings!
32320, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by freelancefool, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
No problem. I run the maximum caster that I can run on my car. It gives better turn-in, allows for more negative camber once you start turning without having to run a lot of static camber. The problem with running lots of caster though is the car will pull to one side of the road or the other if there are grooves or bad wear paths.
32360, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by DanKid, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
Not sure if it has anything to do with it but has your car ever had a bad front end accident? The reason I ask is because I had a similiar problem when I dropped my car and could never get my car aligned right. Something was bent due to a front end accident the car had when I purchased it. It drove me crazy cause I changed every piece and arm that had anything to do with the suspension and could never fix the problem. It would also pull to the right a lot like yours so I became frustrated and just switched back to stock height. :shrug I was also using SPC adjustable ball joints at the time and had a 2" drop.
32361, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by John99RS, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
No accident...I'm the only owner.
32477, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by John99RS, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
Just wanted to update this thread to let you know the car is finally driving straight and smooth. I can only assume that it was related to the crappy Falken Ziex 512s I had. The only thing I replaced was the tires with Toyo Proxes TPT 205/55/16. Also, these tires are the best tires I have ever had on my car since the day I bought it 10 years ago! Very grippy and great in the rain....look awesome too.
32479, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by Tuxdreamerx, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
Originally posted by John99RS
Just wanted to update this thread to let you know the car is finally driving straight and smooth. I can only assume that it was related to the crappy Falken Ziex 512s I had. The only thing I replaced was the tires with Toyo Proxes TPT 205/55/16. Also, these tires are the best tires I have ever had on my car since the day I bought it 10 years ago! Very grippy and great in the rain....look awesome too.

I might look into those Toyo's I had Ling Long tires on my eclipse and it was horrible in the rain.
32480, RE: SPC ball joint and allignment issues!!! Please read!!!
Posted by freelancefool, Dec-31-69 06:00 PM
I have Falken FK-542s and I have no issues in the rain, car is planted well in the dry. I have weird tire wear issues with them, but that is due to the alignment that I have. Can't go far out of spec and not have alignment issues.
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