Alignment numbers and specs

[black98V6]

I went this morning and finally got an alignment and while I was at it had the tires balanced. Anyway I have the printout and had a few questions maybe some of you guys could help me answer. First off here is a summary of the printout and the info. I left out the rear info and secondary angles if yall think they might be needed to I'll repost and add them.

all #'s in degrees (specs)
Caster Initial Final Min Max
Left 4.7 4.8 4.0 6.0
Right 4.4 5.3 4.0 6.0
Camber
Left -.5 -.4 -.6 1.4
Right -.3 .2 -.6 1.4
Toe
Left .3 -.05 -.1 .1
Right -.3 0.0 -.1 .1

ok with all that said the alignment guy asked if the car had been wrecked. To my knowledge it hadn't then he proceeded to tell me he adjusted the left side as far as was possible and to watch for excessive tire wear. I have put almost 10k on the car since I have gotten it and really haven't experienced any uneven or excessive tire wear. He also mentioned that since our cars were so light there might not be a problem but if there was I would possibly have to have the car put on a frame rack and straighten it out.

So my questions goes as follows..
what exactly is off. I never can remember what is caster and what is camber. By looking at the numbers, is my left front leaned too far in at the top or too far out?
and most importantly I was seriously considering getting the slp level 1 suspension setup when it's time to change the shocks. Well it lowers the car a bit. If the car is lowered will this make my problem worse? OR will it give me that little bit of extra adjustment I need?
The front end guy has done work for me before and most people in town swear by him. He was really cool as he was before and I really didn't want to bother him with any other questions because he had several other cars to get to this morning.

On a side note when the car was on a lift to get the tires balanced there was a black T/A right next to it on a lift. Looked kinda cool with both cars side by side. Also with both up in the air you could really see a difference in the size of the rear sway on my 6 vs the T/A.. no it wasn't a WS6 for those wondering.

Sooooo.. input?? ideas?? will lowering help?? hurt?? I have other possible questions but once these are answered I will have the knowledge to pose more intelligent questions......
thanks in advance!

[Backfire]

I would assume he is talking about the negative camber on the left side. You are correct in stating that camber is the angle of the wheel with respect to vertical when looking at the wheels from the front. Caster is the angle when looking at the side, Toe is the angle looking from the top. Negative camber means the top is closer to the center of the car than the bottom is. With the large difference in the two camber measurements, I would guess that is the one he had trouble with.

That could be an issue with lowering, since that will cause even more negative camber. He would then need to move the top out more. If he can't move it out any further now, then he probably couldn't fix it after the lowering either. And if you don't change it, you might look like some of the import guys who seem to be riding on there inner sidewall instead of the tread [img]tongue.gif[/img] I would suggest figuring out the alignment issue before spending money on the suspension. You may be able to use it, but why risk spending that money if its only going to cause more problems.

[DominusEtDeusNatus]

I'm getting the following once I get the right parts from speedauto.

toe = 0
camber = -.8
caster = 4.0

As far as I can remember from memory. I know they have to be even on both sides. I'll have to find a good place to do it at. I don't trust Pep Boys.

[black98V6]

well thanks for the info guys, I might have already found a body man with a frame rack so I can get everything straightened. Been talking with a buddy of mine who has done much more with cars than I have and we have figured that is all I can do for now. I honestly don't think the car has been wrecked I think this is just a result of having a car with t-s on really really crappy roads and it has never had SFC's put on.

thanks again for the help
Brad