So I installed the crash bolts and did an alignment on my Fit yesterday. The bolts were really easy to install. I just did them one at a time so I didn't have the whole suspension fall apart on me. Then I levered the suspension to get max camber before tightening the bolts. I then measured the camber with a cheap camber gauge I have, and found that I had way more camber on the passenger side than the driver side. So I removed one of the bolts from the passenger side, and ended up with -3/4 degree on the driver side and -1 degree on the passenger side. I tried levering the top of the driver's side strut to get more camber, but it basically sits inside a cone at the top of the bodywork, so there's no adjustability there.
Then I set the toe using a string box, as shown in the photos below. The procedure is time consuming but simple, and it gives good results. Basically you tie string around a set of jackstands set up at each corner of the car. Raise the stands so the string is at hub height, then make the string exactly the same length at each end of the car. Then position the string so you have equal measurements from the hubs at each end of the car. It's good to use a tape measure that reads in 32nds of an inch for accuracy. This gives you a precise box around the car. Then by measuring from the front and rear rim of each wheel to the string, you get a toe measurement, and you can then measure how the toe changes as you turn the tie rods. I set the front toe at zero -- or at least as close to zero as my eyes and the tape measure could get.
I used some linoleum flooring squares to level the surface that the car sits on. Then each front wheel also sits on two flooring squares with grease smeared between them to create a turning plate, so when you turn the tie rods to adjust toe, the wheel can turn freely.
The results came out good. The car drives great and already seems to have more grip, though I haven't taken a ton of twisties with it yet. A seasoned eye can tell just by looking that the car has a lot more camber than stock.
I also found that properly simulating the driver's weight makes a big difference. I used an extra set of tires and wheels and a big water jug for the weight. At first I put some of the weight in the back seat footwell. But when I moved it all into the driver's seat, that alone changed the camber on the driver's side front wheel by 1/8 degree.
BTW, the photos show the car with the Saturn wheels and Kumho v710 R-comp tires that I'll be autocrossing with. I used these to do the alignment because I figure the firmer tires would give more exact readings.
Linear Mode
