[sixtysixpony]

Which one is current as they both say current at the top?? Jason

I asked the tech that because the printouts had the same date/time on them. He said that's just how their system records the job??? I really got the feeling he didn't know what he was doing. it was a new store.

 

[Jason@ Enzo`s Atlanta]

You are probably correct...I totally get why people get frustrated with car repair...You have a lot of negative camber going on in the front and especially the rear...Plus that toe-out...I would let a better place align it...We have installed a few sets of FD springs and the car wore the tires pretty evenly....Jason

 

[timado404]

I think they

Well I just took my car in for an alignment at a local tire store because I just put FD lowering springs on and I was very disappointed with the results. I actually asked the tech if he had adjusted anything. he said there wasn't much adjustment left, but it looks like they didn't do anything but front toe. What do you all think?

Before
View attachment 129629 After
View attachment 129630

I think they should have charged you half price...i mean, they hardly adjusted anything from the looks of it

 

[timado404]

Well I just took my car in for an alignment at a local tire store because I just put FD lowering springs on and I was very disappointed with the results. I actually asked the tech if he had adjusted anything. he said there wasn't much adjustment left, but it looks like they didn't do anything but front toe. What do you all think?

Before
View attachment 129629 After
View attachment 129630

This has been my hesitation about getting FD lowering springs. Not being able to adjust so that the tires don't wear out in 5,6,7k miles. And not wanting to add aftermarket suspension parts so you can have increased adjustment.

 

[FormulaDynamics]

Just to be clear, the issue doesn't have anything to do with FD parts specifically, in fact our setup will wear the tires less than other brands lowering kits since we tend to lower the car in a way that gets the alignment less out of whack. We just got a call from a customer that installed a competitors kit on a newer car and wishes he purchased ours so that it would be closer to the spec of his last car that had an FD Spring Kit installed that worked well for him but the shop he used had another brand in his quote and so he went forward with it and was calling for advice on how to help correct it after the fact.

The concern when lowering is that you're going to get more negative camber, which is fine if it's not too much more. We generally have the sweet spot covered that will not lower the camber too much and will not cause excessive tire wear. Typically you should get a better alignment spec than is being posted here and our initial guess is that the shop may not be doing all they can do to correct the camber to it's best result or there are other factors at play such as worn bushings. It's definitely worth taking to another shop to see if there is more that can be done.

Typically what you're going to want to do after lowering (Springs or Coilovers) is adjust as much negative camber you can out of the alignment (front and rear), then you make sure it's even on both sides (L&R), then you adjust the toe to be closer to neutral (compared to the aggressive factory spec) as Jason mentioned and that's the best you can achieve without further modification to the car. Usually, this is going to work out well for you and while you will get some more wear compared to stock height, you'll also get a bit more bite in the corners and improved handling (it's a balance between wear and handling). This car is known for wearing tires quickly, it's just part of owning a Maserati but it's also part of why it sticks to the road pretty well for it's larger size.

Hope that helps and as always, feel free to reach out for any help!

Best Regards,

 

[timado404]

Just to be clear, the issue doesn't have anything to do with FD parts specifically, in fact our setup will wear the tires less than other brands lowering kits since we tend to lower the car in a way that gets the alignment less out of whack. We just got a call from a customer that installed a competitors kit on a newer car and wishes he purchased ours so that it would be closer to the spec of his last car that had an FD Spring Kit installed that worked well for him but the shop he used had another brand in his quote and so he went forward with it and was calling for advice on how to help correct it after the fact.

The concern when lowering is that you're going to get more negative camber, which is fine if it's not too much more. We generally have the sweet spot covered that will not lower the camber too much and will not cause excessive tire wear. Typically you should get a better alignment spec than is being posted here and our initial guess is that the shop may not be doing all they can do to correct the camber to it's best result or there are other factors at play such as worn bushings. It's definitely worth taking to another shop to see if there is more that can be done.

Typically what you're going to want to do after lowering (Springs or Coilovers) is adjust as much negative camber you can out of the alignment (front and rear), then you make sure it's even on both sides (L&R), then you adjust the toe to be closer to neutral (compared to the aggressive factory spec) as Jason mentioned and that's the best you can achieve without further modification to the car. Usually, this is going to work out well for you and while you will get some more wear compared to stock height, you'll also get a bit more bite in the corners and improved handling (it's a balance between wear and handling). This car is known for wearing tires quickly, it's just part of owning a Maserati but it's also part of why it sticks to the road pretty well for it's larger size.

Hope that helps and as always, feel free to reach out for any help!

Best Regards,

Good info....
And just to be even clearer, (LOL) i'm about to hook up a order for springs from you guys, in the coming weeks

 

[gt_dagen]

Just to be clear, the issue doesn't have anything to do with FD parts specifically, in fact our setup will wear the tires less than other brands lowering kits since we tend to lower the car in a way that gets the alignment less out of whack. We just got a call from a customer that installed a competitors kit on a newer car and wishes he purchased ours so that it would be closer to the spec of his last car that had an FD Spring Kit installed that worked well for him but the shop he used had another brand in his quote and so he went forward with it and was calling for advice on how to help correct it after the fact.

The concern when lowering is that you're going to get more negative camber, which is fine if it's not too much more. We generally have the sweet spot covered that will not lower the camber too much and will not cause excessive tire wear. Typically you should get a better alignment spec than is being posted here and our initial guess is that the shop may not be doing all they can do to correct the camber to it's best result or there are other factors at play such as worn bushings. It's definitely worth taking to another shop to see if there is more that can be done.

Typically what you're going to want to do after lowering (Springs or Coilovers) is adjust as much negative camber you can out of the alignment (front and rear), then you make sure it's even on both sides (L&R), then you adjust the toe to be closer to neutral (compared to the aggressive factory spec) as Jason mentioned and that's the best you can achieve without further modification to the car. Usually, this is going to work out well for you and while you will get some more wear compared to stock height, you'll also get a bit more bite in the corners and improved handling (it's a balance between wear and handling). This car is known for wearing tires quickly, it's just part of owning a Maserati but it's also part of why it sticks to the road pretty well for it's larger size.

Hope that helps and as always, feel free to reach out for any help!

Best Regards,

Hey FD, are there Coilover options available that have camber adjustment? We've setup the car as you mentioned above but still have over 2 deg negative camber. Other than the obvious tire wear and risks associated with driving low, are there any other negative performance issues to be concerned with?

 

[FormulaDynamics]

Good info....
And just to be even clearer, (LOL) i'm about to hook up a order for springs from you guys, in the coming weeks

Nice, well glad to hear it!
BTW, that comment wasn't directed at you specifically just since everyone kept saying FD we wanted to be sure everyone knew it applies to any lowering method and not just to our products

Hey FD, are there Coilover options available that have camber adjustment? We've setup the car as you mentioned above but still have over 2 deg negative camber. Other than the obvious tire wear and risks associated with driving low, are there any other negative performance issues to be concerned with?

The design of the factory suspension means that there is not going to be a camber option available on any coilover designs in the market as it would not adjust the camber as you would see on other cars. The Camber angle for these models is controlled by the length of the control arms and the adjustments that are there are currently the limiting factor.

Running close to -2 degrees in the rear with a good alignment on a lowered GT is something that seems to work. The car handles well setup like this and there really aren't any other problems to speak of. This car was designed from the factory with a lot of negative camber, you're adding a bit more but at least it's a design that was meant to accommodate it well.

Best Regards,

 

[timado404]

Nice, well glad to hear it!
BTW, that comment wasn't directed at you specifically just since everyone kept saying FD we wanted to be sure everyone knew it applies to any lowering method and not just to our products



The design of the factory suspension means that there is not going to be a camber option available on any coilover designs in the market as it would not adjust the camber as you would see on other cars. The Camber angle for these models is controlled by the length of the control arms and the adjustments that are there are currently the limiting factor.

Running close to -2 degrees in the rear with a good alignment on a lowered GT is something that seems to work. The car handles well setup like this and there really aren't any other problems to speak of. This car was designed from the factory with a lot of negative camber, you're adding a bit more but at least it's a design that was meant to accommodate it well.

Best Regards,

I didn't think it was, i was just being a 'Joker'
There has never been a doubt that you guys at FD have the most premium of products and advice, and both are readily available and very much appreciated!

 

[sixtysixpony]

This has been my hesitation about getting FD lowering springs. Not being able to adjust so that the tires don't wear out in 5,6,7k miles. And not wanting to add aftermarket suspension parts so you can have increased adjustment.

Good info....
And just to be even clearer, (LOL) i'm about to hook up a order for springs from you guys, in the coming weeks

I wasn't aware of the potential for excessive tire wear resulting from lowering the car, but I'd have to say I'd still do it because the car looks so much better now!! Especially my MC because the rear set so high before. I'll post up some pictures tomorrow to show you. You'll be glad you lowered it with FD springs. Also depends on which set of springs you go with. They have a few different drops. I'm going to take it somewhere else to try aligning to right.

 

[Jason@ Enzo`s Atlanta]

+1..The stock fender gap in the rear is especially huge...They look so much better with springs on them.. Jason

 

[timado404]

I wasn't aware of the potential for excessive tire wear resulting from lowering the car, but I'd have to say I'd still do it because the car looks so much better now!! Especially my MC because the rear set so high before. I'll post up some pictures tomorrow to show you. You'll be glad you lowered it with FD springs. Also depends on which set of springs you go with. They have a few different drops. I'm going to take it somewhere else to try aligning to right.

Thanks for the info, and yes i know they have several different spring sets and will also custom make you a set-up if need be! I'm definitely going to lower as it does look better to me as well, that way. Not speaking about FD here but if you go low enough on some vehicle types, the camber is adversely affected (negative camber) and will wear out the inside of your tires in 'nothing flat!' But that's a horse of another color...

 

[gt_dagen]

Nice, well glad to hear it!
BTW, that comment wasn't directed at you specifically just since everyone kept saying FD we wanted to be sure everyone knew it applies to any lowering method and not just to our products



The design of the factory suspension means that there is not going to be a camber option available on any coilover designs in the market as it would not adjust the camber as you would see on other cars. The Camber angle for these models is controlled by the length of the control arms and the adjustments that are there are currently the limiting factor.

Running close to -2 degrees in the rear with a good alignment on a lowered GT is something that seems to work. The car handles well setup like this and there really aren't any other problems to speak of. This car was designed from the factory with a lot of negative camber, you're adding a bit more but at least it's a design that was meant to accommodate it well.

Best Regards,

Thanks for the response, it's closer to -2.30 but it seems to be working out well with toe set almost neutral.

 

[gt_dagen]

I wasn't aware of the potential for excessive tire wear resulting from lowering the car, but I'd have to say I'd still do it because the car looks so much better now!! Especially my MC because the rear set so high before. I'll post up some pictures tomorrow to show you. You'll be glad you lowered it with FD springs. Also depends on which set of springs you go with. They have a few different drops. I'm going to take it somewhere else to try aligning to right.

If anyone is really worried about the excessive tire wear, you could consider a harder compound tire like a UHP all season. Downside of course is less grip and lower speed rating (W) instead of (Y). But if you're not planning on exceeding 168mph, it might be worth the trade off to get another 5-10k out of a set of tires...