Alignment suggestions for non-stock 72

[Magnes]

Apparently I created a bit of a tire eating monster with my 72. I've got it sitting pretty low (and level front to back) for a nice stance and that coupled with wide wheels (17x8 Cragars up front) gives it a great look but damn man, I am maybe getting 3 or 4k miles before the inside of my tires (245/45/ZR17 BFG's) are feathered and pretty worn. Too much negative camber.

I had the car aligned after I built it and they barely were able to get it into (what they said was) spec because the ride height (and I don't want to raise it up). After driving it for a while you could definitely see there was negative camber issues and the handling became progressively worse. Steers easy as can be but began to feel like **** out on the road, all over the place.

My mechanic buddy and I checked the suspension and everything felt pretty good. The only slop found was in the lower ball joints and really it wasn't much, but we went ahead and replaced them both as well as installing new upper control arms. I went with the PST "pro-touring adjustable UCA's" so we have a lot more caster/camber adjustability now and all that's left to do is align it. We just did it today, no alignment, and it already drives a ton better.

My buddy and I are calling in a favor and will be allowed to align the car ourselves on pro alignment system. I am just looking for any suggestions as far as alignment specs. I'm not road racing or drag racing the car. I just want a happy medium... stable at speed, not terrible to park, handle decent, and not wear the hell out of my tires.

I searched and looked around. Found some varying specs and just wanted to check with you guys to see what your suggestions might be for a set up like mine. And just FYI, the car has power steering.

-.5 to -1 camber
+2.5 to 3.5 caster
1/16 to 1/8 toe in

So I appreciate your input on the matter. What do you suggest?

 

[Skey]

What are your settings now? That will help me more than what people are recommending.

 

[Magnes]

Honestly, I have no settings now. We just installed the new adjustable UCA's and lower ball joints with the car on the lift, eyeballing it, and I then drove it home. We'll be doing the actual adjustments and alignment next weekend.

 

[dvw]

Inner wear is generally caused by toe-out. It's compounded by negative camber. If the car has some positive toe, -1/2 and most likely -1.0 camber will go many miles without significant inner edge wear. Run toe-out and things will go bad quickly. Worn parts will cause dynamic toe-out. So even if it was set with toe-in during driving the tire may have pushed out. You can actually push out on the tires while on the alignment rack to create this. Your specs above will be fine. Where was your alignment sheet from the initial time?
Doug

 

[PRND21]

Just curious as to how the car was lowered. Was it lowered by loosening the torsion bars or by drop spindles? Shouldn't drop spindles help with steering geometry at a lowered stance?

 

[nstyle73]

Ashamed to admit this, but I had the same issue, feathering on the inside for those same brand and size tires. I fought the issue for a year, checked everything in the front end, two alignments, two other shops, I swore it was the toe. I gave up, and started to tear the car apart for a full resto, and when I pulled the rear end, I found one leaf had a broken eye that was letting the rear end move slightly. It was on top of the loop where it could not be seen without full disassembly. Just something else to look at. I know I hated myself for a long time trying to figure out the issue.

 

[WaterBoy]

Here's what I used! Got it from allpar I believe

 

[WileERobby]

I use the specs you posted at stock ride height.