[E7J3F3]

I'm replacing the front control arms, tie rods, and sway bar links next weekend and I'm nervous about aligning the car myself. I have a set of toe plates and I'm just trying to rough it in well enough to safely reach the dealer 80mi away for an alignment. Can I get away with just setting front toe without messing with caster/camber? I've read they are basically fixed in place without light modifications. Should I DIY some slip plates or can I get by with rolling it back and forth after each adjustment?

Any general wisdom for doing either the parts or alignment is greatly appreciated, thanks all!

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by E7J3F3

I'm replacing the front control arms, tie rods, and sway bar links next weekend and I'm nervous about aligning the car myself. I have a set of toe plates and I'm just trying to rough it in well enough to safely reach the dealer 80mi away for an alignment. Can I get away with just setting front toe without messing with caster/camber? I've read they are basically fixed in place without light modifications. Should I DIY some slip plates or can I get by with rolling it back and forth after each adjustment?

Any general wisdom for doing either the parts or alignment is greatly appreciated, thanks all!

If you're replacing the control arms with the M3 ones from stock ones, getting your toe close before driving that far is a good idea.

If you're replacing with the same ones you're taking off, just mark the tie rods so you can get the new ones spun on about the same amount and that'll be close enough.

No need to worry about caster/camber if you're going straight to the alignment shop. I've done toe alignments to get in the ballpark using the old string method and it ended up being very, very close to actual spec.

[E7J3F3]

Thanks whyzee! That eases my concern about the alignment bit. I'm using Lemforder OE replacements, I would've loved the M3 set, but I couldn't justify the cost. At 290k mi she's getting tired and it's been a lot keeping her going lately.