I've searched and found some good info about the range of factory adjustment possible on an 850, but i'm curious as to what the factory alignment specs are and if there's any sort of recommended 'performance' alignment that will still wear the tires fairly evenly. I'd be happy to tweak it myself as i know a bit about alignment adjustments, but i'm not sure exactly how front wheel drive cars react to different alignment settings. I autocross a '93 Mazda RX7 and found a good street alignment of 1/16" toe in, -1.3 negative camber, and +6.0 caster. Now i know i wont be able to go as aggressive with the 850 as that, but for me that's been a pretty good performance/streetability compromise. If i knew the factory alignment i could probably come up with something to tell the mechanic that would still be street friendly.

If anyone had any recommendations or could point me to a source that might have the info i'm looking for i'd certainly appreciate it. Thanks!

 

Well, for the most part i've answered my own question and found the stock alignment specs. Since there's really not much room for adjustment, i'll go with those and just bump the front negative camber to -1.0 instead of -0.3.

 

Man that 93 RX7 is one of my favorite looking cars. It's fast too. I test drove one once and decided it was too fast for me. I really think I would have killed myseft in something that fast. My wife called the car the Luge. We hit 120 just pulling onto the highway before I had any idea I was going that fast. I went out and bought a 1980 Porsche 911SC intead.

 

Hmm, you run a toe-in 1/16th on the fd? I've spent hours deliberating on how to setup my Evo, and did a 1/16th toe out in front and neutral in the rear, but we're going to be playing with some spring rates for next season so I may toe out the rear just a tad.

Anyways,

For even tire wear, I setup my cars just a sligggght toe-in, because under acceleration it will become neutral. I always max out the caster, and for camber, eh, on the volvo, I figure just a -.5 would be fine, but I'd go for fairly neutral as well.

 

Yeah, it's pretty fast. It's got all the bolt ons that put it about 360 at the crank (300 at the wheel)...that and the light weight and some 275 series tires make it handle like no one's business. I've been daily driving it for two years now, but since our first little addition arrived a couple of months ago, i need something that can carry the youngster. I'm real happy with the 855 turbo...my first two cars were Volvos and i've always loved them. But then i went for hardcore performance type cars and, well, Volvo doesn't really make anything that fit that criteria. Wrong wheel drive and too little hp. So far i've been able to keep the FD as well as the Volvo...we'll see what happens later on, though...

Me likie the evo. Never did get to drive one on the track, though...looks like fun. I mainly had my fd alignment tuned for track events (HPDEs), but that was when i lived in NC within two hours of tracks like Rockingham, VIR, and others. Here in Kansas City there's really not anything close, trackwise...so between that and having the little one, autocross has become my new hobby. The 1/16 in makes for better high speed stability as i was regularly seeing 120 on some of the straights (didnt want to go any faster...). Autocross is a new thing for me, so the fd isn't really optimized for it. On the other hand, i've had the same street tires for two years and they've worn pretty evenly with that setup...pretty ideal for a street/track vehicle.

My main concern for the Volvo is that i don't really know much about FWD or how it responds to different settings on the street or on an auto-x course. Anyone care to enlighten me???

 

If I am not mistaken, I think ( it was alluded to above) that acceleration will push toe-in towards the toe-out position so like a previous poster said as you accelerate you will go from toe-in towards neutral and possibly toe-out depending on how much power you are putting down and how close you were to neutral to start with. Love the FD, drove an FC with downpipes and K&N intake and loved the power from it. The FD must be incredible. I had 200k on mine with a turbo when I got rid of it. Original engine, rebuilt turbo at 63k and various little mods to suspension. Great daily driver though I developed a pisser of an oil pan leak that I dropped the pan for twice and never got rid of it. They don't use a gasket, just sealant and it is a bear to do in the cold on ramps. [:@] I think freeing up the exhaust and getting rid of the backpressure and heat from the cats really helps with the longevity of any engine.

You do your own work on the FD?

 

True...but don't FWD vehicles actually lose weight on the front tires according to how hard they accelerate??? Actually, i'm thinking of camber...seems like FWD would go more negative in the front as weight is transfered to the rear, but i'm not as familiar with how toe works under acceleration, etc.

I'm really feelin' the love for the FD here...thanks guys. Funny how several of you have driven them (or at least know what they are) as it feels like i spend most of my time explaining exactly what the heck kind of car it is. FCs can definately be fun, too...especially the turbo'd ones. They make great little track cars. The FD is more of a Japanese GT: lots of power and torque, but a bit heavier and harder to keep control of, in general, than the FC or FB. That short wheelbase and heavier weight, combined with the nonlinear throttle response can make things a little hairy in the turns...but overall it's a pretty sweet car if you respect it.

Strange about the gasket. You sure it was supposed to be that way?? I hear you about the longevity...i have all the 'reliability mods' done and have driven this thing over 20k miles for the last two years with zero problems.

I do most of the work. I've done all the mods that weren't done by the previous owner (coilovers, turbo y-pipe, short shifter, stereo stuff, etc), as well as normal maintenance (plugs, fluids, brakes, etc). I had a shop track down some electrical problems for me when i first got the car, but other than that i'm the only one who's ever worked on it. You can go broke if you don't know how to do all this stuff yourself. lol I had a '69 Camaro for a few years that was my first project car...ever since then it's been the FD. And what with work and the little guy, i haven't really had time for a real project vehicle. But that's ok...i've enjoyed the break.