Alignment

[ledzilla]

Well, I should be putting new front tires on my MM within the next month, and I was wanting to know the best specs to put on the alignment. As it is, I believe my aligment is way off, which is causing me to get new fronts. Not sure which one is off, really, but when the wheel is turned to center, one wheel is pointed ahead, the other a few degrees to the side. (if I remember correctly, it looks like the left wheel is pointed off center, and the right one is good) Either way, the car pulls to the left, the steering wheel is typically held to the right, the left tire is in good shape (except the shoulders), and the right is worn down to the indicators (maybe a little past by now). Either way, I buying a new front set, and I'm having the alignment done while it's there and I want to make sure it's done to a good, correct spec.

[RF Overlord]

Do a search for Carfixer's Alignment Specs...

[Bobmiddle]

Search under Car fixers alignment specs. I took them in when I got front tires too. The shop could not get it to the exact specs but it was very close. and get a print out.

Yea ^^ what he said.

[ledzilla]

OK. I found those, but I also saw a lot of other info in the same thread, just wanted to make sure.

[Paul]

Use the Carfixer specs - they are great.

[BirchMarauder]

Well, I should be putting new front tires on my MM within the next month, and I was wanting to know the best specs to put on the alignment. As it is, I believe my aligment is way off, which is causing me to get new fronts. Not sure which one is off, really, but when the wheel is turned to center, one wheel is pointed ahead, the other a few degrees to the side. (if I remember correctly, it looks like the left wheel is pointed off center, and the right one is good) Either way, the car pulls to the left, the steering wheel is typically held to the right, the left tire is in good shape (except the shoulders), and the right is worn down to the indicators (maybe a little past by now). Either way, I buying a new front set, and I'm having the alignment done while it's there and I want to make sure it's done to a good, correct spec.


maybe your shocks are worn which is causing the problem.

[mstrtech]

Would carfixers specs work on an 04 Crown Vic sport as well?:)

[Bobmiddle]

Would carfixers specs work on an 04 Crown Vic sport as well? The reason we use carfixers specs is because the marauder is known to wear out the inside 2inches of the front tires. Some have assumed this is due to the wider front tires but I am not sure. Or just a defect on the Marauders. I do not think the CV have this problem so the regular specs should work. And carfixers specs take out alot of camber which can negatively affect the handeling.
Lets see if some one else can chime in on this.

[lifespeed]

The reason we use carfixers specs is because the marauder is known to wear out the inside 2inches of the front tires. Some have assumed this is due to the wider front tires but I am not sure. Or just a defect on the Marauders. I do not think the CV have this problem so the regular specs should work. And carfixers specs take out alot of camber which can negatively affect the handeling.
Lets see if some one else can chime in on this.

Don't all Panther platform cars have the same suspension, spring rates and sway bar diameters excepted?

[Bobmiddle]

Don't all Panther platform cars have the same suspension, spring rates and sway bar diameters excepted? I am not sure. I know we have alot of the same stuff up front as the CVPI. But if all of the panthers had the same wear issues that I have seen on the front tires of MMs there is no way the police and taxi co would use them. I went thru my last set of fronts in less than 20k and was all the way down to the the threads on the inside corners but the outer parts looked great.:confused:

[Bluerauder]

Well, I should be putting new front tires on my MM within the next month, and I was wanting to know the best specs to put on the alignment.
Here ya go ..... the bold, blue emphasis is mine. :D


Courtesy of Carfixer

The inside edge wear of the front tires is caused by 2 things: negative camber and negative toe (toe out). Caster is not a tire wearing angle. The outside edge wear can be caused by excessive toe in and aggressive cornering.

Factory camber spec is -.5 degrees or- .75 degrees
Factory toe spec is -.15 degrees or- .20 degrees
(BTW, this info came from their website which is updated periodically and may differ from previously published material, such as cd's and paper manuals)

That means your alignment could have -1.25 degrees of camber and toe out of -.35 degrees and still be in the "green". This will wipe out the inside edges in <20K miles IMO.

All of the MM's I've aligned (about 10) had at least -1.0 degrees of camber and always toe out of -.10 degrees or more from the factory. That's why almost all MM's you see have excessive inside edge tire wear.

For best tire wear, here is what I use on all MM alignments:
Camber: 0 to -.3 degrees.*
Toe: Zero degrees.
Caster: 5-6.5 degrees positive with .3 degree lead on the right side.

*Camber can affect cornering feel. The more negative camber you have, the better it will handle corners. Most drivers will never feel the difference, especially on the street.

[FordNut]

These specs should work on any of the '03 and newer panthers. They are actually within the factory specs, but they are near the limits. They do work much better than most OEM settings, although on rare occasions a factory setup could be exactly the same as Carfixer's specs.

[magindat]

Do they still work on a lowered car?

[FordNut]

They should work as far as handling and wear IF there is enough adjustment to obtain these settings. Lowering the car might make it impossible to adjust for these settings without slotting holes or bending some parts with a porta-power. I would say just get it as close as possible and leave it at that.

[ShelbyMotorspts]

Just had my 04 aligned today and these are the final specs from the printout:

-0.59 Camber LF
6.14 Caster LF
-0.05 Toe LF

-0.74 Camber RF
6.06 Caster RF
-0.03 Toe RF

The alignment guy spent at least 90 minutes performing the alignment. I'm not sure if thats good or bad.

Steve

[cougar9150]

I went with those specs too, and the car felt great after. They couldn't adjust them to the exact specs but got within + & -.01. The weird thing was, ther was way more adjustment range on the passenger side than on the drivers. Any thoughts on what would cause that? Sorry if I'm side tracking here.

[04MRADR]

To Bobmiddle: The only complaint I've really had about My 2004 Marauder is the unusually quick wearout of the inside treads of the front tires. I think our cars have rack and pinion steering and I've heard for years alignment is always a problem with rack and pinion, not only getting the alignment right but the fact the alignment tends to go out faster than on traditional steering. As far as the Panther platform, I had a 2000 Grand Marquis GS and traded it for the Marauder I thin the Marquis had the panther platform but am not positive. It had 103,000 miles, the original Michelin tires, and I never had one alignment done! I got 37 K on my original KDWs on the Marauder and had to replace because the inside edge wore. I used carfixers recommendation when I got the KDW2s. I have to get rid of them after 44 K because the inside tread has again gone kaplooey. But only the left front. I may have hit a pothole or something that knocked it out. The right front inside edge has worn faster than the rest of the tire but still has tread on it. I will use what BlueRauder suggests because he knows what he's talking about. I'm not a gearhead or an expert like many club members but I was always told getting over 50 K on a performance tire is impossible because the rubber is softer on these tires for better grip but the price you pay is they wear out faster. I am deciding between the Nitto 420S and the Goodyear Eagle. But I will never, never buy another BF Goodrich tire after the problems I had with both sets. In fact, the only reason I almost didn't buy a Marauder was because it had BF Goodrich tires. I had a set on my 89 Grand Marquis and like the KDW2s man were they noisy.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

Just had my 04 aligned today and these are the final specs from the printout:

-0.59 Camber LF
6.14 Caster LF
-0.05 Toe LF

-0.74 Camber RF
6.06 Caster RF
-0.03 Toe RF

The alignment guy spent at least 90 minutes performing the alignment. I'm not sure if thats good or bad.

Steve

I would not be 100% happy w/ those caster specs. You have virtually the same caster on both sides. Having a few tenths caster lead on the passenger's side will keep the car straight on a crowned road. It isn't a big deal but you might notice that you will have to steer to keep the car straight on a crowned road. Caster is a pain to adjust on this car because it is the ghetto "loosen the lower control arm and jack it around until it specs out good" and most alignment shops I have dealt with won't touch caster on these cars.