OzRS4

Hi everyone,
Can anyone help me with the wheel alignment factory specs for our RS4 B7? I am changing my tyres and getting the wheel alignment done at local shop. It would be handy to have factory setting to check.

On the other hand, has anyone changed the setting for better handling, particular turning in?

Thanks u.

silverRS4

Just looking at the suspension I can't see how camber or caster is easily adjusted. Any deviation from factory toe-in (which is probably very close to zero toe) leads to serious tire wear issues.

bpp

A "proper" shop will have the oe spec at hand and I don't have the numbers for you unfortunately.

Handling? Here's the STaSIS alignment specs for enhanced handling fwiw...

From STaSIS (verbatim): Alignment settings are dependent on many factors including acceptable tire wear, the amount of straight line highway driving versus twisting street driving and the overall goal of the car. So first it is important to decide what types of driving the car will mostly do and what sacrifices you are willing to make.
The following are 3 basic recommendations. The first is for a conservative street setup, the second an aggressive street setup and the third a track setup.
First it's worthwhile to understand the tradeoffs of each setting. Toe: zero toe (or even toe out) is great for turns, but you sacrifice straight line stability. Camber: negative front camber is great for turns, but you sacrifice uneven tire wear and require more frequent mounting and balancing (and rotation) to keep tire wear manageable. Also, with the OEM solid upper control arms, your camber will be a factor of ride height. With adjustable upper control arms, ignore the ride height recommendations and set camber accordingly.

1. Conservative Street Setup-Between 1/16 and 1/32 TOE IN front and 1/32 TOE IN rear. Ride height at 25.875" front and 26.000" rear(-1.0 camber front)
2. Aggressive Street Setup-Between 1/32 and 0 TOE IN on all four corners. Ride height at 25.500" front and 25.625" rear(-1.5 to -1.75 camber front)
3. Track Setup-Between 0 and 1/16 TOE OUT on all four corners. Ride height at 25.000" front and 25.250" rear(-2.0 to -3.0 camber front)

<WARNING!> The Track Setup alignment recommendations are not for the street and will result in serious straight line instability. STaSIS accepts no responsibility with its alignment suggestions.

OzRS4

Hey, thanks for those information. I'll discuss those figures with the Audi tech and work out the optimal settings. Regards.

bpp

My pleasure. Hope it works for you. )

bpp

Camber.

silverRS4

I'm just curious. You are right, it is a function of ride heigth. But what if you don't have an aftermarket suspension with adjustable spring perches? Is there an eccentric somewhere on the upper arms? In other words, how is it adjusted with the stock suspension?

BTW if Stasis thinks more negative camber is what wears tires out I guess I won't go to them for advice (They are a good shop, I just question a few points of the write-up). Here is what typically happens. Someone lowers their car. The negative camber change is obvious (the top of the wheel is tipped inward more). Now the inside of the tire starts to wear out. The obvious conclusion is that more negative camber equates to inside tire wear. But, you can run ALOT of negative camber and still have zero wear issues if keep the toe near or at zero. Lowering the car (especially slamming the car) has a huge affect on toe. Tire wear is due to tire "scrub". With lots of toe-in or toe-out, the tires are pointed in a slightly different direction than the direction they are rolling. That wears or scrubs the tires. With zero toe and lots of camber, the contact patch moves inward, but the tires do not scrub. Lowering a car can change the toe by 1/8 to 1/4". If the toe is not adjusted back to the factory spec, you wear your tires to the cords in a couple hundred miles - guaranteed.

bpp

What is available is to go with the OE settings, take the toe and camber numbers to the limits that are near the STaSIS ranges for whatever setup and be done.
More front camber is available by moving the subframe...somewhat of a "coarse" adjustment.
Yeah about tire wear especially on the softer compound tires semi-R tires. )