I have finished my new suspension install and I'd like your opinions on good, general alignment specs to start out with while I shake it down and get the feel for the new setup. I'd like shock, caster, camber, toe and swaybar settings.

I have the "Paragon SPEC-1" kit:

Koni adjustables
350lb Springs
30mm T-bars
Weltmeister 28mm solid front sway
Weltmeister 22mm solid rear sway
Poly bushings
Elephant Racing spring plate bearings

Thank you in advance! -Kerry

What tires?
Toyo RR ?

No Chuck. Actually I'm running BFG g-force comp2 for the school. 225/50-16 and 245/50-16.

No LSD and I do have a front stress bar, if it matters.

I will run the SPEC legal Toyo RR beginning in Spring.

I have no experience with those tires but generally you want roughly:

Camber: -3 degrees front, -2.5 rear (various tires want more or less but anything +/- 1/2 degree is close enough for now). If you don't have camber plates, get as much front as you can with the eccentric.

Caster: Max out

Toe: ~ 1/8" Toe Out to neutral front (out helps turn in a bit). Neutral to 1/8" Toe In rear.

For a school, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Get some negative camber and make sure the toe is neutral (most important is not to have rear toe out which will make the rear unstable) and you'll be close enough.

There are a lot of variables that determine an optimum alignment. Our car is a lot stiffer than yours, which will affect an optimum alignment, but with Toyo RA1's, we ran -3.5 Front Camber and -2.5 rear camber with 0 front toe and a very small amount of rear toe in for around 10 years. With more aggressive driving, we were about to go for more negative camber all around. Then we all changed to the Toyo RR. Those settings did not work AT ALL. I still do not have it optimized but have had to go for more camber and slightly different toe. We have also had to change the shock dampening.

All of this is only to tell you that there is no one right answer. Generally, with a less agressive tire like the BFG, I think 944Racer72's suggestions would be a good place to start, especially without an LSD.

The best advice is his last paragraph. Don't worry, just go out and have fun and learn.

Thanks guys. I understand that we are not "dialing in" and that anything you give me is a guess as vehicles, driving preferences and tires vary. This is also a school and I'm not hunting lap times.

Here's the deal; I've been taking schools for a year now on stock suspension. My instructor has moved me into advanced class. I drove ITB and Solo 1 in the 90's. I'm learning more now than ever. However my instructor is concerned about the car's overall speed compared to others on the track and the fact that we can't use proper trail braking due to the 30 year old suspension. Entry speed is way too slow to keep the rubber band wound up!

I have a well built car now with many upgrades, all straight out of the 944Spec rules and advice from class drivers. What I'm afraid of is driving 3.5 hours for a one day school and have a setup that is sloppy and dangerous.

So:

Front Camber -2.5 to -3.5
Front Toe 0
Caster Maxed

Rear Camber -2 to -3
Rear Toe 0 to 1/8" In

Now what would I start the Koni settings at? Front and Rear...

What about the Weltmeister bar settings? Front and Rear...

I've heard some stories about the front bars on full stiff breaking the steel a-arms?

I really appreciate your responses and help. I really do. I live in sailboat and hunting country. There's just no one nearby with any of your experience. I just don't want to waste a hard earned track event.