Late model alignment specs

[spacecad3t]

@CarBot Do you know the factory alignment specifications for a late model (1987) 944 NA?

[CarBot]

Do you know the factory alignment specifications for a late model (1987) 944 NA?

For a late 944 NA (1987), the factory alignment specs depend a bit on ride height option and whether you’re looking for “nominal” targets or the full allowable range, but the usual factory targets people align to are roughly:

Front: camber about -0.5 degrees, caster about +3.5 to +4.5 degrees, total toe about +0.10 to +0.20 degrees (toe-in).

Rear: camber about -1.5 degrees, total toe about +0.20 to +0.30 degrees (toe-in).

If you tell me whether you want the specs in degrees or in mm at the rim (some alignment racks and manuals list toe that way), and whether the car is at stock ride height, I can translate it to the format your shop will want. Also, if you’re adjusting rear toe on a 944, you’ll want the rear toe eccentric tool (944online/Pelican sell it) because it makes the job much less frustrating.

[spacecad3t]

@CarBot

Provide the specs in both degrees and mm. The car is stock ride height. We have rebuilt the front control arms installed new struts (shocks and springs). We do not have adjustable top camber mounts. So the suspension is basically stock. We dont plan to adjust the rear.

[CarBot]

Provide the specs in both degrees and mm. The car is stock ride height. We have rebuilt the front control arms installed new struts (shocks and springs). We do not have adjustable top camber mounts. So the suspension is basically stock. We dont plan to adjust the rear.

For a stock ride height 1987 944 NA with basically stock hardware, here are the factory-style targets most shops can hit, shown both as degrees and as mm.

Front camber target is about -0.5 degrees. In mm that’s not typically how camber is expressed, so your rack will use degrees for camber.

Front caster target is about +4.0 degrees (you’ll usually see an acceptable window roughly mid-3s to mid-4s). Caster also is normally degrees only.

Front toe target is slight toe-in. Total front toe about +0.10 to +0.20 degrees total, which is about +1.7 to +3.5 mm total toe-in measured across the axle (roughly +0.8 to +1.7 mm per side).

Rear camber target is about -1.5 degrees.

Rear toe target is toe-in. Total rear toe about +0.20 to +0.30 degrees total, which is about +3.5 to +5.2 mm total toe-in (roughly +1.7 to +2.6 mm per side).

A couple practical notes with your setup. With stock top mounts, front camber is only mildly adjustable via subframe/control arm tolerances, so don’t be surprised if it lands a bit off the target side-to-side; what matters most is that left/right camber is close and toe is set correctly. Even if you don’t plan to adjust the rear, it’s still worth having the shop measure and print the rear numbers, because rear toe being off will make the car feel nervous and it will chew tires. If they do end up needing to touch rear toe, the special rear toe adjustment tool makes it much easier.

If you want, paste your before/after alignment printout and I can sanity-check the numbers.

[spacecad3t]

@CarBot

What do you make of these settings that Google Gemini provided?

1987 Porsche 944 Front Alignment Specifications

• Camber: -0.6° to -0.1° (Street/stock); -1.5° to -2.5° (Performance).
  Caster: 2.3° to 3.0° (Positive).
  Toe: 0.04° to 0.13° (Positive/In).
  Performance Setting (Street/Track): -1.8° camber, +0.3mm toe, higher positive caster.

Key Notes for Alignment:

• Caster: 944s use ~86 degrees to 90 degrees of inclination for steering stability, often measured with a digital angle finder on the struts.
  Toe: Measured by turning the threaded tie-rod bars. Often, 1/16" toe-in is used to achieve near-zero toe under load.
  Adjustment: Camber is adjusted via the eccentric bolt at the top of the hub assembly. It requires removing the brake duct to access.

Recommendations:

• Street/Occasional Track: -1.8º Camber, +0.3mm Toe, Front sway bar: Soft.
  Performance/Auto-X: -2.0° to -3.0° front camber is recommended to overcome understeer, often requiring camber plates at higher levels.

[CarBot]

What do you make of these settings that Google Gemini provided?

1987 Porsche 944 Front Alignment Specifications

• Camber: -0.6° to -0.1° (Street/stock); -1.5° to -2.5° (Performance).
  Caster: 2.3° to 3.0° (Positive).
  Toe: 0.04° to 0.13° (Positive/In).
  Performance Setting (Street/Track): -1.8° camber, +0.3mm toe, higher positive caster.

Key Notes for Alignment:

• Caster: 944s use ~86 degrees to 90 degrees of inclination for steering stability, often measured with a digital angle finder on the struts.
  Toe: Measured by turning the threaded tie-rod bars. Often, 1/16" toe-in is used to achieve near-zero toe under load.
  Adjustment: Camber is adjusted via the eccentric bolt at the top of the hub assembly. It requires removing the brake duct to access.

Recommendations:

• Street/Occasional Track: -1.8º Camber, +0.3mm Toe, Front sway bar: Soft.
  Performance/Auto-X: -2.0° to -3.0° front camber is recommended to overcome understeer, often requiring camber plates at higher levels.

A few parts of that Gemini output look plausible at a glance, but there are also some clear red flags and a couple statements that are just wrong for a stock 944 front end.

The front toe range it lists, 0.04 to 0.13 degrees toe-in, is in the ballpark of what you’d expect for a street 944. That part doesn’t bother me.

The caster range it gives, 2.3 to 3.0 degrees, is the big one that doesn’t line up with what most 944s actually measure at stock ride height. A healthy, unbent 944 typically ends up closer to about 4 degrees of positive caster (often a bit more), and you generally don’t “set” caster precisely on these cars the way you do on some other suspensions. If a shop hands you a printout showing 2.5 degrees caster on both sides, I’d be thinking bent parts, shifted crossmember, or the rack’s procedure/settings are wrong.

The “86 to 90 degrees of inclination” comment is basically nonsense in this context. It’s mixing up terms and units. Caster is a few degrees, not 86 to 90. There is a thing called steering axis inclination (SAI/KPI), but that’s also not 86 to 90 degrees and it’s not something you set with an angle finder on the strut for an alignment.

The camber adjustment description is also off. On a stock 944, front camber adjustment is not an “eccentric bolt at the top of the hub assembly.” The practical adjustment you have without camber plates is limited, and it’s not accessed by removing a brake duct to get to an eccentric at the top of the hub. If an alignment tech goes hunting for that, they’re going to waste time.

The “performance” recommendations (-2 to -3 degrees camber, etc.) are generic track advice. It can be a valid goal for autocross/track, but on your car with stock top mounts you likely won’t reach those numbers without adding camber plates or other changes, and it’s not factory spec.

If you want to keep it simple for your stock setup, I’d tell the shop to prioritize equal left/right camber, get caster even side-to-side, and set front total toe to a small toe-in in that 0.1-ish degree total range. Even if you don’t plan to adjust the rear, have them measure it and give you the printout, because rear toe being off will dominate how the car feels.

If you paste the alignment sheet you get (before and after), I can tell you if the numbers look like a normal 944 or if something is off.

[spacecad3t]

@Tom Do you happen to have the factory alignment specs as a PDF somewhere?