Hey guys

recently got a wheel alignment done by bridgstone select. I asked them to raise the coilovers 5mm's all round at the same time, but they gave up after attempting too. Since then though the car has been nothing but problems

After this event, the car has been all over the road. every time i hit a bump the car jumps around the road and essentially floats. it feels like I loose control. when i brake it squirms around and every time i take a shallow corner, it feels as if the car is about to loose the rear end.

bridgestone messed up big time, as they did my alloy wheel nuts up with a rattle gun and ruined them, they left a sway bar link undone, and after i got fed up i went to another shop on tuesday to fix the wheel alignment. it was off by heaps BUT the issue is still there! It feels uncontrolable and as if the car is swaying arround and isnt planted
 
I honestly have no idea, ive checked all the linkages but the car just feels loose and unsettle, when i put it into a corner hard though its just as good as before.
 
 
Car is running HSD coilovers, only other notable things are the 5mm spacers on the front
Any suggestions? i hope to fix this before sunday

thanks

-Eric 

Might take ages but i'm sure you can adjust all your coilovers to the same/preferable height. The lower you go, the worst the bump steer.
 
As for your wheel alignment, you should be telling them what you want. Grab the print out from bridgestone as it should show before and after adjustments. Then you can sorta determine what your old set up was.
 
Good luck!
 
 

First thought, check the rear toe setting - if this is excessively toe out it could give the corner issue your describing.  
 
And find a reputable, reliable wheel alignment crowd asap.

Never just drop your MR2 off to a "Wheel Alignment & Suspension Expert" without having done some research if they are any good.
It always ends in tears.
 
I also no longer leave the car with suspension places, I watch them do the job and point out exactly what has to be adjusted and where it gets adjusted.
Just dropping the car off to any Bridgestone, Beaurepaires or QuickFit will generally end in a Celica or a Commodore suspension setting loaded onto your car........ (Since they don't know what the car is they end up just throwing settings on something "close").

knightrous i think that rule really only applies to the AW11. the sw20 and zzw30 don't require the same extremes in alignment settings that the aw11 needs

i am taking my zzw to a place to get its alignment done and the settings are super soft compared to what the adub requires. its kind of more like your average corolla or commodore settings. funny thing the zzw and sw seem to have VERY similar alignment settings compared to the adub thats totally different.

the zzw doesn't seem to have any adjustment other than front and rear toe and rear camber.

Its best to work out how to do your own alignments then test and tune. Once you get your head around the basics its a lot of fun tuning suspension settings.
From what I have found, the first thing to check is the rebound setting. It will be the adjustment on the top of your shocks or in some cases the bottom. Start with a setting of one third of the adjustment available. Turn it completely anti clockwise, then turn it all the way clockwise counting the amount of 'clicks' till there is resistance. Return it back anticlockwise then set at one third of the available settings. If you wind it up to a harder setting on the rear, it will make the rear nervous. Softer is better on the rear. Use the same on the front then dial it in with a click at time.
Next is to sort the alignment yourself.
Make sure the front and rear caster are the same on both sides of the car. Buy a digital level on ebay and play around. Its cheap, easy and works.
Find some level ground then measure the height from the subframe behind the front wheel. Make a block/spacer/guage then will slide into this space. Go to the other front side of the car and see if its the same. If its different, wind up or down the coil over till its the same. Next step is to fix a 10mm spacer to the block/spacer/guage then check the rear of the car under the subframe in front of the rear wheels. Adjuct to suit. Its a little rough and ready but it does work.
Next set the camber with your adjustments and new digital level available.
Then you can set the toe settings front and rear. The string line system may seem odd, but it is used in every level of motorsport including F1.
It will take a little time at first, but once you have it worked out, it doesnt take all that long.
 
 
 
Another trick is to set the rear 10mm higher than the front to settle the car.
Make sure the lower control arm links are higher on the subframe than the mounting point at the ball joint.
 

the car didnt end up being raised. i got the wheel alignment redone on tuesday by a different mob and the allignment seems pretty much what i used to have.  front toe is .7mm front and 1.4 total, rear is 2.0 and 4.2 total.

I will check they didnt adjust the dampening, but this is really confusing me now as to what they did, everything seems normal, although i do hear a squeak every now and then from the left front wheel

thanks for that write up too B24, I might do some research and just do my own wheel alignments from now on :P 

Did you check you're tyre pressures? Maybe they ramped them up before they did the alignment?
The other thing is with some top adjustable shocks the adjusters stuff up and you have to twist the dials back and forth to get them to work properly again.

Actually why did they undo you're sway bar links to adjust you're suspension height, that makes no sense. You didn't happen to get other work done like poly bushings fitted or something?

Most (if not all) coilover shocks for SW20s require that the bottom link be disconnected, in order to rotate the base of the strut around the thread in order to lower/raise the ride height.
What sort of camber/caster are you running?