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ok,my car originally came on 16 x 7 wheels
i made a long journey on them, result was a bit scarey on the highway.
it easily followed the grooves on road, and also had a slight pull to the left.
i tried a set of 14 x 6 wheels. and problem disapeared by 75%.
replaced idler arm bushes, no noted improvement.
one day doing a spanner check on car noted the drivers side strut tower bolts
were all a half turn loose, some improvement noted again.
now i have returned to the 16 x 7 wheels
i feel the same things, but not as severe as before.
as time has gone by i have tried 2 wheel alignments
little to no improvement from both of them.
ive taken to visually noting slight variances in my front wheels toe
they both point outwards, i feel one slightly more than the other.
i can see this with my eye, no fancy wheel alignment machine here.
also on drivers side, i can see with my eye, it has a slight +camber
my passenger side has a zero camber (backed up with a straight edge)
the strut mount towers are in different positions.
i suggested this to the wheel alignment mechanic last time
he looked shocked at my suggestion, and mumbled some big words i didnt understand lol,
now my passenger side is in the position inwards and backwards (to centre of firewall)
my drivers side strut is outward and forward (to drivers side headlight)
so i plan to switch my drivers side strut into same position as passengers side.
check to see if it gets closer to a zero camber.
then i will set about reducing the toe out on the tie rod ends
and at least getting them closer to even with the naked eye.
i would of never attempted this job be4, but both alignments so far
have let me down, small chance i might do better
will post outcome good or bad.

The struts are offset mounted so they can in 4 different ways. Each position corresponds to a different degree of camber & caster. This is all outlined in the service manual (both the Mazda factory manual and Haynes). You will see a mark on the strut top to indicate the position.

It goes without saying that both struts should be installed in the same position. There is only so much adjustment built into the factory system. If the 2 struts are orientated differently, a front end alignment will not correct it.

Now, assuming the struts aren't bent, the ideal position is for the strut top to be installed in towards the engine and back towards the firewall ie minimum camber and maximum caster.

yep thats exactly what i did to my drivers strut.
easy 4 bolts job.
result now both wheels visually equal around zero camber
it also lessened the toe difference between them. will adjust toe next week.
which is still showing slight toe out.
left pull on steering wheel reduced by 90%
lighter steering
happy to get improvement i was seeking.

great. If you want an instant handling improvement, consider increasing the caster. About +4 deg is an ok setting for a street car. I pushed it out to +5.5 deg and the turn-in and balance is amazing by comparison. The downside is increased steering effort. Depends on whether you can put up with it or not.

Ideally, you'd want around at least -1 to -1.5 deg camber. I got that simply by putting in lowered springs and clocking the struts tops as a I described above. There's no noticeable additional tyre wear at this setting. If you get adjustable lower control arms or strut tops, you can increase negative camber further. Around -2.5deg is meant to be a good track setting, but you'll have noticeable inner tyre wear at this point.

thats powerful info to know that u can gain some neg camber via
lower front springs as well

daily rotor wrote:thats powerful info to know that u can gain some neg camber via
lower front springs as well

Yes, well, they did in my case. Individual results may vary. But there was no other adjustment made (or can be made on the factory system really). We put it down to the lowering.

The other old school cheap ways of doing it, short of adjustable strut tops or adjustable lower arms is to get the strut lower body bent or to redrill the holes in the crossmember where the lower controls mount.

KYPREO wrote: the ideal position is for the strut top to be installed in towards the engine and back towards the firewall ie minimum camber and maximum caster.

What is the factory setting then. I believe it's towards the engine and forward? That's what it is on mine. I'm having the alignment done soon and I'd rather start with the proper setup.

KiwiDave wrote:

KYPREO wrote: the ideal position is for the strut top to be installed in towards the engine and back towards the firewall ie minimum camber and maximum caster.

What is the factory setting then. I believe it's towards the engine and forward? That's what it is on mine. I'm having the alignment done soon and I'd rather start with the proper setup.

When I changed mine last year (from original) they were pointing towards Engine/Front, so I put them back that way again.

Thnx Pete

Refer to this diagram
Position 'A' (in towards the engine and towards the front of the vehicle) is the factory position.

I personally recommend position 'B', which adds approximately 0.5 deg of caster and improved steering geometry. You won't notice heavier steering with such a small adjustment. Further caster can be obtained by adjusting the caster rods. More is better, but how much you're willing to add if a function of how much steering effort you're willing to tolerate.