Dark Horse HP Alignment Settings

[JohnnyRingo]

Can anyone advise what the Dark Horse Handling Pack wheel alignment settings are?

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[Skye]

I attempted to locate DH alignment information and could not.

Anyone who has received a DH, have you been gifted a DH Owner supplement? Owners of previous cars like the DH were provided a model-specific supplement which included track settings and other track-specific information.

From the Ford Owner Manual (Page 316), 2024 and Ford's web site on-line, the following is noted:

"Adjustable Camber Front Strut Top Mounts (If Equipped)

Your vehicle has adjustable strut mounts which you can use to adjust the camber of your vehicle before and after a track event to the specifications listed in the Road Course Alignment Recommendations table previously shown.

Note: After your track day is complete, return your car to the street alignment and tire pressures."

"...Road Course Alignment Recommendations table previously shown." But this table does not exist.

Further along, Page 365, "Feature Car Coupe and Convertible with Handling Package" is noted. Is this the DH? IDK. These appear to be street settings.

Googling the Internet revealed nothing.

I'm left with the impression Ford continues to catch up with their documentation.

 

[JohnnyRingo]

I attempted to locate DH alignment information and could not.

Anyone who has received a DH, have you been gifted a DH Owner supplement? Owners of previous cars like the DH were provided a model-specific supplement which included track settings and other track-specific information.

From the Ford Owner Manual (Page 316), 2024 and Ford's web site on-line, the following is noted:

"Adjustable Camber Front Strut Top Mounts (If Equipped)

Your vehicle has adjustable strut mounts which you can use to adjust the camber of your vehicle before and after a track event to the specifications listed in the Road Course Alignment Recommendations table previously shown.

Note: After your track day is complete, return your car to the street alignment and tire pressures."

"Road Course Alignment Recommendations table previously shown." But this table does not exist.

Further along, Page 365, "Feature Car Coupe and Convertible with Handling Package" is noted. Is this the DH? IDK. These appear to be street settings.

Googling the Internet revealed nothing.

I'm left with the impression Ford continues to catch up with their documentation.

Thank you for this.

 

[zstanny]

Can anyone advise what the Dark Horse Handling Pack wheel alignment settings are?

Not sure why you're asking, but to echo Skye, in that owners supplement should also be street and track alignment settings. With the tires on the handling pack, if you're towards the street alignment spec, be ready for a 3-5K mile tire.

It's not a bad idea at your first oil change (the early one, 1000 miles or whatever it is for the Gen4s), to have your alignment checked, and then adjusted to better fit your needs.

Take it from me, I had to replace the front's on my 350 after 6K miles due to being corded towards the inside, with probably 70% wear throughout the rest of the tire

 

[Dark Horse Fred]

Not sure why you're asking, but to echo Skye, in that owners supplement should also be street and track alignment settings. With the tires on the handling pack, if you're towards the street alignment spec, be ready for a 3-5K mile tire.

It's not a bad idea at your first oil change (the early one, 1000 miles or whatever it is for the Gen4s), to have your alignment checked, and then adjusted to better fit your needs.

Take it from me, I had to replace the front's on my 350 after 6K miles due to being corded towards the inside, with probably 70% wear throughout the rest of the tire

Yep, 2013 GT500 did the same

 

[Polo08816]

Sometimes when you adjust camber via camber plates/strut mounts, it makes substantial changes in the toe settings as well (for BMW F chassis cars). Is this the case with the S550/S650 platform as well?

 

[Skye]

To compliment this thread, I thought I'd add the alignment settings provided elsewhere by @JDuncan .

 

[Ryunker]

Sometimes when you adjust camber via camber plates/strut mounts, it makes substantial changes in the toe settings as well (for BMW F chassis cars). Is this the case with the S550/S650 platform as well?

Yes changes to camber and caster affect toe.

 

[Polo08816]

To compliment this thread, I thought I'd add the alignment settings provided elsewhere by @JDuncan .

It's interesting the Dark Horse with Handling package is able to only achieve a maximum of ~ -2.0 of front camber.

I would think for MacPherson struts may want to achieve up to -3.5 degrees of front camber depending on the track.

 

[JDuncan]

It's interesting the Dark Horse with Handling package is able to only achieve a maximum of ~ -2.0 of front camber.

I would think for MacPherson struts may want to achieve up to -3.5 degrees of front camber depending on the track.

For clarity, the specs are what is recommended for a road travelling car from Ford. The Dark Horse is able to achieve higher negative camber, but some disassembly and reassembly are required to do so from my understanding. The way it was explained to me was that the strut tops have to be pulled down by dropping the entire strut assembly to get access to the camber plates for adjustment as the plates are mounted under the strut top mounting in the fender. Sounds like a pain, but that is where the camber hides.

 

[w00tcamp]

For clarity, the specs are what is recommended for a road travelling car from Ford. The Dark Horse is able to achieve higher negative camber, but some disassembly and reassembly are required to do so from my understanding. The way it was explained to me was that the strut tops have to be pulled down by dropping the entire strut assembly to get access to the camber plates for adjustment as the plates are mounted under the strut top mounting in the fender. Sounds like a pain, but that is where the camber hides.

Do you have any more detail on that? Did someone at Ford tell you? I ask because I recently took my DH with the track handling package to my race alignment guy to prep it for an autocross event, and the maximum camber he could get out of the front was I believe 1.7 on the left, 1.5 on the right. Which is the same as what it was prior to the alignment - I was scratching my head at that one. Didn't make any sense to me. Ford didn't give me a DH owner's manual supplement either.

 

[Cindy42]

Do you have any more detail on that? Did someone at Ford tell you? I ask because I recently took my DH with the track handling package to my race alignment guy to prep it for an autocross event, and the maximum camber he could get out of the front was I believe 1.7 on the left, 1.5 on the right. Which is the same as what it was prior to the alignment - I was scratching my head at that one. Didn't make any sense to me. Ford didn't give me a DH owner's manual supplement either.

I heard this talking to a mechanic from Steeda when I was at autox in Georgia. He said under the tower is some Allen screws holding it still. You have to drop the strut to get to them easy. Once they are removed, it can move. I have not confirmed this yet with mine.

 

[w00tcamp]

I heard this talking to a mechanic from Steeda when I was at autox in Georgia. He said under the tower is some Allen screws holding it still. You have to drop the strut to get to them easy. Once they are removed, it can move. I have not confirmed this yet with mine.

Wow. Talk about a pain in the a**. Maybe I'll get my car jacked up this weekend and have a look.

 

[Cindy42]

Wow. Talk about a pain in the a**. Maybe I'll get my car jacked up this weekend and have a look.

If you do, please share pictures.

 

[w00tcamp]

If you do, please share pictures.

This is the best I could do. Took the wheel off of the front driver's side, and this is what I found at the top of the strut. I have no idea what I'm looking at, but I don't really have the skills to take apart a shock and make adjustments. I'm not seeing how an amateur HPDE guy can adjust camber before an event and then return afterwards.

This picture's focused on the outboard aspect of it.

Trying to correlate with the top mount but I can't make any sense of it.

This is the inboard side toward the back of the car.

On this last photo, I tried to get a better shot but it looks like there's a nut there on the inboard aspect towards the front of the car - it's not in focus.

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