Correcting front caster

[slimjoe]

I had a thought, it doesn't happen very often but here goes. From what I remember, when I had my car last aligned, the caster between the front right and left was about 0.5* off from each other (I'm thinking ~6* and ~5.5*).Currently, my LCA bushings are torn and I need to have them replaced.

 

So here's the thing, would it be unheard of or even unsafe to replace the bushings with a mixed set? What I mean is, AVO produces both standard and 0.5* offset LCA bushing. Could I use the standard bushing on one side, keeping it at ~6* and then the offset bushing on the other to raise it to ~6*?

 

Would there be any noticable advantage to this as opposed to just using +0.5* (or even +0.0*) bushings on both sides?

[N.sane]

I had my alignment done recently and my caster were a little off between left and right too. Apparently it's normal, the shop is very reputable in my local Subaru community.

 

I was surprised I was able to achieve around 6.5 caster with the stock bushings, I'll double check the alignment spec sheet when I get home...

[slimjoe]

Not that it really matters but I found the alignment summary sheet from the last time.

 

Initial Caster L/R: 6.57/6.03

Final Caster L/R: 6.68/6.20

 

Prior to that, it looks like I was at 5.7/5.14. So yeah, there's about a 0.5* difference in caster in my car.

[N.sane]

Ok, mine's 6.71* left and 6.25* right. So I've got about a 0.5* difference too. I guess it's safe to say it's "normal"

[slimjoe]

Well, the question isn't if the difference in caster is normal but if would be advantageous, or safe, to match a standard bushing with an offset bushing on the front LCAs to bring the caster on both sides to the same angle.

[OhBe1]

IIRC, Rallitek sells the AVO bushings as mix and match specifically for this reason.