Hello.
Does anyone know what the stock factory alignment specs would be for a '14 MKS AWD Ecoboost?
Also, once lowered with H&R's...is anything changed or aligned differently?
Thanks,
Marc

I have a 2010 MKS EB with the sport package. I put a set of Megan Coil overs on it this spring. Dropped the back 2" and the front 1" and took it in for an alignment. Not sure if this crosses over to the 14 or not but you need to be able to get back to factory specs to have the car drive properly. The first shop I took it to was freaked out about the change in ride height and I tried to talk them through setting it up properly. In the end they said it would not align and I was going to have to live with it. The rear camber was the biggest issue but they also said that they couldn't get the toe proper on the back. I had read on this form that getting the adjustable bolts would be a solution. I did not like the way that looked as you had to use shorter bolts and different nuts. Would have worked fine I'm sure but it just ate at the back of my head. I read on a different form that someone had decided to elongate the holes in the upper arms by 5mm (1/5" +/-)  and that they were able to get back to factory specs. I decided to take this route and grind out some metal. In the end I took it to another shop that was fine with modified suspensions and they were able to align it back to factory specs. It drives like a dream now.

On the coil overs, they were a bit stiff for my liking in a commuter car but it handled like it was on rails. I still had the factory MXV 4 tires on it. I recently replaced the tires with Nitto Motivo's and the improvement was incredible. It still handles like I want it to and it is only a little bit stiffer than I would like it to be.

Everything should remain the same except the height of the car. They had the specs at the alignment shop simply by scanning the sticker.

Which sticker pleas.

Probably the door sticker.  And welcome, magoo!

Thx for your experience magoo22. Any before and after pics?

I dropped the coil overs another little bit last week....need another alignment

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Ha ha!!!

What does the door sticker say about alignment?

I was thinking that the barcode on the door sticker gave the shop enough info to look up the correct alignment specs.

You'd. think all that stuff would be accessible using the VIN or a barcode reader (phone app). Wonder if there is an online database where the end user could use the info to look that info up?

I dont know what the stock specs are and MrsFoMoCoSHO doesn't know if they are listed in her materials as everything is preloaded into the machine at the dealership. If I ask nicely maybe she will check for me.

After the lowering and subsequent alignment, the car does need to fall into the stock spec range.

Yes there is a bar code on the inside of the drivers door. The guys at Mister Lube use it and the guy at the alignment shop used it. It loaded all the information they needed to do the alignment. Not sure what to say beyond that.

The only comment that they made was that there is no adjustment for front castor on my car. But it was in spec at 3.75 deg and equal on both sides. They said that matters as it will pull if they are not equal. On the specs the before and after numbers are listed on the sheet they gave me.

The front was pretty close but the rear was out by quite a bit. Camber went from 1.8 deg to -.5 deg. Toe went from .9 deg to .05 deg  The thrust angle was also changed from .3 deg to .01

Finding a shop that will do work on modified suspensions is the key in my experience. If they are the least bit hesitant say thanks and walk out. The car tracks and handles perfect because someone took the time to do it right.

Not sure how to post picks but maybe I will find the time to put some up on the weekend.

One other note on installing the coil overs on the front. If I ever take that apart again I will look at dropping the lower A arm from the car and take the whole assembly out as one. Those lower nuts were a real xxxxxx. I also noticed that the bushings seem to be preloaded for the ride height that they are set for when installed. They have resistance when you move them past a certain amount. I loosened the bushing bolts on all four corners with a jack holding light weight and then torqued them back up. It might be my imagination but that seemed to help soften up the ride.