got some new coil overs should i get the wheel alignment after i set my ride height??

 

yes. get it checked at least.

 

If your alignment is good now, and you don't remove your tie rod ends, you won't need an alignment. The tie rod ends are the only spot to adjust the alignment on our cars.

 

The camber in the rear might need some adjusting. The front doesn't have camber allignment unless you buy the really expensive kit.

 

The front camber can be adjusted via the upper control arms but it's a massive pain in the ***. I have already decided to resign myself to new 19" front tires every year rather than go through trying to set it.

 

Huh? How?

 

From what I've been told, it has to do with the angle of the control arms, relative to the body of the strut. Basically, you're supposed to position the control arms at a specific angle relative to the strut, and then torque them down (for some reason, 43 degrees or so is what sticks in my mind). In that way, you preload the arms, and when the car is reassembled and the weight of the car is resting on the arms, it sets the camber angle.

I haven't done it myself, but I know a guy who did his that way. He was on stock suspension so the angle he set was by-the-book. For a lowered car, it'd be trial and error to find the correct arm-to-strut angle to set the camber to spec. Ergo, screw it. I'll buy tires. I have no interest in removing and reassembling my front suspension 6-7 times to set it correctly.

 

Interesting... This is like how I can pull a monkey out of my butt, but it's going to be a real pain in the ***.

 

This doesn't make any sense... Regardless of how the arms are preloaded everything still pivots along the same axes.
I've only heard of preloading (at least for the A4/A6) the suspension for when you do suspension work to make sure that the bushings are at an optimal position to prevent tearing.

 

quick thread jack:

I dropped my subframe to remove my oil pan

should I get an alignment?