Anyone do their own wheel alignments?
03-13-2009, 03:04 AM
#1
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Anyone do their own wheel alignments?
Are there tools suitable for DIY wheel alignment? I'm getting a bit leery of the "pros" -- one shop just told me that caster isn't adjustable on the 944! Couldn't be told. 
Experiences like this make me think "how can I do this job myself?"
So: Any advice?
Experiences like this make me think "how can I do this job myself?"
So: Any advice?
03-13-2009, 08:38 AM
#2
Nordschleife Master
http://www.paragon-products.com/Digi...p/lr_78295.htm
Adapters can be added to allow for easy toe measurement and adjustment...I too have had bad experiences with alignment shops... When I get everything back together on my 951 I am trying another local shop, and considering taking them my factory service manual and all teh special tools to properly align the car.... We will see...
03-13-2009, 10:40 AM
#3
Yeah, I do all my own alignments... Does this count for DIY???
And John, i know its a bit of a hike, but i have done plenty of alignments on this series all the way through the new cars, If you cant find anyone out there i would be more than happy to help you out.
Mark
And John, i know its a bit of a hike, but i have done plenty of alignments on this series all the way through the new cars, If you cant find anyone out there i would be more than happy to help you out.
Mark
03-13-2009, 10:59 AM
#4
Nordschleife Master
Yeah, I do all my own alignments... Does this count for DIY???
Attachment 343521
And John, i know its a bit of a hike, but i have done plenty of alignments on this series all the way through the new cars, If you cant find anyone out there i would be more than happy to help you out.
Mark
Attachment 343521
And John, i know its a bit of a hike, but i have done plenty of alignments on this series all the way through the new cars, If you cant find anyone out there i would be more than happy to help you out.
Mark
I am betting it wouldn't be comfortable to drive to Cary, even though it isn't all that far.. I am giving one more local shop a try, and if they do a good job I might stick with them, or I will be buying my own stuff, making some toe plates and start doing it myself, thanks for the offer though
03-13-2009, 11:42 AM
#5
quoting myself from another thread
to which was replied
the method is good enough to get you straight. custom alignments you'll need to do some more trig to get the correct angles
the alignment in a few words:
camber. drop a plumbline close to the wheel. measure the distance from top of the wheel lip to plumbline. measure distance from bottom of the wheel to plumbline. take the difference divided by the diameter of the wheel, inverse tangent that, and you have your camber angle. it's better to use a metric ruler since the units are more precise.
the quick and simple way i've done zero rear toe is to simply do line of sight. position yourself at the middle height of the rear tire and look forward at the front tire. it's important to do the middle of the tire because the tire deforms at ground level. at the very edge where the front of the rear tire and the back of the rear tire line up, you should be able to see the same front and back of the front tire. if your rear toe is OUT, then you won't be able to see the front tire at all. if your rear toe is IN, then you'll be looking at the tread of the front tire. if your rear toe is zero AND the your front is also zero, then you should be seeing the 4 edges of tire, front and rear of the rear tire, and front and rear of the front tire. it helps to mark the tires with white chalk or some other visible color. assuming your front toe isn't actually zero, you will have to turn the steering wheel so the front tire edges line up to the rear tire edges.
now front toe. same idea as rear toe, just looking from front instead of rear. turn the steering wheel until it's centered. position yourself in front of the front tire and look edgeward at the rear tire. adjust the tie rod until the u can see all 4 edges lined up. repeat the process on the other front tire. now you have zero toe in front.
the front toe is simple to do. but the rear toe is PITA cause unless you have magical hands or 4 wheel drive-on lift, you have to remove the wheel to get to the toe adjustment. which means jack up, remove wheel, adjustment, reinstall wheel, jack down, take measurement, repeat lather rinse until complete.
camber. drop a plumbline close to the wheel. measure the distance from top of the wheel lip to plumbline. measure distance from bottom of the wheel to plumbline. take the difference divided by the diameter of the wheel, inverse tangent that, and you have your camber angle. it's better to use a metric ruler since the units are more precise.
the quick and simple way i've done zero rear toe is to simply do line of sight. position yourself at the middle height of the rear tire and look forward at the front tire. it's important to do the middle of the tire because the tire deforms at ground level. at the very edge where the front of the rear tire and the back of the rear tire line up, you should be able to see the same front and back of the front tire. if your rear toe is OUT, then you won't be able to see the front tire at all. if your rear toe is IN, then you'll be looking at the tread of the front tire. if your rear toe is zero AND the your front is also zero, then you should be seeing the 4 edges of tire, front and rear of the rear tire, and front and rear of the front tire. it helps to mark the tires with white chalk or some other visible color. assuming your front toe isn't actually zero, you will have to turn the steering wheel so the front tire edges line up to the rear tire edges.
now front toe. same idea as rear toe, just looking from front instead of rear. turn the steering wheel until it's centered. position yourself in front of the front tire and look edgeward at the rear tire. adjust the tie rod until the u can see all 4 edges lined up. repeat the process on the other front tire. now you have zero toe in front.
the front toe is simple to do. but the rear toe is PITA cause unless you have magical hands or 4 wheel drive-on lift, you have to remove the wheel to get to the toe adjustment. which means jack up, remove wheel, adjustment, reinstall wheel, jack down, take measurement, repeat lather rinse until complete.
The plumb line camber trick assumes that you have a level floor (which you may have). It's actually easier (IMHO) to use a carpenter's square held against the wheel, and measure the gap between the top lip of the wheel and the vertical, and the bottom lip of the wheel and the vertical, and use the wheel diameter (between the two points) to calculate the angle. It's trigonometry.
In the end, it won't be perfect, but good enough to get you on the road. I did camber plates and used the carpenter's square method targeting -3 degrees. A few months later, I had it professionally aligned and found out that I was at -2.8 and -3.0. Pretty close. I'm now at -2.7 on both sides.
Eccentric bolts don't have a lot of subtlety, and I think you need to yank the wheel to move it(?). It'll probably be much harder to set that with camber plates.
In the end, it won't be perfect, but good enough to get you on the road. I did camber plates and used the carpenter's square method targeting -3 degrees. A few months later, I had it professionally aligned and found out that I was at -2.8 and -3.0. Pretty close. I'm now at -2.7 on both sides.
Eccentric bolts don't have a lot of subtlety, and I think you need to yank the wheel to move it(?). It'll probably be much harder to set that with camber plates.
03-13-2009, 11:57 AM
#7
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I borrowed a neat tool from a soloII friend once for doing toe. It was basically a piece of electrical conduit / pipe with an arm on each end ending in a sharp point. Think of a big bracket " [ " as wide as the car with arms that are long enough to reach the center point of the tire
-Put a piece of tape on the wheel across the front tread where the sharp point touches the tires.
-Poke the sharp point right through the tape so there is no doubt where the point is.
-Remove the tool and roll the car forward so the tape is now on the back of the tire at the same height
-put the tool back and see how far off the pins are from the holes. That distance is what you need to fix.
-adjust toe and don't forget to move the car a bunch to make sure the suspension is settled etc
-wash-rinse-repeat until front and rear measure is the same.
Now that just aims for zero degrees. With some of that fancy math stuff you can figure out any measure you want
-Put a piece of tape on the wheel across the front tread where the sharp point touches the tires.
-Poke the sharp point right through the tape so there is no doubt where the point is.
-Remove the tool and roll the car forward so the tape is now on the back of the tire at the same height
-put the tool back and see how far off the pins are from the holes. That distance is what you need to fix.
-adjust toe and don't forget to move the car a bunch to make sure the suspension is settled etc
-wash-rinse-repeat until front and rear measure is the same.
Now that just aims for zero degrees. With some of that fancy math stuff you can figure out any measure you want
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03-13-2009, 11:59 AM
#8
Rennlist Member
Do a youtube search for the Fastrax in Curt's picture. It looks easy to use.
Curt, how does the wax paper work? I've been thinking about that model, but unsure what to use for turnplates.
Curt, how does the wax paper work? I've been thinking about that model, but unsure what to use for turnplates.
03-13-2009, 12:23 PM
#9
Nordschleife Master
03-13-2009, 12:41 PM
#10
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03-13-2009, 12:50 PM
#12
Nordschleife Master
We used to use wax paper to move cars in and out of the showroom at the dealership I worked at years ago, much easier than removing the tire marks from the floor, makes it very easy to turn the wheels...
03-13-2009, 01:12 PM
#13
Burning Brakes
Yeah, I do all my own alignments... Does this count for DIY???
Attachment 343521
And John, i know its a bit of a hike, but i have done plenty of alignments on this series all the way through the new cars, If you cant find anyone out there i would be more than happy to help you out.
Mark
Attachment 343521
And John, i know its a bit of a hike, but i have done plenty of alignments on this series all the way through the new cars, If you cant find anyone out there i would be more than happy to help you out.
Mark
03-13-2009, 01:26 PM
#14
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I do home alignments all the time, including on the racecar - only trust myself to get it right, these days... I use a bubble-style camber gauge and a set of Longacre toe plates (style with two tape measures). Works great. Level floor sure helps, and repeatibility is where it's at. Practice helps; you get faster with experience.
03-13-2009, 03:12 PM
#15
Drifting
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I've been thinking about getting two sets of the cheap turnplates from Harbor Freight, but even with those, it doesn't fix a problem of an uneven surface.