Need alignment specs for 87 944T
 

Finally finished my suspension refresh and have a friend coming over next week to set the alignment but can't find the specs. My car has Koni sport suspension with and stock ride height and is street driven only. Can someone post the specs or point me to where they are online?

TIA,
Michael

Perfect, Thanks

I assume positive toe is toe-OUT. Had to ask Siri for the tangent of .08 degrees as I couldn't get the correct answer on my iPhone calculator. Used Smart Strings setup for the first time and set toe to 0* in the rear and 1/32 toe out in the front. New shocks,bushings, ball joints, rebuilt struts, and tie rod ends should make it drive better. Old suspension was original and tired.

Actually, positive toe is toe-in (which is a bit counterintuitive), negative is toe-out. Unless you are autocrossing a lot, I would reset the front to toe-in at factory specs. The front wheels tend to toe out as the car drives down the road, so static toe-out will result in accelerated wear of the inner edges of the front tires, along with diminished straight-line stability.

Also, when setting toe with strings but using angle specs, the resulting toe angle of 1/32" depends on the diameter of the wheel/tire. You'll need to use a calculator like this:

http://www.ground-control-store.com/toe-out.htm

Well crap. I did calculate the 1/32 using the wheel diameter and what I remember from trigonometry. Just set it to toe out instead of toe in. Thanks for the clarification. I should have asked before I removed the SmartStrings.
Thanks

Well, it sounds like you are a lot better at math than I am! I have always cheated and used a calculator or chart. Here's a link to another calculator:

https://robrobinette.com/ConvertToeInchesToDegrees.htm

The initial mounting of Smart Strings is a bit time consuming, but once you get it set up properly, mark the arms with a Sharpie and label it with the type of car (or use different colors) so that you can quickly adjust it for different cars in the future.

Reset the toe tonight to 1/32" toe in and will drive it to work tomorrow. I hope this does it because I need the garage to get started getting the 914 ready for a Route 66 fun rally in April.

Curious to hear how well a Smart String set up works with the 944 series?
I need an alignment come spring and wouldn't mind learning to DIY technique. I have plans to go through my suspension again at a future date and know i'll have the need for additional alignments down the road. Might eventually add some scales for corner balancing. I've downloaded the Smart Strings user manual, the strings seem doable, how straight forward is it to align a 944 for someone with zero experience aligning vehicles? I would set it up in my garage. I have 4x4 blocking with a top sheet of MDF fastened together from another project so i can get the car up on its tires level and provide some access beneath the car (no lift). Seems I should be able to manage from there. How much room is required / comfortably for working around the car?

Thanks in advance.

Here's my setup.
Attachment 1274072
Attachment 1274073
Attachment 1274071
Attachment 1274074

SS works good on the 944. I had a friend help who is experienced aligning his race and was not that difficult to learn. In addition to SS you need a camber bar which they sell. We did not check the caster as that requires still more tools to measure the wheel turning angle and I didn't mess with the caster adjustment when I worked on the suspension.
I checked the rear alignment and it was within spec so that avoided messing with the rear.
You need to be able to roll the car back and forth a foot or so between adjustments to settle the suspension. I had to remove a tire to adjust the camber which is a PITA but you really should take the weight off the wheel to adjust the camber so you might as well remove the tire for better access. You also need about 30" space on each side of the car for the SS bars and to be in position to reliably measure the distance between the strings and wheel.
I think that covers it but I'm sure others with way more experience will chime in if something is not clear.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...9fd2e1bb73.jpg

I fit under the car to adjust the toe-in on using homebuilt ramps
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...faf57fb3ea.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...0d5fb147c5.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...fd30f7abb4.jpg

Rear alignment on a 944 (or a 911 of the same period) is kind of a pain in the ass to be honest, plus you need the eccentric tool to adjust rear toe on the 944. And the rear toe setting affects camber and vice versa, so it is a balancing act. But front camber and toe are much more straightforward!

The Smart Strings are only good for toe, but are very precise if set up properly. As I said in my previous post, be sure to mark the bars for each type of car to make setup faster for subsequent use. You will need to get a separate gauge for measuring camber and caster, but there are several choices there (we used to use the Smart Camber gauge in conjunction with the Smart Strings at my shop before we got a full computerized alignment rack).

Thanks for the follow up and photos.
I like your solution for ramps better than using the platforms i built for another project.
I think i'll give an alignment a try this spring, will report back.

What's with the ride height for USA cars? I understand they are higher? Is it simple to make them "European Height"?

Not sure the correct ride height. Mine was 6.3" in the front and 6.4" in the rear measured at the rocker seam with sway bars disconnected, 1/2 tank fuel and 150 lb person in the driver's seat. Spec sheet just says front and back should be the same.