ENGINEERMAN

Hi everyone:

I recently updated the suspension to coil overs, Wrightwood Racing Adjustable Camber Plates, M030 Sway bars, etc. etc on my 944 Turbo and had to have an alignment done. Below are the settings that they set the car up to.

Also, I have two sets of wheels and rims, one street set and one R compund set for the track and so I have two sets of specs that they set up for depending on the situation; street or track. Basically the differenc only involves changes to the front settings since they are easy to adjust with the camber plates. I also had the ride hight set and the car corner balanced with me in it (180 lbs & 1/4 tank of gas).

I am looking for feedback from ya'll as to how you like these settings for both the street and the track.

Here they are:

FD = 829 lbs FP = 798 lbs
RD = 799 lbs RP = 771 lbs

Total Weight = 3197 lbs

STREET SETTINGS:

FD (Left) FP (Right)
Camber -0.85° -0.87°
Caster 4.08° 3.56°
Toe 0.02° 0.00°
SAI 14.01° 15.87°
Included Angle 13.16° 15.01°

Cross Camber 0.02°
Cross Caster 0.52°
Cross SAI -1.87°
Total Toe 0.02°

RD (Left) RP (Right)
Camber -2.02° -2.00°
Toe 0.08° 0.09°

Cross Camber 0.02°
Total Toe 0.17°
Thrust Angle 0.00°

TRACK SETTINGS:

Note: When adjusting the Camber Plate to increase the camber for the track I also adjust each tie-rod end to maintain the proper toe-in setting about 1 1/3 turn clockwise (when looking from the center of the car out towards the wheel) since as you increase the camber it tends to toe out the car and it requires this adjustment to keep the toe where it needs to be! Then obviouisly when I go back to the street settings I reverse that.

FD (Left) FP (Right)
Camber -2.81° -2.68°
Caster 4.08° 3.56°
Toe 0.01° -0.01°
SAI 15.97° 17.69°
Included Angle 13.16° 15.01°

Cross Camber -0.13°
Cross Caster 0.52°
Cross SAI -1.72°
Total Toe 0.02°

RD (Left) RP (Right)
Camber -2.05° -1.96°
Toe 0.10° 0.09°

Cross Camber 0.09°
Total Toe 0.19°
Thrust Angle 0.01°

There you go. I have not pushed the car too hard at the street settings (but it feels like it's on rails) and have not yet had an opportunity to test the track settings so I can't comment as to whether these are the best possible settings however I trust the guys who did the alignment since they do a lot of Porsche race cars and are recognized as being very competent in the Twin Cities. Please give me your comments

Thanks!

Tom

gt37vgt

my car is only mild but I stuggle with 2degrees camber on the back it would wheel spin in third i find 1 degree a good comprimse . I don't have R rubber and run a modest 450lb or 300 wheel rate rear spring .

944CS

Why toe in at all? Also, what bushings are you using in the rear?

jerome951

Tom, the only tweek I might recommend (and this would vary depending on springs and sway bars), is a little more neg camber in the rear for your track settings. I've found that 0.5 degrees less in the rear leads to good balance. You may have a touch of oversteer w/ your current numbers, but try it and see how it does.

If you don't already have one, buy or borrow a tire pyrometer (not the IR type). Use tire temps to determine where your alignment should be. My guess is you don't have quite enough neg camber in both the front and rear, but then again we don't know your spring rates, car weight, or tire type.

stv951

I also notice 0 toe in is that reasonable ?

RKD in OKC

My setup is -2° F and -1.5 R camber. Slight toe in, same front and rear.

944CS

zero toe is ideal for the front axle

stv951

whats the pros and cons of 0 toe against "slight" toe in, if all the rest (camber, tires/pressures etc) remains the same ?

RKD in OKC

0 toe in will trammel or follow the cracks and bumps in the road more, and have a less of a tendency to center the front wheels when you let go of the steering wheel in a turn. In the rear slight toe-in will help the rear follow the front instead of pushing the front around. If you are accelerating hard and the car kind of steers from left to right, then the rear toe needs to be brought in.