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I took the free option for now, and I think I've got it sorted.
I moved the GT3 LCAs to the opposite sides so I could use the offset hole (now forward) in the bushing, and I swapped shims around so I have 14 mm (2 @ 7mm shims in either side). I can easily remove more shims if I need to (without removing the control arm).
Using my agricultural caster measuring method, I think that took out around three degrees of caster.
Visually the wheel is more centered and looks like compression will tuck the tire under the fender. Some road testing will tell me more.
Oh, of course, the toe is all out of whack now, major toe out... I'll probably do a temp home adjustment and get an alignment asap. I made sure to dose the lock nuts and tie rod ends with pb blaster to get a head start. Calling for an appointment now...
Hopefully this sorts me out. Thanks for all the help and advice!
and what's with the different shims on either side of the car? set up for a nascar oval?
Yeah, wierd.
They both raced PCA and their home track was Lime Rock.
It had two 7mm and one 3 mm shims on the passenger side, and three 7mm shims on the driver side. Probably done for reasons above my pay grade and skill level. Maybe the top adjustment didn't result in equal amounts of camber, so they compensated at the LCA? Who knows. Now they are both 14mm...
excellent. depending on how things work out, you can shim each side out a bit more, pull your caster closer to 8 degrees (although 7.6 appears to be in spec) get some more camber, widen the track and hopefully avoid any rubbing. but hey, you got a fender roller!
Caster looks a lot better, the tire is further back, lots more clearance to the front, the wheel will tuck inside the fender when articulated, it didn't rub at all at full lock, and so far, no rubbing while driving.
But, as expected, the toe out is massive so handling is horrendous, ABS and PSM failure lights, wanders, darts a little, oh boy. I was able to get an appointment to get it aligned next week. I'll just trailer it there to avoid any drama. I will assume I can reset the ABS and PSM errors once the toe is fixed and the wheel is straight ahead again.
Caster looks a lot better, the tire is further back, lots more clearance to the front, the wheel will tuck inside the fender when articulated, it didn't rub at all at full lock, and so far, no rubbing while driving.
But, as expected, the toe out is massive so handling is horrendous, ABS and PSM failure lights, wanders, darts a little, oh boy. I was able to get an appointment to get it aligned next week. I'll just trailer it there to avoid any drama. I will assume I can reset the ABS and PSM errors once the toe is fixed and the wheel is straight ahead again.
Have you done the front radiator bracket mod? That's also gives you 3/4 inch more room in the front.
I haven't done the "front radiator bracket mod" - where can I learn more about it?
John has a good write up on it. I do this and roll fenders on almost all customer cars. Allows to run larger and more aggressive wheel and tire setups. Along with this you can also slot the mounting holes and shim the upper inner and get even more room. I run 255/35/19 for my street tires and 275/35/18 on track. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...big-tires.html
Since you have the tools, and you've adjusted stuff before, I'd suggest you trust yourself, and forget the alignment shop...
I did the same thing when I first started playing on the track, then I figured out how just doing it enabled me to start really
having fun.. Rather than being ticked when the handling wasn't right and the whole track day sucked cause it
wouldn't turn in or stop or whatever...
Your not chasing the European touring crown,, so have fun with it,,, make small changes, keep track of them,
use a log book to track the car, the track, the weather. I've worked on a lot of track cars,, and I've never found
2 that liked exactly the same things,, and when you throw in track differences, driving style, etc,, it's whatever
works at the moment.
One car I crewed for for several years had drastically different needs between Portland and Thunder hill,
almost measured alignment changes in inches.. LOL
Thanks for the encouragement. I may just do what you suggest. It always feels better when I do things with my own hands rather than farming it out. Its been a long time since I had the toe plates and measuring tapes out, but I don't have anything to lose. I'll have to refresh my memory, but what the heck...
So, I came up with a different idea about how to adjust my toe settings.
Rather than mess around with the toe plates, I did the following: put the car on my four post lift, locked the steering wheel in the center position, placed two layers of 1/8" UHMW poly under the front tires (as makeshift slip plates), marked the centerline of the car with a paint pen, set up a laser line down the center of the car on these marks, then adjusted both sides of the car until I had a slight toe in as measured from the rim to the centerline laser (slightly closer in front).
I figured this aligned everything relative to the centerline of the car, with an even and very slight toe in. Who knows, maybe I've finally lost it...
I'll test drive in the morning and go from there.
It is easy enough to readjust if I don't like this setup after all. It only took about 15 minutes once I had the car up on the lift.
Great minds think alike...or fools seldom differ....not sure....I'm on a similar quest to break free of the dependance on outside shop alignment machines and do it myself. I like your idea of the laser centreline to the rim. Even better might be the toe plates in combination as it gives a larger range (for lack of a better description). How did you determine your centreline?
Caster looks a lot better, the tire is further back, lots more clearance to the front, the wheel will tuck inside the fender when articulated, it didn't rub at all at full lock, and so far, no rubbing while driving.
But, as expected, the toe out is massive so handling is horrendous, ABS and PSM failure lights, wanders, darts a little, oh boy. I was able to get an appointment to get it aligned next week. I'll just trailer it there to avoid any drama. I will assume I can reset the ABS and PSM errors once the toe is fixed and the wheel is straight ahead again.
Jeez, go out of town for a day and the thread takes off! So glad to hear you got to the bottom of the issue. Thanks for sharing!
05-17-2019, 03:42 PM
