Caster/Camber gauge DIY alignment--Anyone familiar with these?
 

I'm looking for a caster/camber gauge for use on a944/951. Of course, I've seen the Longacre but the magnetic adaptor is too large for use with the stock phone dial wheels. I've also seen the dunlop adaptor but that requires holding so I don't think the accuracy will be so great and for caster you can't just leave it on as you turn the wheels. Anyone using this item and if so, how do you adapt it to the phone dials? Any advice would be appreciated including what you like or dislike about the gauge you're using.

Also, I've recently come across the Fastrax Pole position gauge which says it can be done on an unlevel surface. Is anyone familiar with this gauge? Does it really work on unlevel surfaces? And how does it compensate for this?

Thanks so much in advance--I've really been trying to find out info on these items for months and nobody seems to know anything--even the folks who sell or make them! (I've searched the boards here and haven't found anything that really answers my questions either.)

I found this toe gauge for an unbelievable price--I'm going to try it out and I'll post my results if it works acceptably:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30167

It looks a little sketchy but it's all that's really needed for this measurement is a pretty simple gauge.

Our cars are usually way to low to use something like the HF tool

check out smart strings

I use the Longacre and I love it. You can use a square 4" steel plate (like an eyebolt backing plate for your saftey harness) to give you a large enough surface to attach the magnet to. Simply put it up against the wheel.

I woudl be very wary about trying to align on unlevel ground - even if the device compensates for the ground by measuring to the body it cannto compensate for spring compression or rebound.

About Smart strings - you can use two pieces of conduit, 4 jackstands, and some fishing line. Cut two grovves in the conduit EXACTLY the same distance apart on each pole. Make the grooves about 6 wider than the width of the car at the widest spot (above the rear wheels for example. Use the conduits and fishing line to make a box by making sure the distances from the lien to the sheel hub are identical on the 2 front wheels and on the two rear wheels. Now you have a perfect box. Works really well and is very accurate as long as you are careful. You can do caster too!

Most important - level ground, and drivers weight in the drivers seat (unless you are doing ralleye...)

timo

A shop which had the Longacre locally offered to machine the magnetic adaptor so it would fit inside the wheel center cap opening. It basically would fit exactly where the Porsche crested center cap sits. Oh course, I realize that the magnet won't hold to the aluminum wheel but I figure with a small amount of tape around the adaptor, the gauge will stay put. Not sure how important it is that the gauge stay on the wheel for caster? So you just hold it against the wheel with the plate, Timo? Is it accurate that way or is it best left on the wheel? What do you guys think of machining the adaptor? This should work fine, I guess. Stupid Longacre, making the damn thing oh-so-slightly-too-big to fit our wheels!

Also, I'd love to hear from someone who's used the Fastrax. I realize that in a perfect world, all of our garages and backyards would be perfectly level, but I would love to be able to compensate for this since the area I have to work on my car is not perfect. It's not a steep hill or anything but it ain't flat either.

I really can't see how the gauge can compensate for this though. Anybody got one? I guess I'll call Racer Parts Wholesale tomorrow and see what they say about it, but it's always good to hear from people actually using the stuff versus the people trying to sell it!

I use a Smartcamber device, which seems to work well. I have a friend that has the Longacre magnetic thingie, that I used at the track one time when I forgot the Smartcamber. I made the magnetic part work, by putting one of the hubcaps on the Phone Dial. There is steel in the clips on the hubcap, which makes the magnet stick to the center of the wheel. Just make sure the hubcap is straight.

Nothing is perfect, and I usually get a professional allignment at the first of the year, because I feel their machine helps me allign the wheels with the chasis, which the Smartcamber nor the Longacre will not. I use the Smartcamber to make small adjustments.

Bill Seifert

1987 944S Race Car

You can hold any of the above in place with a bungee cord. Just make it the right length to go from a spoke hole up and across the top of the device and down to a spoke hole.

i bought a digital level (same one as used in the smart camber tool) for $50 and made an adaptor from an old level to fit the rims I use.

I have the Longacre type and machined an aluminum mount to fit inside the wheel. I hold it in place to get a reading, place it on the floor, make adjustments and hold it up again. I have found no reason to have it stay on the wheel.

I believe it's a good idea. The machining of the seat for the hubcaps seems to be pretty straight, at least on the cookies and Fuchs that I use. I like Bill's idea of inserting the hub cap, but that woudl only work on the phone dials. The cookies and fuchs have a rounded hub (I think).

Anyway - i just put it on the ground - just make sure not to drop it and break the vials.

Bill - you going to Daytona?

Claus, (or anybody),

Do you know the max that the caster can be set with stock '86 951 (updated caster blocks)? Just wondering because I measured mine at around +5 and didn't know if that was possible or if my measuring wasn't accurate--this was with standard level and rulers, no actual caster/camber gauge, so I'm sure there was some error.

Also, where is the caster at max--where is the caster adjuster positioned? Straight down, I think?


Also, anybody, anyone, any thing use the Fastrax gauge? There must be someone with this thing. I've got to buy one of these gauges soon and can't decide whether to go with the Longacre and have to deal with the machining and getting it to fit or if the Fastrax would be easier and cheaper.

cheers

Actually, I guess it would be pointed horizontally towards the outside of the car? N'est-ce pas?

I have a camber plate at the top for adjustment so I don't the factory limit but I would guess minus 1-1/2 degrees. The tire inboard at the top is negative camber and you only adjust toward the negative side.

Maximum caster, I think, is 2 to 2-3/4 max. That is with the tab on the A-arm rear mount turned toward the center of the car.

So, it's been a few years since someone poked around for feedback on the Fastrax alignment gauge...

Here's a video of of it:



It's under $200 and does both camber and caster. Anyone used one? Recommend it? Hate it?

I'm looking at about 3+ alignments this year (on multiple cars), so figure it might be worth it to spend a few hundred $$ and do it myself.

I've used one of these for 15 years, on everything in the race fleet:

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/p..._Camber_Gauges

Does caster & camber. Accurate / repeatable within 1/8th degree (which is more than you'll ever need on any chassis). With a $1 piece of aluminum angle stock and a drill, you can make an "adapter" for this to work on any size wheel.

Setting toe ? Either buy a set of Longacre toe plates, or make two plates and buy two tape measures.

Is all the fancy tooling really required? What's wrong with a bubble level and ruler for camber, and a tape measure for toe?

Nothing's wrong with the simple tools... It's all a matter of convenience. My time is a limiting factor rather than my skill. In a perfect world, I'd get a full rack and the latest Hunter computerized machine - but my pocket book is also a limiting factor.

So I'm looking for a balance - some tools that will make a 4 wheel alignment a relatively inexpensive affair, but one that won't require me to set up strings and plumb bobs, and use trigonometry.