OK! it's alignment time again!

[speedfreak87]

Well since I live in NJ and the roads SUCK! I had to change out my inner tie rod.. I don't hit pot holes, go figure... anyway.. I need goo specs for street/track.. I ad it set at I believe 1.7 or something like that. it worked great coming into a vorner on the street, but I'm not sure if it was enough, or if it was to much.. I should be getting this done by the end of the week, so I need some info!

[speedfreak87]

anyone?

[speedfreak87]

Since I started a thread in suspension and no one is responding..

 I need an alignment, I need some specs for good street/track handling. or aggressive street to be more specific.. I have/had my camber set at - .7 or .07 somthing like that.. what should I set everything to? 

[Gravel]

Oh s*** I was going to do some checking huh....

Be right back!

[Diablo]

0 toe
-2 camber
about +4 on caster.

[speedfreak87]

LOL! it's ok perret you're a busy man..

[cmccarthy]

I've always aligned my foxes to 93 Cobra specs. It has less toe, so it stops the edge wear on the tires.

[Chris Wilson]

Taken from an MFE post over on the other site. 



1) there's no need to take it to a pro,

2) your street alignment is not going to be right for the track. You're going to want as much negative camber as the car will take, as much caster as it will take at that camber setting, and just about 0 toe, however

3) You didn't mention that you even had c/c plates and if you don't, you're really only concerned with toe, and that's really easy to check at home. You really should have c/c plates though. If you do, you can make and note a street setting, dump the camber all the way in for the track and correct the toe for that setting if necessary, then re-set the plates for the street. Once you get the hang of it you really don’t have to measure it very often. Here’s my home alignment write-up…takes longer to read than it does to do, once you have your hands on the simple tools.

Thanks to qwkcpe for some of the pics.

First, the caster. I have no provision for measuring this, just remember on a Fox body car you can’t get enough so set each plate as far back as it’ll go and forget it. If the car drifts to one side after all is said and done, remove caster from the side it’s pulling toward. Edit: Norm Petersen says "You can make a simple jig from strips of wood or metal to make steering to a specific angle easier and more accurate. I made one for 14.5 degrees (left and right) when I upgraded the homemade camber measurement apparatus to one with a pivot, two magnetic levels, and a dial indicator for easier reading and less math. For 14.5 degrees, caster = 2.0 x (camber difference)." In other words measure the camber with the wheels turned 14.5 degrees left, then 14.5 degrees right, and multiply the difference in measurements by 2 and that's your caster. I drive a fox body and I just set it all the way back. One of these days I'll measure it.

Next, the camber. Easy. You just want to measure how far out of vertical the wheels are. With the car parked on a level floor and with the wheels pointed so they’re straight ahead (regardless of steering wheel position, you can fix that later, just go where you know the car tracks straight ahead), place a construction level against the bottom lip of one front wheel. Hold it so the level indicates perfect vertical (note: if this is not possible on your car, cut a length of wood to the exact lip-to-lip inside diameter, and use it as a standoff for the level), then using a ruler or tape measure, measure the distance from the edge of the level to the top edge of the wheel. 5/16 of an inch is essentially –1.0 degrees. 7/16 is just a hair over –1.5 degrees, my preferred street setting. It gives me hard cornering capability without chewing up the outside edges of the tires, and if you set your toe properly you shouldn’t have to worry about inner edge wear. Some people (weenies, LOL) find this setting a bit aggressive but IMHO under no circumstances should you go less than 5/16. You’ll probably find yourself at the outside edge of c/c plate travel at the –1.0 range but it depends on a lot of things so you won’t know until you try.



Now, onto the Toe setting, always done last because camber has such a dramatic effect on it: You want to measure the difference in distances between reference points halfway up the front of the tires and halfway up the backs of the tires. Unless you drive a swamp buggy you can’t just measure across because the car gets in the way, so you need a “caliper” of some sort to transfer these points down to the ground level for measurement. You could do it with a plumb bob and some chalk and measure inbetween, which I’ve done with success, or you can make a tool. I got a 6 foot rail of that shelving material with the slots cut in it, that you hook thick sheet metal brackets into for putting boards on top of. I don’t know what it’s called, maybe slotted-rail shelving or something. I got one rail and two of the brackets, locked one bracket on the rail so it won’t move at all, and kept the second one as a “slider” that will be used to actually take the measurement. Other people use square tubing and other kinds of bracketry. Get creative.

I set the rail under the car so it runs side to side, align the locked bracket with a specific portion of the tire tread halfway up the back of the tire, then positioned the other end of the rail to take a measurement. Before I measure, I go back and make sure the fixed end of the rail is still in position because it’s easy to move as you position the other end. Then I place the slider bracket so it corresponds with the portion of tread I’m using and make a mark on the rail. Now bring the rail to the front of the tires and make another measurement the same way. The distance between the marks is toe. I pre-marked the rail in 1/16th increments where the slider would go but in any case that’s how you do it. If you use this bracket device you’ll have to be precise about how the “slider” bracket sits on the rail to maintain accuracy. I set mine so it’s 1/16 toed in, meaning the front side measurement is 1/16th of an inch shorter than the measurement of the back side of the tires. Adjusting the toe is easy. You probably don’t even need to raise the car. By holding the outer tie rod end with some vice grips or channel-locks, take a 7/8 wrench and loosen the jamnut. Then use pliers or a 14mm wrench on the tie rod itself to turn it inward or ******d, then hold the assembly still while you tighten the jamnut. A little goes a long way, and if the wheel was crooked now’s your chance to fix it. One full turn of a tie rod should be 1/16th inch of toe change. If you need to toe the wheels in from where they are, start with the wheel opposite where the steering wheel is pointing. In other words if the wheel points to the left, take toe out of the right wheel. If you don’t need to make a toe adjustment but you do need to straighten the wheel, add a little toe to the wheel on the side it points to and take the exact same amount out of the other side until the steering wheel runs straight.

[speedfreak87]

I've always aligned my foxes to 93 Cobra specs. It has less toe, so it stops the edge wear on the tires.

where can I find these specs?

[Andrew97Cobra]

I've always aligned my foxes to 93 Cobra specs. It has less toe, so it stops the edge wear on the tires.

where can I find these specs?

www.svtperformance.com
www.scoa.org

Or you could always talk to your buddy at the repair shop and he should be able to pull the specs from Alldata or his alignment machine if he has one.

[cmccarthy]

The alignment machine has the specs.

[speedfreak87]

The alignment machine has the specs.

so just advise them to align it for a 93 cobra? hmmm.. let me call them..

[speedfreak87]

0 toe
-2 camber
about +4 on caster.

and what specs are these for?

[speedfreak87]

Taken from an MFE post over on the other site.



Next, the camber. Easy. You just want to measure how far out of vertical the wheels are. With the car parked on a level floor and with the wheels pointed so they’re straight ahead (regardless of steering wheel position, you can fix that later, just go where you know the car tracks straight ahead), place a construction level against the bottom lip of one front wheel. Hold it so the level indicates perfect vertical (note: if this is not possible on your car, cut a length of wood to the exact lip-to-lip inside diameter, and use it as a standoff for the level), then using a ruler or tape measure, measure the distance from the edge of the level to the top edge of the wheel. 5/16 of an inch is essentially –1.0 degrees. 7/16 is just a hair over –1.5 degrees, my preferred street setting. It gives me hard cornering capability without chewing up the outside edges of the tires, and if you set your toe properly you shouldn’t have to worry about inner edge wear. Some people (weenies, LOL) find this setting a bit aggressive but IMHO under no circumstances should you go less than 5/16. You’ll probably find yourself at the outside edge of c/c plate travel at the –1.0 range but it depends on a lot of things so you won’t know until you try.

so it should be set at -1.5 degrees?  that s*** is kinda confusing..



and why was this moved?!  I posted in general cause I wasn't getting the answers I needed..... I'm getting my alignment done tomorrow!

[Chris Wilson]

That's right Joe,  Just have them push the struts back as far as they'll go on top, but gettting them both the same on the caster.  the -1.5 is the Camber.  The 93 Cobra specs aren't quite that agressive if I recall correctly.  You may or may not be able to get to those numbers with the adjustment you have.  Just get as close to them as you can and have both sides the same. 

[speedfreak87]

Thanks Chris, I have CC plates so I should be able to do it.. it's just a matter of the mechanic doing it. (I wish I was rich and had my own alignment rack)

[Mr. Black]

Doug hit the nail on the head!!!!


I also have been home aligning for years.

[speedfreak87]

when I have more time, and warmer weather I will try to home align it... but for right now, it's not happening.

[speedfreak87]

ok.. it's done.. but I have a problem. They could only get the camber to .5  How am I going to get more? enlarge the hole on my strut towers? WTF!

[Andrew97Cobra]

ok.. it's done.. but I have a problem. They could only get the camber to .5  How am I going to get more? enlarge the hole on my strut towers? WTF!

.5 or -.5?  It makes a big difference.  With your car being as low as it is, I would have thought that you would already have a ton of negative camber and if they went to .5, they went way too far.

[speedfreak87]

no it's -.5 I have the print out... it's really bothering me..I would assume that I could have gotten at least -1.0 out of it.. now the question is, what can I do to get more camber? with out cut up the hole on the strut tower...