Alignment Tools???

[jeffandre]

What is the best way to economically align my car? I would like accurate tools without spending too much. I would also like to be able to use them to align my rear axles if practical/possible (that way I can shape the tubes as needed per the discussion on "Axle Flange Alignment" in the old forum within the "Suspension" section). Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks,

Jeff Andre'

[DLinson]

Longacre Racing has some camber/caster gages that I believe are around $300. They have a magnetic type that you would stick onto the hub. You could probably make some adapters to mate to different spindles and flanges. This would get you your camber and caster. To measure caster you should have some turn plates. If you don't want to buy turn plates, you can put a little bit of sand on the ground, then place two pieces of thin plywood on that and then roll your fronts onto the two pieces of plywood. This will reduce the friction between the tires and the ground so it won't create errors.

For toe, just measure with tape measures and try to get it within 1/32" over 26" OD tire.

If you are going to do a bare axle, clamp a couple of 26" long pieces of straight bars to each axle. Make sure they are centered on the axle hub and parallel to the ground.

If you want to measure camber on a car, you can just use a 24" square and a tape measure. With the car on a level surface, place a 24" framing square against the tire with the short leg of the square on the ground. Measure from the long leg to the rim lip at the top and bottom of the rim. The difference between the two is the camber. To convert it to degrees, multiply your measurement by 3.097 for a 17" wheel. So a 1/2" difference is 1.55 degrees.

Or you could just buy some Hunter Alignment equipment if you have about $10k laying around.

You can check out Hunter.com and find a local Hunter Service rep in your area and they may cut you a good price on a refurbished set of turn plates. They may also have some old equipment they may want to get rid of for a good price.

By the way, I'm a Mechanical Engineer for Hunter and I design alignment equipment.

Good luck,
Dennis

[dennis68]

Hey Jeff, your pretty close. You could call me and let me know when you want to come out and we can use my boss' HUNTER alignment equipment (little plug for your company Dennis).

[jeffandre]

Denny,
My car is not street legal at this time but I will call you soon to discuss it anyway. I will probably take it to a frame shop forst to ensure that the frame is straight, then align it. Got any good leads on good frame shops around Benicia, CA (or Vallejo)? Thanks and talk to ya soon,

Jeff

[David Pozzi]

I would either get a good circle track bubble gage or Smartlevel for caster/camber, the rest is tape measure work.

Here are some links:
ALIGNMENT HOW TO
http://www.smartracingproducts.com/pdfs/SmartCamber%20Manual%20Rev7.pdf SMARTLEVEL MANUAL SHOWS CASTER CALC.
http://www.smartracingproducts.com/ProdCat/AlSuTool/alsutools.htm SMART LEVEL AND CHARTS
http://www.nwlink.com/~vdb/vw/Suspension/alignment

http://www.carcraft.com/editorial/mgarcia_article.jsp?viewtype=text&id=24880
http://www.shallowsky.com/alignment.html
http://www.vtr.org/maintain/diy-alignment.html
http://www.carcraft.com/editorial/mgarcia_article.jsp?viewtype=text&id=24880