Do-it-Yourself Alignment

[David Pozzi]

Thanks, but holy crap that's some expensive stuff! I don't like that the purple camber/caster gauge only goes to +8 degrees of caster. My BMW has something like +9 or more stock, so I guess I'd need the digital gauge.

Still, $600 for the turntables. Wow.

Also, how do the caster/camber gauges attach to the wheels? I know it was mentioned that the dust cover comes off and it screws onto the spindle, but does it come with different adapters for different size threads? I see there's an adapter for "wide 5" wheels, but what the hell are those?

Matt

You can get by without turntables, but they do make the job easier.

To read more camber you can cheat the gage by setting zero at -1˚ or even up to -8˚ you just have to remember to add the extra degrees when you read it.



There are other gages that just press up against the rim. Look here for a digital one, you have to look up the caster reading in a chart: http://www.smartracingproducts.com/alignment.htm


Wide 5 wheels are like Mobile Home wheels, or Volkswagen bug wheels. The pattern is wide and the brake drum is also the hub, so the pattern is very wide and the rim has tabs that have the bolt holes in them.
David

[Norm Peterson]

Thanks Norm, I'm going to take a look up at the local HF for that angle finder.

I should also mention that I attached a short length of steel angle to it so I could span the full diameter of the wheel. And the steel angle lets you mount a small magnetic bubble level to help you keep the whole business close to vertical in side view.


Norm

[David Pozzi]

I just saw a new Summit Rebco alignment gage, it now goes to +12 degrees caster! What they did was move the zero point from the center towards the - caster side.
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

[Marcus SC&C]

Sorry I`m late to the party guys! Doing your own alignment isn`t black magic or anything. Just 2 angles and a toe measurment. You can improvise with all sorts of stuff and get a pretty good alignment as long as you know what you`re doing and take your time. We`ve got a complete Hunter setup in our shop and honestly we don`t use it very often except to check the calibration of our portable units if we drop them. Our most used units are a Speedway magnetic caster/camber gauge Like the Deco in the pic someone posted. This on is great for cars with wheels that expose an iron or steel hub with a flat on it. Most modern aluminum wheels don`t so it only works on some cars. The other unit we use (most of the time) is an SPC Fastrax caster/camber gauge. It mounts to the lip of the wheel,either the inside (std.) or outside with adapters. It used soft silicon sleeves to prevent wheel damage and machined aluminum shoulders to register on the face of the lip for accuracy. The unit us super lightweight so it doesn`t take much tension to hold it in place securely. It measures camber to +/- 4* and caster to -4*/+12*. Toe adapters are optional. They`re basically fold out arms that will hold the "dumb end" of the tape measure in a consistent location while you read the "smart end". If you have a buddy to help you for a minute you can do without them.

A few tips for folks setting alignment with SPC adj. upper arms. These things can save a lot of time! With shims each time you change one to adj. caster it alters both caster and camber. With the SPC arms generally speaking turning both sleeves the same number or turns in the same direction changes camber without changing caster. Turning them in opposite directions the same number of turns changes caster without changing camber. So you set your camber,then check your caster. Turn the wheels straight again while you adj. the caster and make sure camber stays the same. Check caster again. Adj. more if necessary. Once the caster is set,lock the adj. down because your camber hasn`t changed and that side is done! Do the other side the same way,set the toe. Double check that all the jam nuts and fasteners are tight and you`re finished.
Tricks for turntables and measuring that 15* or 20* on gauges that require it. 2 plates of sheetmetal with grease between them for excellent. You can also use pieces of linoleum or if your concrete is fairly smooth a folded trashbag or the bags the SPC arms come in. If your garage floor or driveway isn`t level you can also use stacks of newspaper,steel or linoleum to level the car up. It doesn`t matter if the floor is level it only matters if the car is. Some gauges can be adjusted for a non level floor but then the gauge won`t be accurate anywhere else like at an auto cross or at a buddys house. BTW don`t underestimate how much free beer and pizza you can earn by doing alignments for your friends!
All the gauges that make you turn the wheels in and out to measure caster have cuts on the end at that angle but it can be a little hard to judge. Drop a plumb bob from the lower body edge (the welded raised seam) along the rockers to the floor and mark it with chalk front and rear,they should be the same distance from the centerline of the car and parallel unless your car`s really funky. Measure out from those marks to roughly the distance the end of the alignment tool sticks out. Now snap a chalk line or make one with a long straight edge. It almost takes longer to explain it than to do it. When setting caster look straight down and align the angled facets on the unit with that line and you`ll be right on.
Mark SC&C

[Tony_SS]

Alot of good info here... Maybe we could sticky it?

[pitts64]

I agree, this would make a good sticky.