RichieC
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| posted on 22/3/06 at 12:51 PM |
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DIY setting of suspension
Hi all,
has anyone got any suggestions for initial setup (to be subsequently set by a garage) of castor/camber etc?
I was thinking digital protractor or inclinometer but are there any other methods (without stretching to a full setup).
Thanks in advance
Rich
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Howlor
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| posted on 22/3/06 at 01:25 PM |
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I have built myself a full setup for about £20. It is capable of doing camber and tracking on all 4 wheels. I will take some pics of it and post a
more detailed explanation for you.
Steve
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Howlor
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| posted on 22/3/06 at 01:34 PM |
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It consists of one of these:-
Laser Angle
2 lengths of aluminium angle 40x40x5 x 1.5M
And a mirror bonded to a piece of angle so it an easily be removed for safety.
For the camber gauge I used one of these:-
Angle
finder
I checked all the kit out at work first for accuracy and it was spot on. Or certainly good enough for what we need.
I will post pics of my setup later in the week but I have set up a couple of cars with it now and one of them was then subsequently checked at the
garage. The setup was spot on so it must work ok and it is easy to do!
Steve
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Guinness
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| posted on 22/3/06 at 04:55 PM |
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Richie, hope you don't mind, but I've put a bid in on those items.
I have a track day on Monday and the car is still in it's SVA mode (toe oooouttt). Need to get wheels tracked on Sunday, then want to adjust at
the track on Monday.
Steve
Looking forward to seeing the photos!
Cheers
Mike
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RichieC
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| posted on 23/3/06 at 10:43 AM |
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Hi Steve and Mike,
No problems, thanks very much for the advice. I wont be doing this until May so Ill get the bits sorted out before that.
Thanks for any more info Steve,
Kind Rgds
Rich
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JB
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| posted on 23/3/06 at 07:50 PM |
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Car Setup
This is how i did it.
Find the centre line of the chassis.
Centre the steering rack so the ends of rack are equal distance from the centre line.
get the car sitting on 4 level squares / patchs under the tyres.
Put 2 parrellel lines down each side of the car an equal distance from the centre line. This can be as simple as axle stands with fishing line and
washers or nuts tied on each end to weight it.
Now measuring toe is dead easy. Ensuring each wheel is the same distance from the centre line is easy.
For camber / castor a spirit level will do, or a piece of sheet graduated and a plumb bob hanging off it.
This is the basic technique the skill comes in ensuringthat your methods are accrate and most importantly repeatable. I always like to try measuring
things 3 times to see how repeatable my methods are.
I set my suspension up in a similar way then had it checked / done at a laser alignment (Thistlwaite tyres for Retro Cars) and it was pretty close.
John
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Bob C
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| posted on 23/3/06 at 11:08 PM |
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My car isn't mobile yet, but I've done an initial alignment using spirit levels and a laser (built into the spirit level)
First I got the chassis level on trestles with the wheels all on full droop.
I set all 4 wheels to zero camber on full droop (IRS) so they will all have a little negative camber at ride height. did this using spirit level on
hub flange.
I set rear toe to zero using the laser pointing at a predetermined spot on the front brake calipers.
I set front toe to zero by doing the same pointing backwards. (you can try to dial out bump steer by taking the front springs off & pointing the
laser at something 40ft away at this stage if you want - mess with shims under the rack).
And that's my 'baseline' alignment - I may decide to tweak away from this but I'll count turns on the adjustments to keep it
symmetrical and documented. I must say that the adjustments above are all satisfyingly easy and 'idiot proof'!
Zero toe is probably more acceptable for me than most 'cos the mx5 steering geometry has zero scrub radius (cf nearly 40mm for cortina)
The rear geometry has about 18mm of scrub radius so motoring thrust should pull it towards a smidgin of toe-in.
I like the "zero camber on full droop" baseline because it is SO easy to setup and should end up as a reasonable setting at ride
height.
Cheers
Bob
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MikeP
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| posted on 24/3/06 at 04:14 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by RichieC
(to be subsequently set by a garage)
If you're going to take it to a reasonably close garage, low speeds, you can get close enough just eyeballing it. Camber is easy to see to find
0 degrees, which will be fine. Toe is a little trickier to see, but you can judge it by matching the wheel angle to the straight sides of the car if
you stand back a bit and look straight on. Zero toe in should be good enough to get you there, or give both tie rods a bit of turn in from 0 if
you're worried. Castor won't matter too much, but you can see it too with the wheel off.
The angle finders Howler mentioned are a handy way to check castor and camber before the trip to the garage. I wouldn't trust it for final
setup as they're not all that precise nor accurate. At least check it by turning it over and making sure the measurements match. Same with
laser pointers - the cheap ones often aren't set in their mounts straight - you can check by flipping them over.
I'd save the trickier stuff suggested untill I got it back home. Then I could both check my methods (my measurements should agree with the
garage setup) and record a baseline in case I wanted to fiddle with the settings to tune them.
The vehicle should be level for this work, a couple of flat boards under the tires might be needed.
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02GF74
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| posted on 24/3/06 at 08:29 AM |
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for toe in, I have a piece of wood with two bent bits of wire screwed on to the end.
When the ends of the wires touch the rims half way up at the front, it is placed on same place at the back and rods adjusted to give about 2-3 mm gap
each side at the back.
The lack of body allows this method to be used.
Camber done by eye - the lower part is out slightly - use a wieghted string and/or a sprit level.
[Edited on 24/3/06 by 02GF74]
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RichieC
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| posted on 16/4/06 at 09:33 AM |
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Id be interested for any more info about how you went about it Howlor as Ill be doing this in the next couple of weeks with luck.
Thanks and Rgds
Rich
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