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Author: Subject: Camber, toe & castor for track
MK9R

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:09 AM Reply With Quote
Camber, toe & castor for track

Whats camber, toe and castor should i be running for aggresive track work. Not bothered if its an evil bitch on the road, i just need to sharpen up the turn in and help get rid of the understeer.

also whats the best way of doing this in my garage with no equipment





Cheers Austen

RGB car number 9
www.austengreenway.co.uk
www.automatedtechnologygroup.co.uk
www.trackace.co.uk

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MK9R

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:25 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by PAUL FISHER
I think if your serious about racing in the RGB,you need to get your car set up by someone who knows what they are doing,Matt at procomp must be close to you.


Yes he is (about 5 miles from work) and you are right. But i wanted to have a fettle for the rest of this year at trackdays, as probably going to strip the car down over the winter anyway. I need to uprate the springs sometime in the future as well sowill obviusly be stripping all the suspension down.

What are his prices like??





Cheers Austen

RGB car number 9
www.austengreenway.co.uk
www.automatedtechnologygroup.co.uk
www.trackace.co.uk

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BenB

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:26 AM Reply With Quote
To adjust the camber you can use an inclinometer. You can get them off ebay cheaply. Put a straight metal bar across the chassis rails in the engine bay and zero the inclinometer. Then based upon that virtual zero you can put a metal bar vertically over the wheel and read the inclinometer reading. Adjust. Job done.

For toe-in you need some tools. But you can make one quite simply as long as you can weld.... Basically you make an oversize adjustable caliper (few bits of box and some bolts and that's it).... You adjust the calipers to measure the distance between the rear of the front tyres, then move the calipers to the front of the tyres and measure the gap between the tyres and the caliper (still on the old setting). If you take measurements from the rim and not the flexible tyre you can be suprisingly accurate.

Let me know if you want a photo of the oversize caliper thingy. It's quite simple and really quite clever....

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PAUL FISHER

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:32 AM Reply With Quote
I think if your serious about racing in the RGB,you need to get your car set up by someone who knows what they are doing,Matt at procomp must be close to you.

Sorry just tried to edit my post and it disappeared

To add you will then have a good idea what a well set up car feels like,allowing you to then just make small adjustments,to suit your own driving style,or wet and dry track conditions etc,from the base setting you will then know quickly if you have made it better or worse.

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MK9R

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:34 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by PAUL FISHER
I think if your serious about racing in the RGB,you need to get your car set up by someone who knows what they are doing,Matt at procomp must be close to you.

Sorry just tried to edit my post and it disappeared

To add you will then have a good idea what a well set up car feels like,allowing you to then just make small adjustments,to suit your own driving style,or wet and dry track conditions etc,from the base setting you will then know quickly if you have made it better or worse.


Point taken paul, i am popping down there in the next week or so to et them have a look over my car any way and give me some pointers (would have done it earlier, but was waiting to move work place- which i did on friday)





Cheers Austen

RGB car number 9
www.austengreenway.co.uk
www.automatedtechnologygroup.co.uk
www.trackace.co.uk

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MK9R

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:35 AM Reply With Quote
Shame its not an elise as i know what an well set up one of those feels like, my last elise was setup by pheonix motorsport in Blackburn, and it was simply amazing. They will do work for free or next to nothing for me, but they are just so far away from me!!!





Cheers Austen

RGB car number 9
www.austengreenway.co.uk
www.automatedtechnologygroup.co.uk
www.trackace.co.uk

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britishtrident

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:38 AM Reply With Quote
No one size fits all depends a lot on spring rate, roll stiffness and driver style.

Corner weight is the most import single adjustment for track work, followed by bump steer, after that camber for track use you will probably need more negative camber but to get that right you need to measure tyre temperatures accross the tread of the tyre.

If the toe is correct for normal road use it is correct for the track.

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PAUL FISHER

posted on 27/7/08 at 10:51 AM Reply With Quote
I think if he so close to you it makes good sense to use him,even if its initially for a bit of advice.
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hobbsy

posted on 17/8/08 at 11:16 PM Reply With Quote
I want to get my suspension setup checked over.

Allegedly the previous owner had it setup for track / race use as he used it in the Northern Sports and Saloons championship with some success.

And he was around the same weight as me (approx) so I assume this would be a good starting point as I'm not going racing just fast road blasts and a few track days a year.

I softened the dampers (Spax) by 3 clicks all around as I found it far too bouncy on bumpy B-roads around here.

When I had another look at it today I noticed it seems to be running an awful lot of negative camber on the rear.

I did take a infra-red thermometer to my last track day though and from the quick few checks I did it looked like they were roughly the same temp across the width at the rear.

I'm only really playing and to be honest I'm still learning to drive the thing properly.

That said when I haven't driven it for a while it always seems quite nervous especially at speed over bumpy roads, needs constant small corrections and the front end seems quite light - especially 2 up (more weight rearward I guess).

Although I haven't driven that many seven type cars to compare - only really Fury's and a Phoenix (I can't fit in my mates XE engined Westy )

I was considering shelling out for a full proper setup but the nearest place to me (Northampton Motorsport) are quite expensive (and we have a bit of erm.. history shall I say).

I'd like to get it done by someone with direct experience of what works on Fury's (real shame The KCW closed down - ideal for me).

I've not heard of Procomp - where are they based? Any contact details?

Also would someone at the forthcoming 750MC races (inc RGB) at Silverstone be able to give it a setup there and then? Like Andy Bates (who I've met a few times) or similar?

---

Alternatively, thinking about what BenB said above I'm not against buying some cheap kit and checking the figures myself. I understand the toe in / out caliper thing (in fact I think I already have one somewhere from one of my last kit cars) but can you explain the inclinometer technique?

What exactly are you measuring and if you're zeroing it then making adjustments how do you know the absolute values - its probably obvious but its late ish and my brain isn't working properly!

Apologies for the essay!

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procomp

posted on 18/8/08 at 07:44 AM Reply With Quote
Hi

Given that the prices have been asked for above. I will give you an idea.

( Hope this dose not get classed as advertising and break the rules )

For a full basic setup inc: All ride heights cambers Castor tracking and thrust alignment all dampers dynoed and balanced and springs checked for poundage corner weighting. Tea / coffee and lunch. Price is £200. Time taken is usually around 7hrs. Located just of J6 M6 Spagettie junction.

Cheers Matt






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procomp

posted on 18/8/08 at 07:45 AM Reply With Quote
Hi Austen i will u2u you with some info regarding a starting point.

Cheers Matt






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hobbsy

posted on 18/8/08 at 11:08 AM Reply With Quote
Matt,

Cheers for that reply, you have U2U and I might give you a call later on.

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motorcycle_mayhem

posted on 18/8/08 at 01:59 PM Reply With Quote
You can do wonders with a spirit level, string, ruler and a flat garage floor. Bathroom scales for corner weighting, bridge two per wheel if you ever have a senior moment and fit a car engine.
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TimC

posted on 18/8/08 at 02:38 PM Reply With Quote
When you say lunch, is that just sandwiches or sausage rolls/Greggs pasties as well?








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procomp

posted on 18/8/08 at 02:53 PM Reply With Quote
Hi All dependant on weather i am on my LOW cholesterol diet or not. Although i am now down to a 3.8 so sod it bacon butties it is.

Cheers Matt






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