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Author: Subject: Tracking
stevegough

posted on 18/4/11 at 08:35 PM Reply With Quote
Tracking

Well, after a couple of months on the road, finally got round to setting the tracking up a bit better - had it set about 3 / 5 degrees toe in and knew it wasn't quite right - reset it yesterday to about 1 / 2 degrees and the difference is astounding. Before, it was a bit difficult to steer perfectly straight, and now you can take both hands off the wheel and its nice and steady.

However, I'm not too happy with the amount of thread left inside the TREs - about 8 full turns - is there some way to get a bit more length (as the actress said to the bishop!) either on the rack or on the TREs themselves?





Luego Locost C20XE.
Build start: October 6th 2008.
IVA passed Jan 28th 2011.
First drive Feb 10th 2011.
First show: Stoneleigh 1st/2nd May 2011.
'Used up' first engine may 3rd 2011!
Back on the road with 2nd engine may 24th
First PASA mad drive 26/7/11
Sold to Mike in Methyr Tydvil 19/03/14

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Doctor Derek Doctors

posted on 18/4/11 at 08:51 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
Well, after a couple of months on the road, finally got round to setting the tracking up a bit better - had it set about 3 / 5 degrees toe in and knew it wasn't quite right - reset it yesterday to about 1 / 2 degrees and the difference is astounding. Before, it was a bit difficult to steer perfectly straight, and now you can take both hands off the wheel and its nice and steady.

However, I'm not too happy with the amount of thread left inside the TREs - about 8 full turns - is there some way to get a bit more length (as the actress said to the bishop!) either on the rack or on the TREs themselves?


1-2 degrees seems like alot

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adithorp

posted on 18/4/11 at 08:54 PM Reply With Quote
8 threads should be OK, though less than I'd expect. You want 1 1/2 times the diameter of length as a general rule. Which is more than the number of threads in a nut and you don't panic about them stripping threads much.





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stevegough

posted on 18/4/11 at 09:07 PM Reply With Quote
Ok, cheers, what about using a pair of these? rack exts





Luego Locost C20XE.
Build start: October 6th 2008.
IVA passed Jan 28th 2011.
First drive Feb 10th 2011.
First show: Stoneleigh 1st/2nd May 2011.
'Used up' first engine may 3rd 2011!
Back on the road with 2nd engine may 24th
First PASA mad drive 26/7/11
Sold to Mike in Methyr Tydvil 19/03/14

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Chippy

posted on 18/4/11 at 10:29 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
Ok, cheers, what about using a pair of these? rack exts


Don't think they would be of any use, as they are to extend the escort rack to Sierra dimensions, and as you already have thread in the TRE there wouldn't be room. Cheers Ray





To make a car go faster, just add lightness. Colin Chapman - OR - fit a bigger engine. Chippy

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britishtrident

posted on 19/4/11 at 05:31 AM Reply With Quote
8 turns will be fine.
0.5 degree is perhaps still too much toe-in.
If you are using a Trakrite to measure toe then you can adjust with a fair degree of accuracy, the key is getting the toe setting just on the toe-in side of zero aim for as close as possible to 0.125 degrees. 0.25 toe-in is Ok but don't let it toe-out.

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Doctor Derek Doctors

posted on 19/4/11 at 07:03 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
8 turns will be fine.
0.5 degree is perhaps still too much toe-in.
If you are using a Trakrite to measure toe then you can adjust with a fair degree of accuracy, the key is getting the toe setting just on the toe-in side of zero aim for as close as possible to 0.125 degrees. 0.25 toe-in is Ok but don't let it toe-out.


Thats what I was thinking 6-10' per wheel (0.1°ish) Toe In is closer to the mark, 1° is extreme even for race cars.

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stevegough

posted on 19/4/11 at 08:32 AM Reply With Quote
Thanks for all your replies up to now, guys.....
So, the initial setting of 3 to 5 degrees was pretty way off, then? Just to clarify, I have set it now at 1 to 2 degrees, not half a degree. I have no gauging equipment, so all these angles are pretty approximate - as for setting it to fractions of an angle like 0.125 or even 0.25 degrees, I haven't a hope without professional measuring equipment.

Thanks for your reply regarding the extensions, Chippy. I have just read an article in Adam Wilkins' 'Track Days 2010' which shows a very similar problem to mine - they fitted these TRE extensions by cutting the outer end of the TRE off, and then a small amount of the track rod, too.

The main worry I have is, when I unscrewed the fitting on the RHS of the car, after about 2 to 3 turns the TRE starts to kink out of alignment with the rod - I think there may be a bit of a slight taper in the thread in the TRE? May be the answer is to simply get some longer TREs with the same threads?

What I don't want is for the two bits to come adrift at speed - its got me a bit worried.





Luego Locost C20XE.
Build start: October 6th 2008.
IVA passed Jan 28th 2011.
First drive Feb 10th 2011.
First show: Stoneleigh 1st/2nd May 2011.
'Used up' first engine may 3rd 2011!
Back on the road with 2nd engine may 24th
First PASA mad drive 26/7/11
Sold to Mike in Methyr Tydvil 19/03/14

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Doctor Derek Doctors

posted on 19/4/11 at 09:27 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by stevegough
Thanks for all your replies up to now, guys.....
So, the initial setting of 3 to 5 degrees was pretty way off, then? Just to clarify, I have set it now at 1 to 2 degrees, not half a degree. I have no gauging equipment, so all these angles are pretty approximate - as for setting it to fractions of an angle like 0.125 or even 0.25 degrees, I haven't a hope without professional measuring equipment.



I wouldn't call 2 reels of cotton, 2 steel pole/broom handles, 4 cable ties and a ruler professional equipment.

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britishtrident

posted on 19/4/11 at 10:37 AM Reply With Quote
Buy a Gunson Trakrite costs about £50 get the money back in tyre wear





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bartonp

posted on 19/4/11 at 10:43 AM Reply With Quote
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=153195

Get a std laser pointer & make up a bit of wood to hold it parallel to & just away from the wheel face.
Park close to garage wall, perpendicular to wall.
Centralise the steering wheel.
Using laser on both front wheels, measure distance between spots on wall = X2
Back car away from wall approx. a couple of meters = Y.
Measure distance between spots again = X1

Your single wheel toe-in is tan-1((X1-X2)/2Y)).

Cost? £4.99 laser pointer & some 'O' level trig.
Oh- and a garage wall!

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Doctor Derek Doctors

posted on 19/4/11 at 11:59 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by bartonp
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=153195

Get a std laser pointer & make up a bit of wood to hold it parallel to & just away from the wheel face.
Park close to garage wall, perpendicular to wall.
Centralise the steering wheel.
Using laser on both front wheels, measure distance between spots on wall = X2
Back car away from wall approx. a couple of meters = Y.
Measure distance between spots again = X1

Your single wheel toe-in is tan-1((X1-X2)/2Y)).

Cost? £4.99 laser pointer & some 'O' level trig.
Oh- and a garage wall!


Or string it properly..... for £0, with no maths and without the error of trying to park parralell(sic) to a wall.

It really is so simple, especially on a '7'

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onenastyviper

posted on 19/4/11 at 01:05 PM Reply With Quote
Is it worth checking when the car is fully laden to see if you have any strange toe-in/out tendancies?
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