Matt21
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 05:45 PM |
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Setting up geometry - DIY
Currently my cars in bits, again, having the suspension overhauled and a few bits powder coated.
I did similar last year then took it somewhere to have the geometry set up, which will get expensive if I have to keep doing this...
My thoughts are, how easy is it to do yourself?
I have an average garage... I doubt the floor is totally flat and level, but it cant be too far out I dont think (?!)
Is there a simple way to get a nice flat and level surface to work off?
ie, build a slightly raised floor out of timber? or is your average garage floor 'good enough'?
what methods do people use for setting the camber and toe?
is it possible to corner weight without an expensive set of corner weighting scales? (i dont think most bathroom scales go high enough and tend to
'lock' at the max weight then turn off)
Is it worth the hassle or should I just keep paying someone else?
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SteveWallace
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 06:14 PM |
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The important thing is that the car is level, so I just spent a bit of time putting thin wood shims under the wheels until it was level as measured
using a spirit level.
To get camber, I fastened a plumb line to the spirit level as a straight edge and held it vertically against the wheels (using a couple of small
blocks of wood as spacers taped to the spirit level so that I could put it against the wheels themselves, rather than the tyres). A simple bit of
trigonometry based on the length of the plumb and the distance that it hung out of line from the spirit level allowed me to calculate camber.
For toe in, I securely strapped a laser pen to a bit of wood cut to the diameter of the wheels so that it fitted tight against the rims, and by taking
forward and back measurement of where the pointer hit the ground at 2m away I got a reasonably accurate measure of toe.
[Edited on 11/11/14 by SteveWallace]
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mark chandler
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 07:06 PM |
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I used 4 paving slabs on a thin bed of sand to get a level base, then popped on human weight scales on each and dropped the car on top to corner
weight with the car loaded, driver and half a tank of fuel then set the ride heights and twiddly the spring platforms.
For camber and castor used my iPad with a level app.
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davidimurray
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 07:11 PM |
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The tip I've seen is get some of those vinyl carpet tiles and put them on the floor - level them off with a little laser line and then put the
car on them.
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motivforz
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 08:06 PM |
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One tip is to use old magazines under your wheels. As you make adjustments the tyres will take a lot of that up and so your measurements are off
unless you roll the car backwards and forwards. A few magazines make it super slippy and allow you to make adjustments ( perhaps with a steering wheel
wobble in between) without significantly moving the car and measure the changes.
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907
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 08:30 PM |
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Hi All.
I have a digital angle gauge that I use for loads of things but find it especially useful for camber measurements.
If you put a straight edge across your chassis and put the gauge on it, then press zero the gauge will then be set to
the floor, even if your garage floor is out of level.
You can then place the gauge on other parts of the car, for example a brake disc, and read off the angle in relation to the floor.
Just remember to keep the gauge facing the same way when taking a reading from the other wheel.
This one is similar to mine but mine is a flip up display model.
eBay Item
HTH
Paul G
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Nickp
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| posted on 11/11/14 at 08:52 PM |
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+1 for a digital inclinometer for setting / checking camber. I 'borrowed' a posh one from work and am yet to return it  But I'm
sure the ebay ones will do the job just fine.
I've got an old Dunlop tracking gauge but you can get accurate results with 4 axle stands, nylon string, a steel rule and tape measure. Takes a
while to accurately set up the string square around the car but easy from there. String can be just as accurate as lasers if used correctly
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whitestu
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 09:02 AM |
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I did mine with a digital inclinometer, cheap bathroom scales and a Gunsond Trakrite.
The only thing you can't easily do at home is dyno the shocks.
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Matt21
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 10:45 AM |
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you dont happen to have any links to bathroom scales you used do you?
do the analogue type scales go right round and over range or is there likely to be a stopper on them to prevent it going round again?
edit, theres some on ebay for £5 each, they go up to 130kg but dont look like theres a stop on them... worth a bash for £20 i guess!
[Edited on 12/11/14 by Matt21]
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whitestu
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 11:06 AM |
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I got 4 cheap analogue scales from Asda for £4 each and they didn't have a stop on them.
Obviously proper kit would me more accurate but they were close enough to make the car much better.
The biggest difference I made was dialling out bump steer, which is easily done with a laser pointer and a wall.
Stu
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mark chandler
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 11:18 AM |
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Cheap analogue from homebase I think it was, they go over so I started off by calibrating to each other loaded with around 100kg weight, 4 x 25 litres
water butts on top.
They were all pretty close, it's amazing how much weights change by just leaning forwards in the driving seat 
Proper kit will do a better job, I would however query how flat is the road you are driving on so pretty close is good enough for me. Infact you
should probably bias it for left hand and right hand circuits!
[Edited on 12/11/14 by mark chandler]
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leon51274
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 11:29 AM |
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Sorry for the hijack, but I have access to 2 proper digital axle weighing scales, would It be feasible to corner weight my car 1 axle at a time?
Cheers
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Matt21
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 11:30 AM |
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I'm no racing driver, and mostly road use, so 'near enough' is good enough for me 
looks like i'll be busy when I get home 
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Slimy38
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 11:44 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by leon51274
Sorry for the hijack, but I have access to 2 proper digital axle weighing scales, would It be feasible to corner weight my car 1 axle at a time?
Cheers
Yes, you need to lift the other wheels to the same height as the scales but it should still work fine.
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mark chandler
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 12:12 PM |
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Also you balance diagonals not across axles, but perfectly possible just a bit more faffing around with only 2 or even 1 scale, you just need some
equal height plates as above to swap around, nice bit of wood then.
Just make sure you settle the suspension each time you raise the car.
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leon51274
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| posted on 12/11/14 at 12:35 PM |
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Nice one, cheers men!
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