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Steering Toe In
The Venom Project - 26/1/10 at 10:19 AM

Morning chaps,

I finally got my car sat on its wheels last night, another milestone in the build, I noticed when it was in the air that both wheels were level and facing forward. When its on its wheels, the left wheel is Toe In and the right is facing forward

The adjustments were pretty cock on in the air, so I wondered what I may need to do to fix this?

I am thinking to adjust the track rod extension bar in to bring it straight and maybe the offside bar out a bit to help this.

Any thoughts once again are a massive help.

Cheers

Nick

Bluemoon - 26/1/10 at 10:21 AM

Set up when on ground with finished car (i.e. at correct ride height).

Dan

The Venom Project - 26/1/10 at 10:25 AM

Thanks Dan, I am gonna have a crack at it tonight as I want to try it down the drive and back up, does it sound like I need to pull the extension adaptor in on the toe in side and a little out on the offside to help put it straight?

All in all I was impressed that the car sat up on its suspension and I hadn't missed a bolt

Bluemoon - 26/1/10 at 11:53 AM

You should centralize the rack first though (i.e. so there is equal travel on both sides of the rack) then set this up as straight ahead. If you don't do this you might end up with more lock on one side than the other.. Once this is correct you should find the extensions fit with enough engagement (i.e. about 2 diameters or more).

In principle you should also space the the rack up to minimize bump steer (I have yet to do this, decided to get it on the road first to allow the suspension to bed in a bit).

Dan

matt_gsxr - 26/1/10 at 12:40 PM

"bump steer" is what you need to solve.

It may be as simple as centring the rack, or as complicated as moving the rack. Moving up down and left to right all affect this. It is worth getting approximately the right ride height before doing this to avoid disappointment later!

The advantage of doing it before the complete build-up is that you have good access (the radiator is a nightmare on mine when adjusting the rack) and can get it perfect.

Matt

Bluemoon - 26/1/10 at 01:00 PM

^^ I doubt you will get it perfect as over the first 100miles things settle in a lot. You might get it correct the first time if it's all spherical bearings (but even then I bet the springs bed in a bit). I would suggest getting it close to start with (first setup) then going back after a few hundred miles to re-check. I know on my mates DG Cobra it was recommend to go back for a second setup after a few thousand miles once the car had beded in a bit.

Getting a good base line setting up will require a bit of work (and flat floor) will be worth it but I would wait until you have a fully built car (i.e. you can set corner weights ect). I recon you could DIY the setup properly in a weekend without rushing.

I set mine up at the start, only to find that the ride height was all wrong (because it is fixed by the sock length, and the MK has limited travel)... This means I now need to go back and re-set it but I now don't have a flat floor!!

Any how if you just want to get the tow to look right go for the simple solution for now.

Dan

bassett - 26/1/10 at 01:17 PM

IMO it really is not worth considering accurate suspensions setup at this stage. This is because you will want the suspension fairly high prior to IVA as your lights/reflectors etc need to be at the correct height. Mines dropped quite a bit from SVA to now. You also want to allow the car to self centre properly and i think for this you will want a higher degree of toe in. You wont accumulate much tyre wear whilst your testing a new car and a this will alow the suspension to bed in and then worry about a proper setup after its passed the IVA and done a few miles to sort the little issues.

As for the rack i guess its centred as the MNR brackets are there for you. As for the rack extensions i had to cut mine down a few mm to allow enough toe in but i think this has been amended for later cars.

[Edited on 26/1/10 by bassett]

The Venom Project - 26/1/10 at 01:57 PM

Cheers everyone for all the advice, I am hoping that most of it is fairly simple to do as the car is pretty much built, I will try the simple stuff first, but at the end of the day, the lads at MNR will get it cock on when it goes to them for the IVA, I just want to get it close so I can take it up and down the drive LOL

Bluemoon - 26/1/10 at 03:39 PM

quote:
Originally posted by The Venom Project
Cheers everyone for all the advice, I am hoping that most of it is fairly simple to do as the car is pretty much built, I will try the simple stuff first, but at the end of the day, the lads at MNR will get it cock on when it goes to them for the IVA, I just want to get it close so I can take it up and down the drive LOL


Just remeber the IVA don't check toe ect, all they want (unless it looks dangerous that is) is for it to self center. It should get this if your caster is correct (toe is not the correct way to get self-centering). Not sure MNR will adjust the suspension settings prior to IVA, you should check with them.