Proper alignment is a key to good handling.
Tonight we’ll show you some simple tips for creating your own accurate string alignment setup and doing your alignments at home in your garage.
Join us live at 9pm eastern on Grassroots Motorsports Live! Presented by CRC Industries on the Grassroots Mot…
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
Of course you do it 6 weeks after it kicked our behind getting ready for the Challenge. I'll be watching cause I didn't like getting my behind kicked.
AnthonyGS said:Can we get a mig welding for newbies sometime in the near future? Advice on equipment, how to practice, a few demonstrations (a lot like the TIG episode).
Yeah we can do that. Maybe we'll do MIG and flux core and stick one night.
I'll get it on our schedule. Thanks for the suggestion.
The Lotus Esprit shop manual has a very thorough DIY string alignment section.
Looking forward to this one!
A way to one man check toe accurately is my struggle. And repeatable caster process. But camber is easy with my digital angle finder!
Hopefully i can stay awake for tonights episode. Or find a way to watch it after the fact.
Years ago, HF sold a toe gauge. It has a lever that pivots and measures in 1/64ths of an inch. That's what I use for toe. For camber, I use a Fastrax camber gauge. I don't bother with castor.
And just a bump since we go live in a few minutes. See everyone at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight.
I have a question, you measured hub face to string front and made them equal then measured rear and made it equal but how do you know you don't have a trapezoid string around the car? For example front track is different than rear? I was told to extend the strings past the car front and rear and then make sure the total distance between the strings was the same front and rear in addition to the distance hub faces to string.
^Good point, most production cars are not perfectly rectangular suspension-wise from the factory. When production-based race cars are built, they usually have a frame straightening done before work starts on them for this reason.
Stampie said:I have a question, you measured hub face to string front and made them equal then measured rear and made it equal but how do you know you don't have a trapezoid string around the car? For example front track is different than rear? I was told to extend the strings past the car front and rear and then make sure the total distance between the strings was the same front and rear in addition to the distance hub faces to string.
I covered this part too fast, but I do that by cutting notches in both tubes from and rear at equal distances.Then run the string through the notches. this keeps the string box square. Your distances from hub to string will be different front to rear, but if they're the same side to side the box is square with the car. The only place it might be screwed up is if the rear is laterally offset from the front, but if that's happening you probably have bigger issues.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
I now remember you saying that but I didn't get the why. Thanks!
but if that's happening you probably have bigger issues.
Like you lowered a car with a stock track/panhard bar? Not that uncommon!
Vigo said:but if that's happening you probably have bigger issues.
Like you lowered a car with a stock track/panhard bar? Not that uncommon!
agreed! Once you line up the strings with the hub faces on each side, you could always check a few measurements to the pinch welds or frame to see if you are square with the car.
Since nothing stays parallel on a Miata when you align it, I had to find the center of the car front & rear, then measure off it to set my strings.
Here's another method for string alignment.
Those mini camera mounts stayed tight for 10 days, even on the primered front bumper.
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