Home Alignments
#4
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soflarick does it pm him.
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#6
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My dad and his other old engineer buddy decided they could align my miata last winter. After using his buddy's 40-year old jc whitney tools and drawing some chalk marks on the floor, my steering wheel was turned about 30 degrees from center while driving straight, and the entire car would go down the street at an angle on snowy roads.
#8
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My dad and his other old engineer buddy decided they could align my miata last winter. After using his buddy's 40-year old jc whitney tools and drawing some chalk marks on the floor, my steering wheel was turned about 30 degrees from center while driving straight, and the entire car would go down the street at an angle on snowy roads.
#11
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I use a bubble camber gauge, jackstands and thread. It's far from an exact computer alignment, but works well when needed (like on a race weekend). Create some string lines running front/rear off the side of the car that are the exact distance from the car's centerline (measure off the rim center lip) compensating for the F/R track difference. Then measure front and rear of tire walls to check the rear toe. Tape measure and tread grooves works fine for the front toe.
#12
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Here's a good link...
You'll probably laugh but I have one of those cheap toe gauges from harbor freight, but if you practice with it, it works really well for setting toe. I set the gauge on two 2x4's stacked up so the height is always on the same plane.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30167
The hardest part is knowing which side to adjust to keep the steering wheel center. That's why knowing what your thrust angle is helps.
I've been looking for a used alignment machine, but haven't found any close to home yet (want to spend around $1500 or less)
I have an old Camber gauge, but was looking for something 'newer' (or hoping a used machine would fall from the skys) I would probbaly get the one from 949 racing or http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/pdfs/9500.pdf
You'll probably laugh but I have one of those cheap toe gauges from harbor freight, but if you practice with it, it works really well for setting toe. I set the gauge on two 2x4's stacked up so the height is always on the same plane.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=30167
The hardest part is knowing which side to adjust to keep the steering wheel center. That's why knowing what your thrust angle is helps.
I've been looking for a used alignment machine, but haven't found any close to home yet (want to spend around $1500 or less)
I have an old Camber gauge, but was looking for something 'newer' (or hoping a used machine would fall from the skys) I would probbaly get the one from 949 racing or http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/pdfs/9500.pdf
#15
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Here's a home brew alignment method that one of our local autocrosseres wrote.
http://racecarstuff.com/?page_id=2
http://racecarstuff.com/?page_id=2
#16
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I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick up some aluminum square tubing from ACE and build a nice L and bolt a digital level to it. Should be easy and cheap enough. Toe is simple enough with string, but with the toe plates being so chepa i might as well try them, or again build my own.
I'm getting ready for springtime plans so I can get this thing back on the track and kill people with my boooooooost.
I'm getting ready for springtime plans so I can get this thing back on the track and kill people with my boooooooost.
#17
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here's what we're using on the car I've been racing:
http://www.waltermotorsports.com/v/Racing/align/
IMO this is an ideal solution since it's very portable and easy to use
http://www.waltermotorsports.com/v/Racing/align/
IMO this is an ideal solution since it's very portable and easy to use
#19
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I thought of a way to measure camber that's indifferent to floor level-ness, as long as the floor is flat. Level floor doesn't really make a difference for toe, I don't think, unless it's way, way off.
Anyway, get a framing square (I think that's what it's called). Long leg needs to reach from the floor to the top of your rim. Set the short leg on the floor, pointing away from the tire. The long leg should now be perpendicular to the floor. Then measure to the bottom of your rim lip to the square, shooting for something fairly close, but not touching the tire, like maybe 1 inch. Call this B. Then do the same to the top lip of your rim, and call this T. Then, measure the vertical distance between the two points you measured, and call this D. Now just do some trig:
camber = DEGREES( ASIN( (T-B)/D ) )
For example, if B is 1.0" and T is 1.5", and D is 16", then camber is 1.79 degrees (well, it's negative, but you know that because the tire is tilted in). Given desired camber, and constant B and D measurements, you can even solve for the T measurement.
T = D * SIN(RADIANS(camber)) + B
So if you wanted 3 degrees, you'd get
1.837 = 16 * SIN(RADIANTS(3.0)) + 1
I'm too lazy to actually try it (Firestone lifetime alignment), but I tested the measurement technique after getting an alignment, and the numbers came out right. It may not be perfect, but it should be able to get you within a tenth or two of a degree.
Also note that if your tires are hella stretched so that you can butt the square right up against the rim, then your B measurement can always be 0, and the math just got easier.![](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/smile.gif)
-Mike
Anyway, get a framing square (I think that's what it's called). Long leg needs to reach from the floor to the top of your rim. Set the short leg on the floor, pointing away from the tire. The long leg should now be perpendicular to the floor. Then measure to the bottom of your rim lip to the square, shooting for something fairly close, but not touching the tire, like maybe 1 inch. Call this B. Then do the same to the top lip of your rim, and call this T. Then, measure the vertical distance between the two points you measured, and call this D. Now just do some trig:
camber = DEGREES( ASIN( (T-B)/D ) )
For example, if B is 1.0" and T is 1.5", and D is 16", then camber is 1.79 degrees (well, it's negative, but you know that because the tire is tilted in). Given desired camber, and constant B and D measurements, you can even solve for the T measurement.
T = D * SIN(RADIANS(camber)) + B
So if you wanted 3 degrees, you'd get
1.837 = 16 * SIN(RADIANTS(3.0)) + 1
I'm too lazy to actually try it (Firestone lifetime alignment), but I tested the measurement technique after getting an alignment, and the numbers came out right. It may not be perfect, but it should be able to get you within a tenth or two of a degree.
Also note that if your tires are hella stretched so that you can butt the square right up against the rim, then your B measurement can always be 0, and the math just got easier.
![](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/smile.gif)
-Mike