Question regarding alignment.

[Voyager]

Slowly tinkering w/ my car’s setup (SPF 2920). I’m now at 27” all around ride height and handling still feels “off”. Bought a Longacre digital caster/caber gauge (#78295). Right off the bat, the initial camber reading shows the right rear is way off (1.3 degrees -- Second Strike owner’s manual says 0.25 street & 0.5-0.75 comp for my tires). So...I need to make some adjustments. Before I begin arbitrarily turning wrenches...anyone have a url to a good “how to align your Superformance at home” site? Let's pretend we've already had the corner weight discussion.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Voyager

Let's pretend we've already had the corner weight discussion.

Yes, that's well settled. I remember Ray's post on his SPF and the difficulty in adjusting camber. Here's the thread: 4 Wheel alignment on a SPF? Skip down to post #29 for his post.

[Voyager]

Thanks for the link. I enjoy tinkering with the cars, so this ought to be a challenge. I’ll keep searching for info. In the mean time, guess I can practice on my wife's SUV.

[vector1]

it has been my experience you can get real close or right on with a camber/caster gauge. sounds like you are driving on the street and if your handling is off i would guess you wouldn't be able to tell much difference in a few degrees of caster/camber. but the toe will make a big difference, a little goes a long ways, and doing it correctly with home tools is going to be close, where exact would make for a better experience. with an irs the rear toe is very important also.

[Voyager]

Began with the right rear yesterday. Camber was at 1.3 degrees per my Longacre digital caster/caber gauge. My goal is 0.6. The adjustment process entailed removing a heim joint from the upper control arm and rotating said heim joint an unknown number of times and reinstalling. Very archaic process.

Required pulling wheel, removing the bolt, and then finding the 6 large washers that just scattered everywhere. I guessed and spun the heim joint out 2 full rotations and reinstalled everything, with the only difference being I was forced to place all 6 washers on the forward side of the joint (pre-removal was 5 forward and 1 rearward). The process of lifting the hub assembly up to align it w/ the hiem joint and sliding the bolt through, while inserting all the washers as you go was a real pita. Add grease from the hiem joint, working in the confines of the wheel arch, poor lighting and a beer or two or three…made for an interesting situation.

Post job camber reading was .2. However, I don’t trust this number because even after bouncing the car up/down & rolling it back/forth, the tire was still skewed from the jacking process (verified this by comparing before/after measurement on opposite rear wheel). Will have to drive the car around the block to settle everything down and re-measure. Will report out once done. Would be nice to know that 1 rotation equals x degrees of camber. If I came out too far…get to do it all over again….

Once rear camber is done, it’s on to front caster.

[vatdevil]

I do all the work on these cars myself....except alignment. For 50-60 $...it's worth the aggravation for me to let someone else do it on a compturized alignment rack.
Just my 3 cents...

You need to recheck you rear toe..changing the camber that much most likely changed it.

[Voyager]

I hear ya. But I’m also messing with the suspension on my truck, plus I have a couple SUVs that could use an alignment…so the tools should be worth the investment. Gives me a chance to work on them. Pain…yes. Satisfaction…absolutely.

Thanks for the tip on the toe. I’ll hit toe right after front end caster.

[bobcowan]

The tools are relatively inexpensive, and pretty darned accurate. You just need to be patient - take your time and make single small adjustments between measurements. I use a bubble gauge, and change the alignment about 12 times a year (track and street).

If you're on a smooth surface, you can fold up a plastic trash bag and put that under the tires to act like toe plates. As long as everything in the suspension is working correctly, that's all the setteling it will need.

Doing the rear toe is a real pain. Especially with those spacers. BUT, you don't need to keep putting the washers/spacers back in between each measurement. Put in them to hold the other joint in place, but you don't need them for the end you're adjusting. That saves a bunch of time.

[Bobcat]

I had a friend of mine shear me 4 aluminum plates that are 16 x 16 and .060" thick .... just add grease between two and use them under the front ( or rear ) and this will also allow the suspension to move/settle freely . Like Bob , I also use the Longacre gauges ... just take your time . One other point , if your garage floor isn`t level , it will throw your readings off . You can shim the turning plates to get them level to each other .
Can you get to your frame/chassis rails easily ? If so , you can use them ( assume they are straight ) to string to car for toe in/toe out setting . Pretty accurate as that`s the way a lot of the stock car boys do it .

[madmaxx]

Easier ways to save money elsewhere.

[Voyager]

Disassembled the right rear again and spun the heim joint out ½ turn. In combination with moving the upper control arm 1 washer to the right (see other thread), this yielded a .6 camber. Took it for a spin and it felt fantastic. Now onto caster and toe…