Alignment equipment

[veilside180sx]

I have Competition Engineering Toe Plates and a home made camber gauge, but lately...i've been lazy and taking it in. A buddy of mine works for an alignment shop and is very good...

[AceInHole]

So I've finally developed my idea for a cheap alignment rig. The basic outline is this: 2x laser lines mounted on small tripods for leveling. 2x target boards with lines mounted on levels with adjustable footing (for leveling) Run a wire through the tripod mounts to keep the laser lines a known distance apart. Run a wire through the targets placing the line targets the same distance apart. This keeps setup simple, as you don't have to keep readjusting when setting everything up. It should be a quicker setup than a string alignment, be roughly as accurate, and easier to work around since you don't have to worry about knocking anything over, or pulling too hard when stringing everything together. Wind also won't affect your measurements if string is loose :P Also, once it's setup, the targets can be removed for more freedom of movement around the car. It may not be as accurate as the $3000 setups out there, but at about $50 - $60 in parts, it doesn't seem bad at all. Thoughts or recommendations are welcome!

[veilside180sx]

I can mostly visualize what you are saying...but post some pictures too. I think I like this idea better than the stuff i have right now.

[2Fass240us]

It's not the best for "race" alignments, but I have a "Lifetime Alignment" through Firestone. I will have to try different locations to see which one has the coolest guys for getting more camber than what a street car would call for. I plan to use the hell out of this since I've already paid for it. :)

[McCoy]

I'll add more to this later, a good topic btw. For now I'm running the following... Front: 2.5 degrees of camber, 0 toe, 7 degrees of caster Rear: 2.0 degrees of camber, 1/8th toe-in. Once the koni setup is on, I'll attempt the following. I don't like the hunting on the hwy, hence the toe-out in the front and the rear probably has to much camber for the power I'm putting down now. Front: 2.5 degrees of camber, 1/8th toe-out, 8-9 degrees of caster Rear: 1.5 degrees of camber, 1/8th to 1/4" toe-in.

[ckcadavona]

Is this what Ace is talking about?

http://www.sr20forum.com/technical-information-library/29158-how-do-your-own-alignment-5.html#post1939018

[ckcadavona]

I'm going to give the DIY alignment a shot so I bought some tools.
Craftsman digital level(part# 948292)-35
Tripod-5
aprox 2x1FT shelving-10
4x8 FT sheet of particle board cut into 4-4x1FT sheets and the rest cut into 12in squares-8 bucks at lowes
tape
tape measure
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/ckcadavona/PIC-0023.jpg

This is how I leveled my garage.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/ckcadavona/PIC-0022.jpg



reference:

98SR20VE
Thomas Reynolds
http://www.sr20forum.com/technical-information-library/29158-how-do-your-own-alignment-5.html

makofoto
http://www.teamblewracing.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1275

[spool_sample]

I'm going to give the DIY alignment a shot

Get a SmartCamber, too, if you can squeeze it into the budget. Blair (member on here) has one and it's pretty cool. It's accurate and it can compensate for non-level surfaces.

http://www.smartracingproducts.com/alignment.htm

[ckcadavona]

Get a SmartCamber, too, if you can squeeze it into the budget. Blair (member on here) has one and it's pretty cool. It's accurate and it can compensate for non-level surfaces.

http://www.smartracingproducts.com/alignment.htm

The Craftsman level was 35 bucks and it does the same thing. Even if the SmartCamber tool was more accurate I don't think the accuracy is worth 200 dollars. I use the hub to measure the camber but I may try attatching the level to a straight edge and use the lip of the rim instead.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/ckcadavona/IMG_5340.jpg

Here's how I did the toe with my ghetto toe plates/shelves.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/ckcadavona/IMG_5342.jpg

There's actually a way to do camber with the shelves too. I already had the level to level my garage floor so I used that instead. I may try this to compare to my level measurments.
http://teamblewracing.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1267


I know for toe the car doesnt have to be level but does the car have to be level to measure thrust angle?

[ckcadavona]

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/ckcadavona/s13align2of2036.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/ckcadavona/s13align1of2035.jpg

I was able to get on an alignment rack and compare the results to my DIY alignment. I was skeptical of the accuracy of the alignment rack because the car was not level but I'm not sure if the machine compensates for it. Overall I think I got close enough. The only thing I did not adjust was the toe up front. Does anyone know if there's a conversion for degrees to inches? Assuming stock caster is 6 degrees the GC camber caster plates were good for 1 degree of caster and if I counter sink the camber bolts I could be able to get 8-9 degrees out of them.

[Blair]

The Craftsman level was 35 bucks and it does the same thing. Even if the SmartCamber tool was more accurate I don't think the accuracy is worth 200 dollars. I use the hub to measure the camber but I may try attatching the level to a straight edge and use the lip of the rim instead.



That doesn't work when the shape of your wheels doesn't allow for a flat mounting surface to measure from. I also like the ability to use it on non-level surfaces, like when I'm at the track.

I plan to add a Smart Strings setup to my collection one of these days.

[ckcadavona]

Seems like most rims would have a flat mounting surface. You have some good points the SmartCamber would be handy for quick adjustment's at the track. I guess if I ever go to the track and expect to make alignment changes I'll have to get there early and level my paddock area. I'm sure I'd get some funny looks but I don't care.

[Blair]

Seems like most rims would have a flat mounting surface.


FN01R-C's don't ;)

[veilside180sx]

FN01R-C's don't ;)

Very true...been there tried that with them as well.

[ckcadavona]

wow...that's good to know. So there is not a way to use a straight edge from lip to lip on a the FN's? That sucks considering those are the only rims that I could use if I wanted to go to a 8 in rim.

[Blair]

wow...that's good to know. So there is not a way to use a straight edge from lip to lip on a the FN's? That sucks considering those are the only rims that I could use if I wanted to go to a 8 in rim.


I'll hang one back on the car tonight and take a pic. The shape of the spokes and the hub center make it impossible to get a straight edge flat on them.

[Blair]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/Nismo76/smartcam.jpg

Vs.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b360/Nismo76/straight.jpg

[ckcadavona]

http://www.spcalignment.com/PROD_DIR/SPC_PROD_INSTALL.cfm?cmd=91000ins.txt&cmd2=91000

What do you guys think of this guage vs the smartcamber? Caster adjustment is something I'm looking for.

[jbennett58]

I have the guage and fn wheels and the guage has trouble staying on the wheels.I can make the setting by holding the guage against the wheel,but it is a little extra work.

[Epstein]

I've spent a little time around cars on the dyno and I can tell you that these cast wheel spokes aren't always (are hardly ever) uniform. Stick to tools that use the lip as a guide.

[AceInHole]

I bought a small digital level from Home Depot. It's small enough to stick onto the brake rotor (which I'm hoping isn't severely warped!) to do a quick check. The downside is that you can't do that wish meshy wheels like CCW Classics, but it's no problem with my street wheels.

Eventually I'll make a "tripod" lip guide for it, as a ghetto smart camber gauge.

[Racecartech]

when the toe is shown in degees to convert it to inches just half it, ie .25 degees is 1/8 in. so according to the alignment printout the rear toe was in .90 degrees which .45" or 15/32" in fraction not the 1/4" measured at home.

[charles]

http://www.spcalignment.com/PROD_DIR/SPC_PROD_INSTALL.cfm?cmd=91000ins.txt&cmd2=91000

What do you guys think of this guage vs the smartcamber? Caster adjustment is something I'm looking for.

I have that gauge myself..... seems like a pretty good piece although do I have a way to tell for sure how accurate it is? Not really....... just by eyeballing it, it does seem to be.

If you have any other specific questions about it let me know.....