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2011-2014 Mustangs
Driveline/Suspension
DIY toe alignment?
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<blockquote data-quote="Tob" data-source="post: 14483722" data-attributes="member: 83412"><p>I get the car up in the air on precut pieces of plank that are all screwed together. You can use pieces of 2 x 12, etc, that you can find in the lumber department at your local Home Depot or Lowes. I have four "stacks" made up of four lengths each. The ones I use for the front are stepped at the rear so that I can slide in a plank on a slope (creating a "ramp" if you will) and drive the car up and onto the top. I then remove those sloped pieces. I then jack the rear axle and slip a stack under each wheel. It might seem out of order but at this point I level the four blocks to each other (VCT floor tile works well if needed). Verify tire pressures. The vehicle is now up in the air, evenly, allowing easy access to the tie rods. Note in the following photo that the top pieces on my front blocks are actually solid Delrin. Delrin allows the wheels to turn pretty much bind free which makes adjustment a bit easier.</p><p></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]607731[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p>I'm using Maximum Motorsports' caster camber plates for strength and accuracy. I have a <a href="http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1798&prodid=7218&pagetitle=Caster+%2f+Camber+Gauge+w%2f+Magnetic+Adapter" target="_blank">Longacre caster/camber</a> gauge and I start with caster. The last alignment I did I set caster to approximately +7.5* on each side. Once caster is locked down I move on to camber and I use the same gauge. I like about -1.25* for the street and reasonable tire wear.</p><p></p><p></p><p>For toe, I start by having the wheel straight and immobilizing it. Note high tech equipment...</p><p></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]607732[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p>While I usually have stringlines setup when doing the camber (and straighten each wheel when check its respective camber setting) I take much more time to ensure accuracy when setting the toe. Chuck Schwynoch, the CEO from Maximum, recommended using conduit with equidistant hole centers for accuracy and repeatability. So I picked up two lengths of conduit, drilled them, and fit stringline through them. You could use fishing line, etc, but I have plenty of string from various construction jobs so that is what I use. I spaced the strings out so that I have room to turn the wheel without bumping them. I wire the conduit to jack stands that have been set so that their elevation is roughly at the wheel center. The plates you see running through the jacks allow me to pull the strings tight.</p><p></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]607733[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]607734[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p>I then position the lines relative to the car. I do this by measuring perpendicular from the center of each wheel to the string, being careful to hold my stick rule level. Note that the rear axle width is wider than the "front." Your dimensions will be different between the front and the rear, but the fronts will mirror each other as will the rears. This takes a little time but once you are done you are good. <strong>Note - I had already set the rear axle where I wanted it via an adjustable panhard bar and squared up the LCA pickup points to the front K-member.</strong> I have Maximum's "Extreme Duty" rear LCA's and they allow adjustment if I need to move the axle fore or aft. You want your axle perpendicular to the longitudinal vehicle centerline or your thrust will be off.</p><p></p><p>I then set the toe by measuring at the horizontal wheel centerline, on the outside of the rim face (so that's one dimension at the front of the wheel and one dimension at the rear of the wheel), and adjust each respective tie rod until the wheels are parallel to the strings - then adjust for 1/16" of toe in, total.</p><p></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]607735[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p>This method takes a while. Lots of jacking when setting the caster or camber, followed by bouncing the suspension, etc. The more you do it the better you get at estimating how much a given adjustment at the plate will yield when measuring at the wheel. But once done, you are in a position to adjust the toe with relative ease. Accurately measuring properly set up lines results in a toe dimension that is absolutely perfect. I admit to getting quite a bit of satisfaction when I pull the car out of the shop and tear down the road with a wheel that is perfectly level and with the alignment numbers I specified providing me the performance I'm looking to get out of the car. Taking the time to set everything up properly definitely pays off.</p><p></p><p>To make things easier in the future I plan on picking up some turn plates and a different style caster/camber gauge. I like digital gauges for accuracy as well as getting away from any type of magnetic adapter so I'll probably pick up <a href="http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1797&prodid=7215&pagetitle=Digital+C%2fC+Gauge+w+AccuLevel%E2%84%A2+and+Quick+Set%E2%84%A2+LW+Adapter" target="_blank">this setup</a> from Longacre.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tob, post: 14483722, member: 83412"] I get the car up in the air on precut pieces of plank that are all screwed together. You can use pieces of 2 x 12, etc, that you can find in the lumber department at your local Home Depot or Lowes. I have four "stacks" made up of four lengths each. The ones I use for the front are stepped at the rear so that I can slide in a plank on a slope (creating a "ramp" if you will) and drive the car up and onto the top. I then remove those sloped pieces. I then jack the rear axle and slip a stack under each wheel. It might seem out of order but at this point I level the four blocks to each other (VCT floor tile works well if needed). Verify tire pressures. The vehicle is now up in the air, evenly, allowing easy access to the tie rods. Note in the following photo that the top pieces on my front blocks are actually solid Delrin. Delrin allows the wheels to turn pretty much bind free which makes adjustment a bit easier. [ATTACH=full]607731[/ATTACH] I'm using Maximum Motorsports' caster camber plates for strength and accuracy. I have a [URL="http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1798&prodid=7218&pagetitle=Caster+%2f+Camber+Gauge+w%2f+Magnetic+Adapter"]Longacre caster/camber[/URL] gauge and I start with caster. The last alignment I did I set caster to approximately +7.5* on each side. Once caster is locked down I move on to camber and I use the same gauge. I like about -1.25* for the street and reasonable tire wear. For toe, I start by having the wheel straight and immobilizing it. Note high tech equipment... [ATTACH=full]607732[/ATTACH] While I usually have stringlines setup when doing the camber (and straighten each wheel when check its respective camber setting) I take much more time to ensure accuracy when setting the toe. Chuck Schwynoch, the CEO from Maximum, recommended using conduit with equidistant hole centers for accuracy and repeatability. So I picked up two lengths of conduit, drilled them, and fit stringline through them. You could use fishing line, etc, but I have plenty of string from various construction jobs so that is what I use. I spaced the strings out so that I have room to turn the wheel without bumping them. I wire the conduit to jack stands that have been set so that their elevation is roughly at the wheel center. The plates you see running through the jacks allow me to pull the strings tight. [ATTACH=full]607733[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]607734[/ATTACH] I then position the lines relative to the car. I do this by measuring perpendicular from the center of each wheel to the string, being careful to hold my stick rule level. Note that the rear axle width is wider than the "front." Your dimensions will be different between the front and the rear, but the fronts will mirror each other as will the rears. This takes a little time but once you are done you are good. [B]Note - I had already set the rear axle where I wanted it via an adjustable panhard bar and squared up the LCA pickup points to the front K-member.[/B] I have Maximum's "Extreme Duty" rear LCA's and they allow adjustment if I need to move the axle fore or aft. You want your axle perpendicular to the longitudinal vehicle centerline or your thrust will be off. I then set the toe by measuring at the horizontal wheel centerline, on the outside of the rim face (so that's one dimension at the front of the wheel and one dimension at the rear of the wheel), and adjust each respective tie rod until the wheels are parallel to the strings - then adjust for 1/16" of toe in, total. [ATTACH=full]607735[/ATTACH] This method takes a while. Lots of jacking when setting the caster or camber, followed by bouncing the suspension, etc. The more you do it the better you get at estimating how much a given adjustment at the plate will yield when measuring at the wheel. But once done, you are in a position to adjust the toe with relative ease. Accurately measuring properly set up lines results in a toe dimension that is absolutely perfect. I admit to getting quite a bit of satisfaction when I pull the car out of the shop and tear down the road with a wheel that is perfectly level and with the alignment numbers I specified providing me the performance I'm looking to get out of the car. Taking the time to set everything up properly definitely pays off. To make things easier in the future I plan on picking up some turn plates and a different style caster/camber gauge. I like digital gauges for accuracy as well as getting away from any type of magnetic adapter so I'll probably pick up [URL="http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1797&prodid=7215&pagetitle=Digital+C%2fC+Gauge+w+AccuLevel%E2%84%A2+and+Quick+Set%E2%84%A2+LW+Adapter"]this setup[/URL] from Longacre. [/QUOTE]
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DIY toe alignment?
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