Who does their own alignment?

Saw the thread about making a digital camber gauge, so what else do you need besides a tape measure and roll of string?

Also, I have seen some cheap scales for corner balancing the car but you need about 3' on each side of the car to use them. (problem in tight garage)

Like this.....

I do my own. 2 strings set up on make shift posts. Have been using a carpenters square and measure tape for camber. Got one of them Harbor frieght camber gauges...... Going back to carpenters square I also use 2 aluminum plates with grease inbetween under each front tire.
six inch torpedo level gets me pretty close to level for and aft also side to side. Seems to get me pretty close. but the next level of alignment tools would be corner balance scales.

Do you add more plates under the tires to get the car level?

got hat problem too, i have made bracket to hold a set of laser level on the wheel, that a whole lot easier and the laser will cost you a bit cheaper than a shop done alignment and you get to keep it

QUOTE (Kerrys914 @ Mar 15 2005, 11:15 AM)

Do you add more plates under the tires to get the car level?

No the plates allow the front tires to turn freely when setting toe. that way you don't get any stiction problems of the tire on concrete. I can accurately dial in toe this way. the level is to just get the ride height level (attitude) using adjusters in front and coil over adjusters in back. I try for a little nose down rake.

Thanks..

I thought the car needed to be on level ground. I guess "Level" ground doesn't mean 100% level just close like a garage floor.

Level is close such as a garage floor. Put some weight to equal the driver in the left seat and have enough room to roll the car some after adjustments. There is an article I did on the Bird Board that shows how to make a simple toe gauge and use the carpenter's square to set camber with conversions from fractions of an inch to degrees. It is good only for 15 inch wheels though. While doing it at home is not as good as a pro shop it'll get you close and after doing one wheel, roll the car and recheck both sides. Good luck.

I have a smart level, I use Stabila. The best level I have been able to buy. I use a $6K lazer at work and check it with my Stabilas. I have tested the Smart Level aginst the Stabila, and it lost. Stabila makes a torpedo with a rotating viel, that would fit your needs. Better yet keep it simple and make your fixture so that when your camber is corect the bubbel reads centered. I need that tool also so I will be building one soon.
Joe

QUOTE (Joe Ricard @ Mar 15 2005, 11:03 AM)

2 strings set up on make shift posts.

I thought about hanging the strings on the bumpers with a bracket,but how do you get the toe equal on both sides of the car?????

SteveSr

to do on both side , get 2 laser level attached to the front wheel pionting backward, measure the distance of the lasert dot to the wheel rim, do that for both side, the dot is going to be a certain distance fron the rim you are attaching to , if you have the same distance on the back wheel you will have 0 degree toe if the distance is smaller you have negative toe and if it is bigger you got positive

I have a cheap camber gage (bubble level and screw adjustment) and a Home Depot laser for setting toe. I project the beam out ahead of the car and take several measurements along the beam. I use a board with marks on it. I compare this to the other side to set my toe. Just remember that for comparison purposes, most people measure the toe change over 15" and not over several feet. So, you can get more accurate with the laser, but remember to convert to compare.

I used to use a homemade big-a$# caliper on the front and rear of the wheels to check toe, but the laser works better.

Several racing buddies of mine and I got together and purchased a set of scales. There's no substitute for scales, IMO.

freezing14,

You're assuming the wheels (and chassis bits) are centered in the car.... not a bad assumption for most street cars, but probably not good for a race car.

A tip to help get the car level:

Make a spirit level out of a length of clear vinyl tubing and some water and food coloring. Determine how far off level the four spots you are going to put your tires are, then stack up linoleum tiles in those four spots until they are level with each other. Unless you're starting with a really badly off-level surface, the stacks of tiles will be very easy to drive up onto.

--DD

Here's the pelican toe particle:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/h...home_toe_in.htm


Someone reposted the Ray Scruggs alignment method for 911s. Really, it's just the string method but it's good info (starts towards the bottom):

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread....20&pagenumber=2

Thanks Anthony, I was busy and couldn't look for it.

Has anyone seen/used this tool for DIY corner balancing?

Click here

QUOTE (anthony @ Mar 15 2005, 04:24 PM)

Has anyone seen/used this tool for DIY corner balancing?

No, I haven't seen that, but I have seen a bottle jack with a gauge used similarly. It does look interesting.

I still use my home-made ruggles type scales for corner balancing.

LEVELING is EVERYTHING!!!! except for toe-in & maybe caster.

Read this http://www.smartracingproducts.com/pdfdocs...ings_manual.pdf

Ken