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Here is how I did it - alignment

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Geeeesssssseeeee, Tony!!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]aligning a front end at home[/QUOTE]

yer in the HEART of NASCAR land and YOU don't know the absolute EASIEST method?? :hammer: Pretty SAD !!! :lol: :devilgrin:

"Center" steering wheel. Tie a string anywhere toward center of the REAR of the car. Run it to the front of the car across the closest you can get and nearest the center of BOTH rear & front of car. Tie it off towards center of front bumper. Now with another string REPEAT but on the other side of the car but do NOT 'tie off'. Turn steering wheel so that all FOUR tires 'sides' on the first string are contacting the the sidewall. Go check the other side and pull string tight. If the FRONT of the front tire is preventing the rear side of tire touching the string, you have 'toe out'. If the REAR of the front tire is preventing the string from touching front side of tire, you have 'toe in'. Adjust tie rod(s) as required.

YES, 1/8" is correct for BIAS ply tires. How many of you have them?? With current radials ZERO toe is just fine because of the builtin tire flex.

When all else fails, follow the K.I.S.S. Rule!! :angel:

:cheers:
Ed
(ALSO at LotO 08!!)
 
I'm not sure the string method will work as described for these cars. I think there is some offset between the rear wheel track and the front wheel track. That would through the geometry off a bit. You end up with some toe-out if you try to use the string method unless you account for the offset.
JC
 
Agree, string methoid does not work well as rear is not the same track as the front.

So, back to my orginal way in this thread.

Yep, both ways are how we do it at the track depending upon the car set up.

And I do agree with as close to 0 as you can get it + or - 1/8 of an inch. That 1/8 is tough, such a fine adjustment.
 
Ay time you do string alignment on any car you must measure track on both the rear and front axles, never assume they are the same, most cars are not, in the case of a Spridget, the front track is wider than the rear track, so the difference in track has to be taken into the equation when stringing the car, in the case of a Spridet the strings at the rear hubs would be further away from the rear wheels center than the front wheel's center, basicly waht uou are doing is squaring the car within string then measuring the difference fform the front edge of the front rim when compared the rear edge of the front rim. when doing a string alignment what you are basicly doing is a thrust aligmnet, and what that does is make sure the front wheels are aligned with the rear wheels in mind, and take awy the chance of a car crabbing, menaing if you roll it in a straight the rear tire roll into the same exact footprint as the front tire do. In my opinion a thrus alignment is the only way to go.

String thrust alignment is how most racers set up thier cars, it a very acceptable method. I owned and ran a Goddyear dealership for many years our latest alignment machine was a Hunter D111, this is waht I learned to do alignament on, the machine was computized, which is nice, but you can do the same thing with 4 jackstand sone thin string or fishing line and a maesuring tape. Most people quite simply just don't understand alignment, but it really pretty easy, even making homemade turn tables are easy, it can be as simple as a couple pieces of aluminum saquare or even commerail floor tiles, with a little bearing grease and wd40 in between them so the move as you make adjustment, if the tire is not allowed to move when you make adjustments then the measurements you see can not be trusted plain and simple.

You can google up string alignment and you'll see many refeences to it. Just so you all know what "track" is, it is the measurement on a axle btween the wheel centers, the easiest way to to establish track is to measure where the tire touches the pavement on one side from outside of where the tie contact the pavement, to inside of where the tire make contact with the pavement on the other wheel, this will be the same as center to ceanter of the rim or wheel. Zero toe is ok, and where I normally set it on my race cars, but somtimes zero toe will make a car "hunt" at speeds, where a tick of toe in, like 1/32 -1/16" will make the car more stable at speeds, I normally operate in the 1/32 to 1/16" variable with alignement and never go as big as 1/8" increments.

I'm very slowly writing a article on this for my car club website, maybe after my car club presidentcy, I'll have the time to finsih it, and will sub mit to my buddies at Classic Motosports to put in the magazine, because it seems that this is very misunderstood topic within out hobby.
 
"even making homemade turn tables are easy, it can be as simple as a couple pieces of aluminum saquare or even commerail floor tiles, with a little bearing grease and wd40 in between them so the move as you make adjustment"

Excellent idea, I will try that, thanks.
 
I stuck a Craftsman laser level on a 2x4 and held it against the side of the tire and shot a mark on the garage wall for each tire. Then back the car up ten feet and do it again. If the second measure is bigger, time to toe in. Depending on the distance you shoot the mark, you can get deadly accuracy for toe-in. Camber is done the same way, shooting the mark to the ceiling and then to the garage floor. The difference tells the tale. The laser level was $10, the 2x4 was scrap.

Glen Byrns
 
did you go for toe in - or just line up the measures?
 
I find the best handling with just a smidge of toe-in. I also was much happier with the bump-steer after I spaced each front shock up by the thickness of one washer. I did this just before LotO and the wear pattern on the tires was excellent for a change.

Glen
 
I noticed yesterday some really bad wear on the inside edge of my left front tire. Reading up on alignment, I just did my Fiat via the string method 2 days ago and it went well but track is the same front and rear on that, not so I guess on Spridgets. I read the rocker panels on the midget are parallel to the center line, could one just set up a string measured off the rockers?
 
yes they are and yes I did
 
Don't know but one can set up a string from the real wheel. Works fine even though track is not equal front and rear.
 
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