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Wheel alignment - in the comfort of your own home

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bigjones

bigjones

Jedi Warrior
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Hi folks, me again,

You may remember (ha) that the cause of my wheel bearing/brake caliper woes was because I had noticed severe inside wear on the front tires and thought I'd better do something.

Anyways, today I took the 2 wheels and new Kumho tires down to the local tire place to get mounted. I asked how much was alignment - $80. Wow, that be a lot of cash.

Got back and done the wheel alignment at home

Basically, measure the distance between two pins stuck in the tires at the back. Roll the car forward and re-measure the distance at the front, using the same pin holes.

Pin1.jpg

Pin2.jpg


First measurement: Back: 51 7/16" Front 52 9/16" giving a toe-out of 1 1/8". Whoa! No wonder the tires were worn.

Jacked the car up and turned both tie-rods into the ball joint 2 full turns.

Let the car down and re-measured:
Second measurement: Back: 52 2/16" Front 52" giving a toe-in of 1/8".

Spec is 0 to 1/8" toe-in so I'm just in.

I'll take it for a drive tomorrow and re-check after everything is seated and what not.

But hey! Less than an an hour crawling around on the cold garage floor. I can't remember the last time I earned $80/hour.

Will report back.

Cheers,
Adrian
 
Yeah......$80, heck, even $40 is waaay too much to charge for a car that only needs a toe adjustment. Well worth the effort to do it yourself.


Good job! :smile:
 
I admit to never having done this, but... The 1/8" supposed to be measured at the Wheel, not the Tire. The "book" says 0" to 1/8" so I'm sure you're within spec, ............. just sayin'
 
Yep, you got it really close.
 
Pythias said:
I admit to never having done this, but... The 1/8" supposed to be measured at the Wheel, not the Tire. The "book" says 0" to 1/8" so I'm sure you're within spec, ............. just sayin'
Click to expand...


I don't think it matters where you take the measurements from, just so long as it is in the same location on all sides (left & right and front & rear). I think it is preferable to measure from the center of the tire tread myself, but that's just my personal opinion.
 
Did you check the camber too?

-Bear- :cheers:
 
Down here in Sunny (at last) Johannesburg
Wow $80, converting that to SA Rands comes to R800, that is seriously expensive. I am sure before I went around the country on the 50 year Spridget tour I had all 4 wheels balanced and aligned for less than R200 = $20
 
If the car was that far out of alignment I think I would seriously be looking for the cause. I align my cars with a couple of 1X4's layed on blocks and up against the tires. Then measurement's can be taken up off the floor and its one job you don't have to get dirty at!
KA
 
Took my bugeye to the local Allen Tire place, where I've bought tires in the past, for an alignment. When I picked it up, they told me that they were afraid to put it on the rack, since it would just barely fit, and were afraid they might drive it off. So, they did a "tape measure" alignment on the floor, and didn't charge me anything. It's been a couple thousand miles, and I see no unusual wear. It feels right, too; seems right on.

So, with care and a flat floor, this should work fine.
 
I think the best way to get even wear on the tires is to take the corners faster! :wink:
 
regularman said:
Is there any adjustment besides toe on a spridget? Mine has some serious inside wear but I think that all happened before I got the toe right. I will have to just watch it for now and see how it does.
Click to expand...

Non-concentric control arm bushings can be fitted to provide some camber adjustment. These are available thru a variety of sources.

-Bear- :cheers:
 
Just on a final note:

I went on a test drive and I do believe the steering is a bit smoother.

Got back and re-checked the alignment using the thumb tack/tape measure method and it gave a 1/16" toe-in. Just where I wanted it to be because I read somewhere that a very slight amount of toe-in is a good thing.

Man, I lucked out on that one.

Cheers,
Adrian

Oh, and I think the severe tire wear was caused by me installing new tie rod ends a while ago and assuming the alignment would remain unchanged if I tightened up the ends to the same mark. Doh!
 
wow, great tip. I gotta do one here in the next few weeks, once I get the thing back on the ground. Looks like i need to pick up an extra tape measure.
 
Good stuff.
 
bigjones said:
Basically, measure the distance between two pins stuck in the tires at the back.
Click to expand...
Sounds good, but for an accurate measurement, the pins should be at axle height for the measurement (both front and back), and of course the suspension should be loaded to its normal ride height. At least on my car, there is no way to stretch a tape measure between those points.
 
Yes, that is a problem.

However, I've driven a good distance since, in both the Midget and TR3, and the tire wear is even across the tread of both front tires so it's good enough for me.

Cheers!
 
No one said the tape had to be in the center of the wheel, only the marker. We do em at the race track all the time. In fact Miss Agatha was done the same way.

If enough intrest I will tell all. hehe.
 
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