Doing my own alignment, need help.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 428
Likes: 1
From: San Antonio Texas
Doing my own alignment, need help.
Well no shops can do my alignment now because they say my wheels are to wide. Ill have to do it my self, if you have any tips or a good write up that you share would be great. Thanks.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 5,691
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From: columbus oh
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 5,941
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From: Was New Orleans but swam to Baton Rouge LA
Cruise-In IX Veteran
Racer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 476
Likes: 0
From: Easton PA
doubt you will get car within specs doing it yourself. caster,camber, toe never will happen without a alignment machine. you can pop on regular tires and wheels for the alignment, if you dont gots then borrow from another vette buddy.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 5,941
Likes: 281
From: Was New Orleans but swam to Baton Rouge LA
Cruise-In IX Veteran
How many shop have you tried. I have not heard of that being a problem. any good shop will put the pieces on the wheels and use the laser machine to get it right. The size should not matter unless the suspension does not have the adjustment to accommodate the wheels. What I mean is that you need more adjustment than can be provided by the current suspension components. That should be the only possible problem.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 73
Likes: 13
From: Corpus Christi, TX
Alignments are not the black voodoo magic they are made out to be...and fricken laser beams are not needed either.
Try here for some diy tech: http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13211< I followed the instructions and help here years ago and haven't paid a 'technician' since.
Russ
Try here for some diy tech: http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13211< I followed the instructions and help here years ago and haven't paid a 'technician' since.
Russ
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 428
Likes: 1
From: San Antonio Texas
Alignments are not the black voodoo magic they are made out to be...and fricken laser beams are not needed either.
Try here for some diy tech: http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13211< I followed the instructions and help here years ago and haven't paid a 'technician' since.
Russ
Try here for some diy tech: http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13211< I followed the instructions and help here years ago and haven't paid a 'technician' since.
Russ
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,717
Likes: 121
From: Sulphur LA
St. Jude Donor '05-'06,'11,'13-'14,'16,'18,'19,'24, '25
Just got finished doing mine, I've done mine the last couple times its needed it.
Get on YouTube and watch some video's on the how to of a DIY alignment.
Caster is the hard one but it can be done if you take your time.
The last shop that did mine set the rear toe to 1/16" on the passenger side and 3/16" on the drivers side, car didn't drive right and the steering wheel was off center due to the rear toe being off.
The car has to be level to do a good job
Neal
Get on YouTube and watch some video's on the how to of a DIY alignment.
Caster is the hard one but it can be done if you take your time.
The last shop that did mine set the rear toe to 1/16" on the passenger side and 3/16" on the drivers side, car didn't drive right and the steering wheel was off center due to the rear toe being off.
The car has to be level to do a good job
Neal
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,247
Likes: 210
From: Detroit MI
It's not rocket science. If you take your time and are careful with your setup you can perform an alignment at home with excellent results. I'll even go so far as to say they can be more accurate that what some fool in a shop can produce with a high dollar machine because he doesn't take time to settle the suspension between adjustments. It's tedious work but worth it in the end when you have what you want and didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for it.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 476
Likes: 0
From: Easton PA
mite get it close doing it yourself, then give it to me and i will show you were it is out of spec with the hunter machine. most mechanics dont do proper alignments because they dont want to adjust anything. cost good money to replace the chewed up tires due to a vehicle out of alignment.
Last edited by straub18045; Nov 23, 2010 at 08:08 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 24,160
Likes: 78
mite get it close doing it yourself, then give it to me and i will show you were it is out of spec with the hunter machine. most mechanics dont do proper alignments because they dont want to adjust anything. cost good money to replace the chewed up tires due to a vehicle out of alignment.
As opposed to most mechs that think a 1/16" delta in toe left to right is "close enough".
It's basic geometry not rocket surgery.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 476
Likes: 0
From: Easton PA
Been doing my own alignments for years on both my '76 and '02. And everytime I've had it checked with a fancy shmancy laser machine, I've been spot on ... nothing to change.
As opposed to most mechs that think a 1/16" delta in toe left to right is "close enough".
It's basic geometry not rocket surgery.
As opposed to most mechs that think a 1/16" delta in toe left to right is "close enough".
It's basic geometry not rocket surgery.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Been doing my own alignments for years on both my '76 and '02. And everytime I've had it checked with a fancy shmancy laser machine, I've been spot on ... nothing to change.
As opposed to most mechs that think a 1/16" delta in toe left to right is "close enough".
It's basic geometry not rocket surgery.
As opposed to most mechs that think a 1/16" delta in toe left to right is "close enough".
It's basic geometry not rocket surgery.
doing it in the garage you will have to know the new track center for the rear, as opposed to the front, and I wonder if your tires stick out so far they are loading the suspension, and too much stress on the lower strut, shafts....I don't know to what extent you modded the t-arms....I did '92 vette wheels on my '72 long time ago....all I did was move the ebrake cable...same wheel/tire centerline....which BTW is 3/8 inch per side wider than in front.....if you have dis similar wheels, you have a problem measuring that, I just use a hub center, or in my case the hub cap to set the fishing line up on....my adapters are same on all 4 corners...2.5"......
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,936
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From: Rochester Hills Michigan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,247
Likes: 210
From: Detroit MI
mite get it close doing it yourself, then give it to me and i will show you were it is out of spec with the hunter machine. most mechanics dont do proper alignments because they dont want to adjust anything. cost good money to replace the chewed up tires due to a vehicle out of alignment.
If you have a high dollar machine and take your time and understand all of the things that go into setting an accurate alignment then that is great, most shops have hacks or kids running the alignment racks who don't even understand the settings they're putting on and how they affect vehicle handling. But please don't try telling someone they can't do it at home and not achieve results that are just as good as using expensive shop equipment (using it properly I will add).