c3 geometry set up
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 300
Likes: 3
From: kempton park Gauteng
c3 geometry set up
Hi ,has anyone got any posts on how to set up the caster / camber angles and toe in / out from scratch.?
where is the best place to start as a reference , front and rear suspension have been stripped and rebuilt, new front and rear bushes , shims , bearing and shocks etc. The rear was far out before stripping , shims rusted and not able to reference from them. Need some good simple straightforward advice and if possible diagrams or pics, or do i just trailer it to an alignment centre and let them do it all ? Cant say i am in favour of this one though,
Thanks guys
where is the best place to start as a reference , front and rear suspension have been stripped and rebuilt, new front and rear bushes , shims , bearing and shocks etc. The rear was far out before stripping , shims rusted and not able to reference from them. Need some good simple straightforward advice and if possible diagrams or pics, or do i just trailer it to an alignment centre and let them do it all ? Cant say i am in favour of this one though,
Thanks guys
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,404
Likes: 1
From: Ansonia/NYC CT
VBP has a pretty good chart for specs. Howver, without the proper equipment, you're not going to be able to do the alignment yourself. If you don't have the measuring tool, you're gonna have to eyeball it as best you can, make adjustments, roll the car back and forth, eyeball it, make adjustments, roll it, etc, till you get it close, then drive it to the nearest shop to get a proper alignment.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
From: Colorado Springs Colorado
Check out this post about doing your own alignment with common tools in your garage/driveway:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...alignment.html
I'm one of those people who believe you can understand what effect each of the alignment adjustments make to your car, and make those adjustments to suit your driving preference.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...alignment.html
I'm one of those people who believe you can understand what effect each of the alignment adjustments make to your car, and make those adjustments to suit your driving preference.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,428
Likes: 5
From: Japan
As long as you have a decent-quality caster/camber gauge and an attachment for measuring toe settings you can get things pretty close in your garage IF you have a flat floor and a fair amount of patience and persistence. You could also get there using assorted levels, etc. but for less than $200 American you can purchase dedicated tools that are made for the purpose which make the job a lot easier and produce more repeatable readings.
A good starting point would be to get everything as close to zero as possible, i.e., zero toe, camber, and caster in the front. Then set the caster, camber, and toe in that order. For the rear it's best to start by splitting the difference between the width of the trailing arm pockets in the frame and the thicknesses of the T-arms themselves, then shimming an equal amount on either side of each arm. There are threads on this forum as to how you can set the rear toe squarely in relation to the frame...once you've done that you can adjust the rear camber and you'll be there.
It sounds from your post that you're from the UK...don't know how alignment shops over there typically treat their customers but here in the US they have a saying "Set the toe and let it go!". I finally got tired of this treatment and bought the tools I needed to do alignments at home. Some of the best money I ever spent...
A good starting point would be to get everything as close to zero as possible, i.e., zero toe, camber, and caster in the front. Then set the caster, camber, and toe in that order. For the rear it's best to start by splitting the difference between the width of the trailing arm pockets in the frame and the thicknesses of the T-arms themselves, then shimming an equal amount on either side of each arm. There are threads on this forum as to how you can set the rear toe squarely in relation to the frame...once you've done that you can adjust the rear camber and you'll be there.
It sounds from your post that you're from the UK...don't know how alignment shops over there typically treat their customers but here in the US they have a saying "Set the toe and let it go!". I finally got tired of this treatment and bought the tools I needed to do alignments at home. Some of the best money I ever spent...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 300
Likes: 3
From: kempton park Gauteng
As long as you have a decent-quality caster/camber gauge and an attachment for measuring toe settings you can get things pretty close in your garage IF you have a flat floor and a fair amount of patience and persistence. You could also get there using assorted levels, etc. but for less than $200 American you can purchase dedicated tools that are made for the purpose which make the job a lot easier and produce more repeatable readings.
A good starting point would be to get everything as close to zero as possible, i.e., zero toe, camber, and caster in the front. Then set the caster, camber, and toe in that order. For the rear it's best to start by splitting the difference between the width of the trailing arm pockets in the frame and the thicknesses of the T-arms themselves, then shimming an equal amount on either side of each arm. There are threads on this forum as to how you can set the rear toe squarely in relation to the frame...once you've done that you can adjust the rear camber and you'll be there.
It sounds from your post that you're from the UK...don't know how alignment shops over there typically treat their customers but here in the US they have a saying "Set the toe and let it go!". I finally got tired of this treatment and bought the tools I needed to do alignments at home. Some of the best money I ever spent...
A good starting point would be to get everything as close to zero as possible, i.e., zero toe, camber, and caster in the front. Then set the caster, camber, and toe in that order. For the rear it's best to start by splitting the difference between the width of the trailing arm pockets in the frame and the thicknesses of the T-arms themselves, then shimming an equal amount on either side of each arm. There are threads on this forum as to how you can set the rear toe squarely in relation to the frame...once you've done that you can adjust the rear camber and you'll be there.
It sounds from your post that you're from the UK...don't know how alignment shops over there typically treat their customers but here in the US they have a saying "Set the toe and let it go!". I finally got tired of this treatment and bought the tools I needed to do alignments at home. Some of the best money I ever spent...
Thanks a stack for your fast response to my cry for help .
I am actually in South Africa , and as you say , most of the idea of service is fast turn around , minimal effort and as much money as possible , ( set the toe and go ) very much the way here as well , that's why i want to do the set up myself and hopefully get it fairly accurate from advise from forum members such as yourself.
i will follow your advise and get the correct tools and see how far i can get.
Thanks again for your assistance,
Regards,
John
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 300
Likes: 3
From: kempton park Gauteng
Check out this post about doing your own alignment with common tools in your garage/driveway:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...alignment.html
I'm one of those people who believe you can understand what effect each of the alignment adjustments make to your car, and make those adjustments to suit your driving preference.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...alignment.html
I'm one of those people who believe you can understand what effect each of the alignment adjustments make to your car, and make those adjustments to suit your driving preference.
Thanks a stack for the reply , you and all the guys on the forum are really great , especially all the people who came to my assistance on this one.
I am going to order a good set of gauges from the guys over there and then try to set up my car as accurate as i can based on all the advise given from guys such as yourself from the forum.
Thanks a stack Tony
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 300
Likes: 3
From: kempton park Gauteng
VBP has a pretty good chart for specs. Howver, without the proper equipment, you're not going to be able to do the alignment yourself. If you don't have the measuring tool, you're gonna have to eyeball it as best you can, make adjustments, roll the car back and forth, eyeball it, make adjustments, roll it, etc, till you get it close, then drive it to the nearest shop to get a proper alignment.
Great , thanks for the advise i really appreciate it. I am going to order a good set up of tools for the alignment , as we don't really seem to have a good supplier in South Africa .
I will set it up myself based on all the information that i received back from guys from the forum and see how accurate i can get this job done.
I didn't want to trailer the car to an alignment centre as i don't really have much faith in their abilities to set the car up correctly , even with the high tech machinery they use , when i see guys using a shifting spanner instead of the correct size spanner for the bolt or nut, then i already have my doubts !!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for your response i really appreciate it .
john
