DIY Alignment
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 3
From: Ottawa Ontario, Canada
DIY Alignment
One of the forum members saw a post I had mentioning my home-brew alignment and asked about it, I thought I'd post it up for everyone to see.
I must also add that I had the car checked out by an alignment shop after I was done just to make sure everything was OK (especialy the front caster since I don't know how to measure that with common hand tools).
The problem I have with alignment shops is that they will usually just get the settings within the tolerance allowed by the manufacturer, which can be a great alignment or one that causes spooky handling and uneven tire wear, especially on a lightweight car with really wide tires. Doing this myself I was able to get everything just about perfect; all camber settings were right on -0.75 degrees, front toe was zero and rear toe was just a tad (can't remember exact measurement), both ends of the car tracking straight, and front caster was within spec both left and right and the left to right difference was minimal (this was pure luck and the main reason I took the car in to have it checked).
If anyone has any comments or tips on how this can be done better or easier please chime in!
==========================
I did my alignment with a tape measure and a plumbob, and a bit of luck.
Setting caster and camber is done by turning the eccentric bolts on the inboard side of the lower control arms. The rear arms have only one eccentric for adjusting camber only, the front has two eccentrics for altering the camber and caster. The upper control arms are fixed, the only adjustments that can be made are to remove washers on the front uppers where they attach to the frame. Not all cars have these as they were used to compensate for manufacturing variations in the frame (this is what I've been told anyway...)
To measure the camber angle you need to hang a plumbob down the outside face of the wheel and measure the difference in distance between the string at the top of the wheel and the bottom. Use Trigonometry to find the angle.
Setting caster by yourself is a crapshoot as far as this plumbob and tape measure method goes... you'll need some more advanced equipment to make sure this is right. All I did was to make sure that the eccentric bolts on the left and right were adjusted fairly close to each other respective to the front bolt and rear bolt. When I had the alignment shop check it out they said everything was good, but this was pure luck that I got it right.
I suppose you could check this yourself with the plumbob by turning the wheels the same amount left and right and then checking the amount of camber introduced, but this will only tell you that the left is the same as the right, not the amount of caster you've actually got.
As far as toe goes, it's pretty simple; the tie rods at the front and rear are both adjustable, loosen the nut and then put a wrench on the rod where the hex pattern is and turn the rod to get the wheel to toe in or out. To measure the toe I place a couple of 2x4s on the floor in front and behind the front or rear wheels and lay a tape measure across (the 2x4s help get a measurement farther out on the tire than if you measured right from the floor). Measure from the same feature on the tread for both left and right wheels.
The only thing really difficult about doing toe adjustments is making sure the rear end is tracking straight... this is where the luck thing comes in. Once you've got the toe where you want it, you need to place a long straight object across the rear wheel and gunsight down the side of the car. The wheels should be pointed the same relative to a common point on the front of the car, I look at the front wheels (as long as they're reasonably aligned). This will make sure the rear tracks straight.
Getting the front to track straight is easy if the back is set up right... just make sure the steering wheel is straight when you're traveling straight. If it's not, make the necessary adjustments.
Make sure before getting into this that you have a nice flat, smooth and LEVEL concrete pad to work on. If the surface isn't flat and level all of your adjustments can and will be off; the plumbob will point straight down regardless of the surface, and if the surface isn't flat your suspension will be compressed different amounts at each corner, making accurate camber measurement impossible.
Also, every time I lift the car to make an adjustment, I take it for a short spin, get on the gas hard and brakes hard, and swerve left to right a few times to settle the suspension. When I bring it back into the shop I make sure that the car is in exactly the same place every time and that I roll the car forward a few feet and let it come to a stop right where the measurements are to be taken. The reason I do this is to mimic the car rolling forward when you're driving, as any toe in or out that's present will actually pull the tires together or apart by compressing the suspension bushings. This gives a more accurate measurement of what the toe actually is while the car is rolling forward (which, to me is more important than what the toe is when sitting still).
If you've ever noticed (in a manual transmission car anyway) when you coast to a stop at a light on a level road and the car rolls backwards a foot or so and then stops? Unless there's a dip in the road, the reason this happens is the suspension and tires are unloading due to the toe adjusted into the suspension settings. This is really easy to see on a level concrete shop floor; you push the car forward and it stops, then rolls back a bit to unload the tires and suspension bushings.
Since I have little to no toe in my suspension this doesn't happen with my car anymore.
Hope this helps...
I must also add that I had the car checked out by an alignment shop after I was done just to make sure everything was OK (especialy the front caster since I don't know how to measure that with common hand tools).
The problem I have with alignment shops is that they will usually just get the settings within the tolerance allowed by the manufacturer, which can be a great alignment or one that causes spooky handling and uneven tire wear, especially on a lightweight car with really wide tires. Doing this myself I was able to get everything just about perfect; all camber settings were right on -0.75 degrees, front toe was zero and rear toe was just a tad (can't remember exact measurement), both ends of the car tracking straight, and front caster was within spec both left and right and the left to right difference was minimal (this was pure luck and the main reason I took the car in to have it checked).
If anyone has any comments or tips on how this can be done better or easier please chime in!
==========================
I did my alignment with a tape measure and a plumbob, and a bit of luck.
Setting caster and camber is done by turning the eccentric bolts on the inboard side of the lower control arms. The rear arms have only one eccentric for adjusting camber only, the front has two eccentrics for altering the camber and caster. The upper control arms are fixed, the only adjustments that can be made are to remove washers on the front uppers where they attach to the frame. Not all cars have these as they were used to compensate for manufacturing variations in the frame (this is what I've been told anyway...)
To measure the camber angle you need to hang a plumbob down the outside face of the wheel and measure the difference in distance between the string at the top of the wheel and the bottom. Use Trigonometry to find the angle.
Setting caster by yourself is a crapshoot as far as this plumbob and tape measure method goes... you'll need some more advanced equipment to make sure this is right. All I did was to make sure that the eccentric bolts on the left and right were adjusted fairly close to each other respective to the front bolt and rear bolt. When I had the alignment shop check it out they said everything was good, but this was pure luck that I got it right.
I suppose you could check this yourself with the plumbob by turning the wheels the same amount left and right and then checking the amount of camber introduced, but this will only tell you that the left is the same as the right, not the amount of caster you've actually got.
As far as toe goes, it's pretty simple; the tie rods at the front and rear are both adjustable, loosen the nut and then put a wrench on the rod where the hex pattern is and turn the rod to get the wheel to toe in or out. To measure the toe I place a couple of 2x4s on the floor in front and behind the front or rear wheels and lay a tape measure across (the 2x4s help get a measurement farther out on the tire than if you measured right from the floor). Measure from the same feature on the tread for both left and right wheels.
The only thing really difficult about doing toe adjustments is making sure the rear end is tracking straight... this is where the luck thing comes in. Once you've got the toe where you want it, you need to place a long straight object across the rear wheel and gunsight down the side of the car. The wheels should be pointed the same relative to a common point on the front of the car, I look at the front wheels (as long as they're reasonably aligned). This will make sure the rear tracks straight.
Getting the front to track straight is easy if the back is set up right... just make sure the steering wheel is straight when you're traveling straight. If it's not, make the necessary adjustments.
Make sure before getting into this that you have a nice flat, smooth and LEVEL concrete pad to work on. If the surface isn't flat and level all of your adjustments can and will be off; the plumbob will point straight down regardless of the surface, and if the surface isn't flat your suspension will be compressed different amounts at each corner, making accurate camber measurement impossible.
Also, every time I lift the car to make an adjustment, I take it for a short spin, get on the gas hard and brakes hard, and swerve left to right a few times to settle the suspension. When I bring it back into the shop I make sure that the car is in exactly the same place every time and that I roll the car forward a few feet and let it come to a stop right where the measurements are to be taken. The reason I do this is to mimic the car rolling forward when you're driving, as any toe in or out that's present will actually pull the tires together or apart by compressing the suspension bushings. This gives a more accurate measurement of what the toe actually is while the car is rolling forward (which, to me is more important than what the toe is when sitting still).
If you've ever noticed (in a manual transmission car anyway) when you coast to a stop at a light on a level road and the car rolls backwards a foot or so and then stops? Unless there's a dip in the road, the reason this happens is the suspension and tires are unloading due to the toe adjusted into the suspension settings. This is really easy to see on a level concrete shop floor; you push the car forward and it stops, then rolls back a bit to unload the tires and suspension bushings.
Since I have little to no toe in my suspension this doesn't happen with my car anymore.
Hope this helps...
Drifting
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,590
Likes: 1
From: Littleton Colorado
Hey, going through this myself right now. Putting on a chamber plate kit, and its frustrating getting the alignment setup. Anyway, your input will help out. Also, check out David Farmers page: http://www.davidfarmerstuff.com/
p.s. If anyone has instructions on how to go about setting the alignment after installing a chamber plate kit please step up!
p.s. If anyone has instructions on how to go about setting the alignment after installing a chamber plate kit please step up!
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Hey, going through this myself right now. Putting on a chamber plate kit, and its frustrating getting the alignment setup. Anyway, your input will help out. Also, check out David Farmers page: http://www.davidfarmerstuff.com/
p.s. If anyone has instructions on how to go about setting the alignment after installing a chamber plate kit please step up!
p.s. If anyone has instructions on how to go about setting the alignment after installing a chamber plate kit please step up!
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,895
Likes: 84
From: Darien IL
How did you manage to torque the camber eccentric bolts? I had to drive the car to oil change place and use their pit. Even then it was tough getting bolts torqued to 125 ft-lb. or whatever the spec was.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 3
From: Ottawa Ontario, Canada
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 43,084
Likes: 33
From: Raleigh / Rolesville NC
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,819
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
I did the DIY alignment thing for a couple of years. Before I went to an autocross or a track event I would set my competition alignment and when I got back I would set my street alignment. I used a 6 ft level to make a level spot in the garage (using 1/8 inch asphalt floor tiles). Used a spray can to paint around the tiles so I could locate my spots each time. For caster and camber I used a $40 gauge that I bought at the local circle track shop. It uses magnets to fasten on to the center hub. Caster is measured by first setting camber and then turning the steering about 20 degrees to one side or the other and measuring camber again. Then move the steering 20 deg to the other side of straight ahead and measuring camber again. The difference between the two numbers is the caster. Repeat for the wheel on the other side.
Once caster and camber are set you can measure and set toe.
After doing this quite a few times over two years with each time taking about 3 hours I got tired of it and chose a compromise alignment that I give to a local shop and they set the settings to what I want not what the tolerance sheet says. A hell of a lot easier and a lot less time involved.
Bill
Once caster and camber are set you can measure and set toe.
After doing this quite a few times over two years with each time taking about 3 hours I got tired of it and chose a compromise alignment that I give to a local shop and they set the settings to what I want not what the tolerance sheet says. A hell of a lot easier and a lot less time involved.
Bill
Drifting
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,590
Likes: 1
From: Littleton Colorado
How does the hardbar alignment tools work?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,085
Likes: 3
From: Ottawa Ontario, Canada
But for the average Joe like me, doing this myself gives a great sense of accomplishment, especially when you see the look on the guy's face at the alignment shop when you tell him you did it with a tape measure and a plumbob -
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,251
Likes: 16
From: Phoenix Arizona
I did the DIY alignment thing for a couple of years. Before I went to an autocross or a track event I would set my competition alignment and when I got back I would set my street alignment. I used a 6 ft level to make a level spot in the garage (using 1/8 inch asphalt floor tiles). Used a spray can to paint around the tiles so I could locate my spots each time. For caster and camber I used a $40 gauge that I bought at the local circle track shop. It uses magnets to fasten on to the center hub. Caster is measured by first setting camber and then turning the steering about 20 degrees to one side or the other and measuring camber again. Then move the steering 20 deg to the other side of straight ahead and measuring camber again. The difference between the two numbers is the caster. Repeat for the wheel on the other side.
Once caster and camber are set you can measure and set toe.
After doing this quite a few times over two years with each time taking about 3 hours I got tired of it and chose a compromise alignment that I give to a local shop and they set the settings to what I want not what the tolerance sheet says. A hell of a lot easier and a lot less time involved.
Bill
Once caster and camber are set you can measure and set toe.
After doing this quite a few times over two years with each time taking about 3 hours I got tired of it and chose a compromise alignment that I give to a local shop and they set the settings to what I want not what the tolerance sheet says. A hell of a lot easier and a lot less time involved.
Bill
Hey Bill!
What are your compromise settings?
