DIY Alignment Walkthrough - Chicago Area?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
DIY Alignment Walkthrough - Chicago Area?
Greetings all,
Bottom Line Up Front: Hoping someone in the Chicago area would be willing to train me up on how to do a DIY alignment on my C7 Z51. Beer provided, of course.
I plan to head back to the track after a long absence in my '15 C7 Z51 and am determined to do it "right" after a lot of shortcuts in my youthful 20-something exuberance the last time out.
On my shopping list is to ensure that I get the car properly aligned to GM's track settings prior to hitting the track so I'm not constantly destroying the outside edge of the tire (will be running my Michelin Super Sports until I get my feet underneath me again).
So, in lieu of having an alignment shop dial in the settings each time I want to change them, I am looking to learn how to change alignment with camber guage / toe plates and strings. Trouble is I have read the forum posts and online information on the procedure and I remain a little uncertain on some of the steps or pitfalls. And I generally don't want to learn everything the hard way one this one.
So, if you know what you're doing, are in the Chicago area and are game to share your knowledge, let me know and I'll be glad to bring a six pack of whatever, the car, and a proper attention span.
Joe
Bottom Line Up Front: Hoping someone in the Chicago area would be willing to train me up on how to do a DIY alignment on my C7 Z51. Beer provided, of course.
I plan to head back to the track after a long absence in my '15 C7 Z51 and am determined to do it "right" after a lot of shortcuts in my youthful 20-something exuberance the last time out.
On my shopping list is to ensure that I get the car properly aligned to GM's track settings prior to hitting the track so I'm not constantly destroying the outside edge of the tire (will be running my Michelin Super Sports until I get my feet underneath me again).
So, in lieu of having an alignment shop dial in the settings each time I want to change them, I am looking to learn how to change alignment with camber guage / toe plates and strings. Trouble is I have read the forum posts and online information on the procedure and I remain a little uncertain on some of the steps or pitfalls. And I generally don't want to learn everything the hard way one this one.
So, if you know what you're doing, are in the Chicago area and are game to share your knowledge, let me know and I'll be glad to bring a six pack of whatever, the car, and a proper attention span.
Joe
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,296
Likes: 156
From: Location: Location: kAnSaS
its a little more complicated then setting toe and camber (altho those are things that cause tire wear not caster). That's easy stuff a guy can do with a bar or tape measure to get close and a digital level on the wheel to get camber. .
The catch is setting caster which really is an invisible reading that you need to take 2 different camber readings or a "caster swing" to measure and those tools might get you close but not accurate. The control arms on the vettes allow caster and camber changes and any slight change can throw camber and caster off. The toe on front is set thru the rack via inner and outer tie rod's, pretty simple to get close but not exact.
My background: ase master tech over seeing shops over the years and di at least 1000 alignments over the year and with that said It sounds like you can do the toe and camber yourself pretty easy, getting the caster right you might need a little help with. Wish you were closer you could stop by. good luck with it, paul
The catch is setting caster which really is an invisible reading that you need to take 2 different camber readings or a "caster swing" to measure and those tools might get you close but not accurate. The control arms on the vettes allow caster and camber changes and any slight change can throw camber and caster off. The toe on front is set thru the rack via inner and outer tie rod's, pretty simple to get close but not exact.
My background: ase master tech over seeing shops over the years and di at least 1000 alignments over the year and with that said It sounds like you can do the toe and camber yourself pretty easy, getting the caster right you might need a little help with. Wish you were closer you could stop by. good luck with it, paul
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
Thanks Paul. Hopefully someone local chimes in, since I think the worst outcome would be getting it wrong and not knowing how to correct.
As a possible solution, do you think it would be possible to simply mark the adjustment parts at specified settings -- i.e. green paint for street, yellow for track or something similar?
Or are the results not repeatable enough after the initial set?
As a possible solution, do you think it would be possible to simply mark the adjustment parts at specified settings -- i.e. green paint for street, yellow for track or something similar?
Or are the results not repeatable enough after the initial set?
