DIY wheel allignment

[Scott C]

You ever set toe-in with a tape measure? I have in a pinch and checked it later on the four-wheel machine at work. Guess what, it was spot on.

All you have to do is measure from the same part of the tread pattern on both the front side of the tire front tires and the rear side front tires. The difference in measurements gives you your toe-in. It helps to have a tool to hold the steering wheel straight while adjusting the tie rods.

Brian

Have done it 2x - first time I took it to stealer to set - found I was within tolerance and they made no adjustments... Tape measure is fine.

[BigKriss]

Erich, does is come with the rubber pad also to put on the other wheel?

[ahlem]

Depending on how good you are at geometry you can do the same thing with a couple lengths of 1/2" conduit. You measure between the conduit about a foot in front of each wheel and then at the 10' end away from the wheel and then the diagonals. Your diagonals must be the same or you are not tracking straight. The difference between the dimension at the 1 foot in front of the wheel location and the 10-foot ends of the conduit is twice your toe in.
Now, if a train leaves Chicago heading west at 60 miles an hour.....
Actually it's not that complicated if you remember that a squared plus b squared equals c squared and sat next to that cute smart girl in high school geometry.

[shogun]

Erich, does is come with the rubber pad also to put on the other wheel?

yes, I got the rubber pad also.

[bsell]

To the guys who use string or tape measure, where you you get the centre measurement from, the middle of the centre tie rod (track rod), or the ends of it? or somewhere else?

I measured from the highest point on the front-side and rear-side of the front tires as I could get while maintaining a tight, straight tape measure. Of course I used the same grooves in the tires, both front and back. As you will need an assistant to hold the other end of the tape against the tire, make sure your helper understands the idea of using the same groove on both sides of the tire.

After reading the geometry post above, I started wondering what the definition of toe-in really was...so I went to Wikipedia and read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_(automotive)

You know this toe-in setting is not that big a deal to do after tackling the job a couple times. Altering the setting a little bit, 1/8th inch, or so can be felt pretty quickly during normal and spirited driving. The tell-tale feathering of overdone toe angle takes more time to show so use good measuring technique and check your work a couple times, then everything will be all right.

Brian

[Dash01]

u can't beat a piece of string tied round all 4 wheels

I use yellow thread, run around the car at the equator of each tire and held taught by a bit of masking tape. I insert a ~1/16" allen wrench between the thread and the front bulge of each front tire, and make sure the thread is straight: It indicates a straight line across the back bulges of the rear tire, the back bulge of the front tire, and across the allen wrench. ~1/16" thick allen wrench means the toe-in is correct, i.e, that each front wheel has that amount of toe-in, which translates to the correct angle.

I park the car on a level driveway or garage floor, with a couple of sheets of wax paper under each front tire, as a dry lubricant. This allows the wheel to be adjusted without squirm resistance from the tire.

Car tracks straight ahead, hands off, at 100 mph on a straight and level road. After I did this, I took it to a laser alignment shop, who refused to charge me since their machine indicated the alignment was already perfect.

Don't waste your money on the fancy angle thingy. This works better. Borrow a spool of thread of some kite string and do it yourself, in ~15 minutes.

[BigKriss]

To the guys who use string or tape measure, where you you get the centre measurement from, the middle of the centre tie rod (track rod), or the ends of it? or somewhere else?

[shogun]

in Autralia on clearance sale, Kris, for $ 298.65
are they to talk about clearance?
http://www.revheads.com.au/GUTR%20Notes.html
but at least they have a nice description how it works

http://www.revheads.com.au/GUTR%20Notes.html

[BigKriss]

Thanks, but the UK item on ebay works out to be a lot cheaper. How much toe in did you give on your e32 Erich?

in Australia on clearance sale, Kris, for $ 298.65
are they to talk about clearance?
http://www.revheads.com.au/GUTR%20Notes.html
but at least they have a nice description how it works

http://www.revheads.com.au/GUTR%20Notes.html

[BigKriss]

how much toe in did you give it, or was it just a guess?

I use yellow thread, run around the car at the equator of each tire and held taught by a bit of masking tape. I insert a ~1/16" allen wrench between the thread and the front bulge of each front tire, and make sure the thread is straight: It indicates a straight line across the back bulges of the rear tire, the back bulge of the front tire, and across the allen wrench. ~1/16" thick allen wrench means the toe-in is correct, i.e, that each front wheel has that amount of toe-in, which translates to the correct angle.

I park the car on a level driveway or garage floor, with a couple of sheets of wax paper under each front tire, as a dry lubricant. This allows the wheel to be adjusted without squirm resistance from the tire.

Car tracks straight ahead, hands off, at 100 mph on a straight and level road. After I did this, I took it to a laser alignment shop, who refused to charge me since their machine indicated the alignment was already perfect.

Don't waste your money on the fancy angle thingy. This works better. Borrow a spool of thread of some kite string and do it yourself, in ~15 minutes.