Time to have a front end alignment on my Intermceccinica D. Can anyone confirm settings in knowlege sections. Any other tips would also be appreciated. THANKS ,TOM
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Time to have a front end alignment on my Intermceccinica D. Can anyone confirm settings in knowlege sections. Any other tips would also be appreciated. THANKS ,TOM
Here's my suggestion:
Caster is an adjustment that increases tracking. More caster makes the steering wheel harder to turn at slow speeds but at high speeds, makes the car track straight. Caster also serves to self center the wheels after a turn.
If your front beam is welded to the chassis, no adjustments can be made for caster.
Shims were used on stock VW's to adjust caster. Shims on the top mounting bolts increased caster, shims on the lower bolts decreased caster. Optimum caster is 3 to 4 degree's
Camber. Positive camber is when the top of the tire leans to the outside. Negative camber is when the tire leans to the inside. Most passenger cars are set up with 0 camber. For increased tire patch contact during cornering, negative camber is recommended. It tends to cause some wear on the inside of the tire but during cornering, a car with negative camber increases the front tire contact witht the road during weight transfer or "tire loading"
Recommended camber for a normal ride is "0" degree's. Spirited driving between 1/2 and 1 degree negative, racing usually starts at 1 degree negative and can go as high as 2 degree's. Camber adjusters are located beneath the upper ball joint.
Toe in is usually set at 1/8 inch. This means that each tire is adjusted towards the center of the car 1/16 th on an inch for a total of 1/8 inch.
Some race cars have been known to have up to 1 inch of toe in, (1/2 inch per tire)
Caster is an adjustment that increases tracking. More caster makes the steering wheel harder to turn at slow speeds but at high speeds, makes the car track straight. Caster also serves to self center the wheels after a turn.
If your front beam is welded to the chassis, no adjustments can be made for caster.
Shims were used on stock VW's to adjust caster. Shims on the top mounting bolts increased caster, shims on the lower bolts decreased caster. Optimum caster is 3 to 4 degree's
Camber. Positive camber is when the top of the tire leans to the outside. Negative camber is when the tire leans to the inside. Most passenger cars are set up with 0 camber. For increased tire patch contact during cornering, negative camber is recommended. It tends to cause some wear on the inside of the tire but during cornering, a car with negative camber increases the front tire contact witht the road during weight transfer or "tire loading"
Recommended camber for a normal ride is "0" degree's. Spirited driving between 1/2 and 1 degree negative, racing usually starts at 1 degree negative and can go as high as 2 degree's. Camber adjusters are located beneath the upper ball joint.
Toe in is usually set at 1/8 inch. This means that each tire is adjusted towards the center of the car 1/16 th on an inch for a total of 1/8 inch.
Some race cars have been known to have up to 1 inch of toe in, (1/2 inch per tire)
...Camber?
...Toe in?
Camber toe in - kinda sounds like a rude reference to a suggestive automotive part!
...Toe in?
Camber toe in - kinda sounds like a rude reference to a suggestive automotive part!
I went down to 1/16th total tow in on my front end and the tire wear is good with a side benefit of easier turning.
That would be 1/32 per side. You will probably need it on a machine to get it this accurate. For most of us, having negative camber is a waste of good tires on the front end. While it does provide some of what Larry is saying most of us don't really drive our cars anywhere near spirited level.
I also have the ability to adjust my rear tow in which you may not have with your suspension. I run the rear at 1/8" per side with .50 degrees of negative camber.
My Castor numbers are not numbers you would want to use, even if you could adjust your castor, my suspension allows for more castor without making it hard to steer.
That would be 1/32 per side. You will probably need it on a machine to get it this accurate. For most of us, having negative camber is a waste of good tires on the front end. While it does provide some of what Larry is saying most of us don't really drive our cars anywhere near spirited level.
I also have the ability to adjust my rear tow in which you may not have with your suspension. I run the rear at 1/8" per side with .50 degrees of negative camber.
My Castor numbers are not numbers you would want to use, even if you could adjust your castor, my suspension allows for more castor without making it hard to steer.
Hi Tom: For your front end use 1/16
I thought I read somewhere that toe in is for cars with the steering stuff in front of the center line of the wheels while toe out is for cars with steering stuff to the rear. Since the VW have the steering to the rear of the center line then it would be toe out.
The reasoning, I recall, was that with toe out when the car is rolling the wheels would want to track straight therefore the leading edges would want to move closer together. This movement closer together would take up the slack in the various ball joints and such in the steering. It kind of made sense to me at the time...
Brian
The reasoning, I recall, was that with toe out when the car is rolling the wheels would want to track straight therefore the leading edges would want to move closer together. This movement closer together would take up the slack in the various ball joints and such in the steering. It kind of made sense to me at the time...
Brian
Went with Larry's recommendation . Car tracks vv straight. Got front camber and toe values perfect per his specs. Could not get perfect caster values. Steering toe was way off. Rear was not adjustable. Don't yet know how all this will affect tire wear. Sure does act better on the road though. Thanks to all. Tom
Brian,
That's totally incorrect.
Front and rear steer suspension and steering systems are aligned the same.
Front steer cars have the tie rods/pitman arm/rack & Pinion in front of the axle where rear steer cars have those components behind the fron axle.
Toe in is when the tires point towards the center of the car, Toe out is when they point towards the outside.
Check alignment spec's for similar models of a Ford (rear steer) and a Chevy (front steer) You'll find that both have approx. 1/8" TOE IN.
That's 1/16" per tire.
That's totally incorrect.
Front and rear steer suspension and steering systems are aligned the same.
Front steer cars have the tie rods/pitman arm/rack & Pinion in front of the axle where rear steer cars have those components behind the fron axle.
Toe in is when the tires point towards the center of the car, Toe out is when they point towards the outside.
Check alignment spec's for similar models of a Ford (rear steer) and a Chevy (front steer) You'll find that both have approx. 1/8" TOE IN.
That's 1/16" per tire.
Brian: What you maybe thinking of is: when a wheel has negative camber the inside edge of the wheel has a smaller diameter than the outer so it wants to turn toward the center. Positive caster will do the opposite. The theory goes bugs were set up with positive camber so they would toe them in so that when the car was rolling the wheels will want to turn out and that combined with the play/flex in the system would end up making the wheels roll straight down the street.
In truth while camber has an effect it is small compared to things like caster and offset.
Tom: Your rear toe is adjustable. There are 2 or 3 bolts on the spring plates that need to be loosened and then the hub can be moved forward and back. If your IM is mid 90
In truth while camber has an effect it is small compared to things like caster and offset.
Tom: Your rear toe is adjustable. There are 2 or 3 bolts on the spring plates that need to be loosened and then the hub can be moved forward and back. If your IM is mid 90
Hi Tom; I think this is funny, I was adjusting my valves and I noticed some wear on my front tires both showed the same wear on the inside tread, so since I am going up to Oregon in afew days . New tires were in order,and a front end allignement. I was put on a computorized machine,and after about two hours work on all four wheels, camber was way out. left rear also need some adjustment. It is now dialed in with a 0 camber and toe of 1/16 with the rear at 3/32. I did my own front end about two years ago using only a tape measure. I used to this on my jeep all the time. Boy, was I off by not putting it on a machine. Steering has improved conciderably and since I replaced the tranny a while back I didn't do to bad of getting in ,allinement I was only off 1/16th. I put tires on my car two years ago so I was due , anyway. I have put a lot miles on my beck this summer, and I guess I really didn't notice how stiff my streering was becoming. I can sure tell the difference now. My sugestion is take it in to a shop and have a proffessional do it . They even gave me a nice four page printout from the computor. I was present under the beck durring this proceedure so that may have caused the two hour job ,I asked a lot of questions . I learned quite a lot about the shimming and tweeking the rear spring plate. I also beleive this should be done on a machine. It dosn't take much to through it out when adjusting your rods a twist to far isn' t noticed by just using a tpe measure.