[s-cars] Alignment -> Wheels pointing in different directions

[Theodore Chen]

tim,

if your car is already aligned but the steering wheel is off, then to 
center the steering wheel, all you need to do is adjust each tie rod by
the same amount.

if you want to do an alignment in your garage, it's not too hard to do.

a quick alignment on the car is pretty easy to do with the string method 
and a level. i have an electronic level, but you can measure camber with 
a bubble level and some basic trigonometry.

get some cheap floor tiles (the commercial kind are great because they're
really cheap and have smooth surfaces) and stack them as needed so that
the car sits level. you can do this with a length of clear vinyl tubing
(1/4" works well), some cups, and water. adjust the height of the tiles
until the water level in each cup is the same. of course, if you know
your garage floor is level, you can skip this step. but you should put
two tiles under each wheel, so that you can have turnplates under the front
wheels.

for the turnplates, put some grease between the tiles under the front wheels
so that they'll turn easily.  don't skip this step.  friction will make
it difficult to set the toe accurately.

set up strings in a box around the car. the important part is that the
strings running along the length of the car should be parallel to each
other.  this is easy to achieve if you cut two sets of strings with equal
lengths in each set. once this is done, you can easily determine toe by
measuring from the leading and trailing edges of the rims to the strings.

to set caster, turn the wheels 20 degrees and determine the camber change.
you can calculate the caster from this.

this method of alignment is amazingly accurate. i did this to set up my
car after a major suspension swap, and then took it in for an alignment.
i didn't even bother to level the car as i was just trying to get the
car into a drivable state so i could drive it to the shop. all the numbers
were right on and i was out $40 for nothing.


--- tim rad <tr0910 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Do I understand that nobody has messed with their tie rods or tried to
> do an alignment themselves.  I just want to straighten out my steering
> wheel...
> 
> Tim
> 
> > >
> > > After seeing Serge's unhappy circumstances, I only need to get my
> > > steering wheel in the normal position with the car pointed straight
> > > ahead.  I just replaced the front shocks, ball joints and sub frame
> > > bushings, and now need to do an alignment.
> > >
> > > According to Bentley, there isn't much you can do.  Just toe - in
> > > (which I should be able to do with a tape measure, and getting the
> > > shock towers correctly adjusted on the right side of the stock camber
> > > plates adjustment slots.  Caster is not adjustable.
> > >
> > > Can I do this myself?  Suggestions from those who have done it
> before.....???
> > >
> > > (Car drives nicely, now even if the steering wheel isn't centered)
> > >
> > > Tim
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > S-CAR-List mailing list
> > > S-CAR-List at audifans.com
> > > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/s-car-list
> > >
> > 
> >
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> 


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