Re: Alignment

[OorQue@aol.com]

> I am by no means an expert on alignment but I do not see how a car with 
> macpherson struts could "lose" camber when the river gets out.

It has to do with the car's suspension geometry.  Because the control arm 
swings through an arc when it moves, it laterally displaces the balljoint 
attached to the bottom of the strut as it rotates around its inner pivots.

With regard to my Ur-Q, because the control arm is nearly horizontal at its 
rest position and the upper mounting point is fixed at the upper strut 
bearing, the balljoint's *always* pulled inward regardless of the direction 
in which the control arm moves.  When a driver gets in the car, their weight 
causes the springs to compress and in turn, this causes the control arm to 
rotate and pull the balljoint *inward*, thus reducing the amount of static 
negative camber at the wheels.  If you measure it, you'll also find the 
camber of the rear wheels will have changed along with the toe settings on 
all four wheels. 
 
Unfortunately, the above explanation's better accomplished in a bar with a 
few drawings on a cocktail napkin but after you work through it in your head 
a few times, everything should eventually become clear ... I hope.  :^)

JG