Re: Alignment

[DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com>]

Well, all this sudden vitriol from two commentators who formerly appeared
to be willing and able to avoid transforming the available information into
blunt throwing objects is certainly a disheartening turn of events.

>From what I have understood so far about Jeffrey's remarks, nothing
has led me to believe that (a) he has advocated that the public disregard
Audi's alignment specs. or (b) has provided enough data about which
cars he has set up in what manner to conclude that his alignment
practices directly result in handling instability. He, in his well known
(to this list) capacity to speak to car preparation for motorsport, has
simply explained his methodology. Readers of this list understand very
well that not every auto-crossing performance tweak idea presented here
applies to their family Avant. His experience greatly exceeds that of
nearly everyone else here and I'm inclined to trust that he would notice
when his adjustments made handling worse. Further, the methods he
describes are straight up race prep textbook stuff; perhaps they should be
left alone by many but when applied by a knowledgable person, they
are more than sufficient to produce excellent results. Racers don't
go to the dealership to have their cars set up.

I also think that Phil's not unsurprising observation that
a well aligned suspension has improved handling over a badly
aligned suspension is not likely the end all explanation of u-o-u.
Sorry. I generally prefer simplicity but not excessive simplicity.

Phil Payne wrote:

>In message <0.287492f.2536c352@aol.com> OorQue@aol.com writes:
>
>> If he doesn't care, then why did he take issue with my method?  I'm not
>> imposing anything upon anybody, I'm merely explaining (and subsequently
>> defending) what I do and why in response to the NINE requests I received over
>> the past few days asking me to do so.
>
>I don't care what _YOU_ do at all.  I care that 1,500+ people might read
>and some might use a method that aligns a car in such a way as to make
>it extremely dangerous at the limit.
>
>You can go backwards into as much street furniture as you want.  Other
>people might follow your dumb instructions and then go out driving with
>their families - even if they drive nowhere near the limit, they might
>one day want to take avoiding action and be let down by their car.
>
>> If Phil wants to have his cars aligned strictly by the book using the latest
>> high-zoot alignment rack or a compass and sextant, that's his business not
>> mine.  These days, the only cars that concern me are mine ... the three I'm
>> hoping to keep running and the one I'm still trying to get running.  :^)
>
>All I'm doing is following the manual and staying within the tolerances
>it defines.  The fact that you can't do that with string and sealing wax
>is peripheral.
>[ ... ]

And added later that:

>>[People who don't follow Audi procedure shouldn't then] waste his costly
>>band width complaining about their results.
>
>Or bitching about unpredictable behaviour from a car that's so far out
>of specification that it's a joke.
>
>Speaking only for myself, I'm quite happy now that I know where this
>phenomenon comes from.