Set up equipment?

T

Think Racing

Well-known member
I've got a set of tow plates and a camber gauge and this is what I use to set up my car. I work out of one side of my oversized basement garage with a floor designed to drain melting snow, so it is not level.

At the beginning of the season I took my car to a shop and using an alignment rack weighed it, set the corner weights and ride height, adjusted the tow and camber and went racing.

Each race I check my tow and camber, but I usually wait until I'm at the track so I have a nice flat surface.

I would like to graduate to something a bit more sophistcated, so I can take my prep a bit more seriously and do it at home.

I've looked at platforms, hub stands, levelers, scale pads, etc., but I'm just not sure what I should get that would help me do a better and more precise job without having to necessarily go all out like a pro.

Thoughts? What do you guys use?
 
I've actually given hub stands a serious look as well as the slip plates. Seems that along with the stands, the slip plates a set of scale pads with scales could do the job. I'm familiar with the brand you mention as well and have a favorable view of them.
 
Fred, some time back you had roll-off platforms for your scales. Did they work with your sloped? Or would you have needed longer adjustable legs?

If they did work you could easly use the appropriate sized alum angles (4) front & rear to tie the platforms together & form lips for the bridge ramps to sit on/tube to form bridges for on & between the platfoms. See something similar below that is not truly a roll-off like your platforms. Then use plastic bags for slip plates & a string box for toe alignment. Do some Googles for the string box (easy to fab) camber & castor tools. It can be done for what I'll call cost effective. No matter what you do/use it's a PITA if one must continue to do a total reset to use.

http://www.kodiakmotorsports.com/platform.htm
 
Jay offers some excellent options. They would be my first choice, repeatable and much less work in the long run.

At the other end of the spectrum is a simple water level, some thin sheets of plywood and 18" X 18" vinyl floor squares. Shim to nearly level with the plywood, and then finish level with the floor squares. Put some wheel bearing grease between the 2 floor squares, and it rotates very easily. Place your wheels on the 2 sheets of floor squares.

Mark the floor with the placement and quantity of squares on each corner, and you won't have to repeat the leveling process the next time you set it up.
 
4 square pieces of alluminum (or stainless) and any kind of dry lube along with a paint pen are all you need for castor. Mark your steering wheel or column permenantly once for the degrees and your done. Less than $10 since you already own a camber gauge. Let the Corvette guys pay for Jay's new ride, they love to buy stuff :lol:

What I would recommend you spend money on is a laser level so you can get things perfectly level when doing camber and for if/when you can borrow scales. At which point you can use your metal squares plus some more to compensate for your sloping floor.
 
Curtis":k73dt8pj said:
Let the Corvette guys pay for Jay's new ride, they love to buy stuff :lol:

What I would recommend you spend money on is a laser level so you can get things perfectly level when doing camber and for if/when you can borrow scales.
Click to expand...

Jay, Curtis statred this tangent. $??.?? cost for a low psi sender to save a $6,00.00 motor. :mrgreen:

Some guys at a local race shop used a lazer level until the borrowed my water level. :wink:

Really, it's called different strokes for different folks. :think:
 
Curtis,

Check accuracy of TYPICAL water level vs. laser level: about .35 min. vs .72 min. (1/8"/100 ft. vs. 1/4"/100 ft.)

$650 laser level about same as $40 water level.

It's only money.

RJS
 
R. J. Sorensen":2uqcutw8 said:
Curtis,

Check accuracy of TYPICAL water level vs. laser level: about .35 min. vs .72 min. (1/8"/100 ft. vs. 1/4"/100 ft.)

$650 laser level about same as $40 water level.

It's only money.

RJS
Click to expand...

RJS Had i seen your post before sending mine i would have remembered the old water level I used for years laying up in the attic. You are no doubt right, and I did demonstrate how cheap I am in the post above. I have a homemade water level I used for years still laying up in the attic I could get out. A friend has a Lazer I can borrow any time and it's free and so much easier to use my lazy side may have led me to give bad advice.

David thanks for keeping me straight :) I guess I am the guy that couldn't fathom how much effort you guys were putting into saving $10 on a low pressure switch AND the guy who years go made his own water level for $15 instead of buying one for $30 LOL at myself
 
Given the massive variation in tire diameter we have on our race tires due to manufacturing processes, all this precision would seem overkill unless you are rescaling with every set of tires you run. Am I missing something?
 
Everyone above has some valid points but let me offer some additional info:

With the wheel off and the wheel plate on you now have superb clearance and access to toe links, caster shims, lower control arm bolts if used for camber or caster changes, sway bar links...........that you don't have with the wheel on. In addition to much improved accuracy from industry acceptable wheel runout and runout damage from track contact you get FAR faster alignments due to the elimination of wheel on, wheel off monkey business.

For caster (way more important than many think since it de wedges the front end which is a huge advantage in a turn.....think about it) , how will you turn the wheel precisely 20 degrees right and left without something like this:
http://www.mittlerbros.com/index.php/ta ... tes-1.html or
https://www.intercomp-racing.com/Produc ... TE_770.cfm
or
https://www.intercomp-racing.com/Produc ... ES_771.cfm
 
Bobby,

I'll try to answer your question. Which is worse?

Variation due to an inaccurate setup AND variation due to the tires

OR

Variation due to the tires alone?

I'll take one source of uncontrolled variation over 2 sources all day, every day.
 
Oh yeah........with the wheel plates:

* no need for expensive ($1500?) roll on/off ramps. Plates have wheels at bottom to handle track changes...no binding at all
* super ez corner weight changes on thread perches
* ez to store in trailer unlike ramps. Ability to do a quick alignment at the track is "priceless"
* built in water leveling feature for scales as mentioned above.....works slick...costs almost nothing
 
How many of you include tire stagger in your setup?
Are you checking stagger and your tire pressure before going on the scales and alignment?
 
Jay,

Using your stands how can you factor stagger into your setup? Are you adjusting the stands to match the tires? I thought the point of the stands was to factor OUT the tires?

-Kyle
 
You can do it either way by just adding a shim on the scale pad equal to the stagger rolling radius change.
 
Thanks Jay.

If you're allowing the tire variation into your setup, then why do you need the stands? Why not just use the actual tire?

-Kyle
 
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