G Body Drag Car Alignment Settings

notacarlo said:
Yeah...that's what I meant. You set it over to compensate for my fat tub in the pilots seat. It may be at .1 or.2, but once the butt is in the basket it would settle to 0.
I've done alignments with plumb bobs, duct tape and string. Of course I am being told what to set the car to. :D
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It will only settle to 0 on one side Dan. the other side will go more negative. If you're that large (been cooking lately?:D lol) you really need to be in the car to set it up properly.:eek:
 
"Caster needs to be over 4 degrees and is prefered at 4.5 degrees positive. The higher caster will wear tires on the edges when turning but it will keep the car going straighter."

That seems like a LOT of caster for these cars? Doesnt it? My daily driver is like 2.5 degrees. Just asking, thanks.
 
Charlie.....are you saying I'm fat?

I tip the scales at 240, but I'm 6'4". It's all bawls.:D
 
8UWITH6 said:
"Caster needs to be over 4 degrees and is prefered at 4.5 degrees positive. The higher caster will wear tires on the edges when turning but it will keep the car going straighter."

That seems like a LOT of caster for these cars? Doesnt it? My daily driver is like 2.5 degrees. Just asking, thanks.
Click to expand...

Read next quote please. This is for a more performance oriented driver.

charlief1 said:
I'm gonna save everyone and myself some aggrivation in the long run. As far as a street alignment use 3.25 degrees positive caster on the pass side and .35 to .5 lower on the drivers side. If you can achieve a .4 to .45 diff with the drivers side lower it will work best and give a slight drift to the shoulder in case something happens to the driver. This way you don't end up drifting into on coming traffic.
Also, Please post the question here so everyone can benifit from the info please.:D
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notacarlo said:
Yeah...that's what I meant. You set it over to compensate for my fat tub in the pilots seat. It may be at .1 or.2, but once the butt is in the basket it would settle to 0.
I've done alignments with plumb bobs, duct tape and string. Of course I am being told what to set the car to. :D
Click to expand...

notacarlo said:
Charlie.....are you saying I'm fat?

I tip the scales at 240, but I'm 6'4". It's all bald.:D
Click to expand...

You said it Dan not me.:biggrin: I fixed your last post btw.:D LMAO :eek:
 
8UWITH6 said:
"Caster needs to be over 4 degrees and is prefered at 4.5 degrees positive. The higher caster will wear tires on the edges when turning but it will keep the car going straighter."

That seems like a LOT of caster for these cars? Doesnt it? My daily driver is like 2.5 degrees. Just asking, thanks.
Click to expand...


My 2+2 has over 5 degrees of caster and I can take my hands off the wheel at 165 mph on a crowned 2 lane highway with a 15 mph crosswind.

Caster is your friend.
 
Thanks for the replies gentlemen. Looks like I need to have my alignment guy at work play with some shims :)
 
UNGN said:
My 2+2 has over 5 degrees of caster and I can take my hands off the wheel at 165 mph on a crowned 2 lane highway with a 15 mph crosswind.

Caster is your friend.
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I'm gonna bet your camber is between .3 to .5 negative. I still love watching the runs you've made in the flying mile.:D
 
charlief1 said:
I'm gonna bet your camber is between .3 to .5 negative. I still love watching the runs you've made in the flying mile.:biggrin:
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This year we've upped the negative camber in front to about 1.5 degrees from .75 degrees.

Back in 2004, we ran about 1.75 negative and the car was much faster thru the turns, but also resulted in the famous weed wacking video where we slid off the road at 105 mph.

The ill handing was the result of a tight rear end that would bind on big bumps and launch the car airborne, so we took out 1 degree of negative camber to make is safer. Now that the rear is all new (watts link/pt sway bar), we are putting negative camber back in.
 
UNGN said:
This year we've upped the negative camber in front to about 1.5 degrees from .75 degrees.

Back in 2004, we ran about 1.75 negative and the car was much faster thru the turns, but also resulted in the famous weed wacking video where we slid off the road at 105 mph.

The ill handing was the result of a tight rear end that would bind on big bumps and launch the car airborne, so we took out 1 degree of negative camber to make is safer. Now that the rear is all new (watts link/pt sway bar), we are putting negative camber back in.
Click to expand...

One of these day we need to talk about some mods I've been going through my head for handling. Some things need to be done a little differently but I think I can get you a little more MPH and handling for the flying mile.:D
 
I've heard of a trick for making slip plates that involves using a couple square pieces of a certain type of plastic sheet with wax paper put between them. Does anyone know exactly the type of plastic sheet that's being used? Charlie?

Does increased caster also mean increased steering effort?
 
DonWG said:
I've heard of a trick for making slip plates that involves using a couple square pieces of a certain type of plastic sheet with wax paper put between them. Does anyone know exactly the type of plastic sheet that's being used? Charlie?

Does increased caster also mean increased steering effort?
Click to expand...

You'll have to give me a little more info on the slip plate idea Donnie. There are several different slipper designs so I'd like to know which one? As far as the plastic goes, teflon sheets are availble locally for me so they're cheap, nearby and "slippery when wet". lol

As far as steering effort, if you've got standard steering you're gonna have Armstrong steering from now on.:D
 
The idea is to take a 14" x 14" piece of flat plastic and lay it on the ground. Then put a sheet of wax paper on top of it. Then lay another piece of flat plastic on top of the wax paper. The top plastic sheet would slide easily on the wax paper.
 
DonWG said:
The idea is to take a 14" x 14" piece of flat plastic and lay it on the ground. Then put a sheet of wax paper on top of it. Then lay another piece of flat plastic on top of the wax paper. The top plastic sheet would slide easily on the wax paper.
Click to expand...

Yes it will slide easier but you need to keep it from moving except in a rotational manor. Check evilbay and see if you can find the plates. If you're lucky you can find them cheap. A little time and you can find just about anything. If you have a way to keep the rear from moving around then the fronts can be kept in a stationary position and that is the biggest problem. In a pinch with FF we used to run in the 80's we had vinyl tiles and we leveled them so the car was in 1 location. Then we'd put some soapy water on the fronts to help them move. Using a camber gauge and toe plates we didn't do to bad.:D

DonWG said:
Just how important is this for straight line racing?
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LOL:D
 
Bringing this back from the dead. Have had a problem with the WE4 going left after coil spring replacement in the front end/ride height change. Caster was 2.4 L, 2.5 R. Very touchy and annoying. Yesterday I said screw it and remembered what charlie said and played with some shims. Even though its "out of manufacturer spec" the Caster is now 3.5 left, 3.6 right, Camber .2 left, .1 right. Car feels much "better" for my driving style. Just posting to help those that are daily driving their TR's. HTH
 
charlief1 said:
Cheap is relative Donnie. Toe plates are cheap fom a dirt track suplier but you need turn tables to set caster and the car must be on a completely level surface. Then you need a camber guage and you have to know how to read it. Not a very easy thing if you don't know how to use it.
I'll give you an idea. Once the car is on the pads and level you must turn each wheel 30 degrees left and right, take a reading of both wheels. This will give you two # and the formula is kinda long. If you want I'll see if I can find my notes from when I was in school. Been a long time but I think I can find them. There is also SAI shich can screw you up. Since you've got a slightly damaged chasis and the car is only for the track now, it won't be a problem.
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I would also be interested in your at home Alignment info if you wouldn't mind passing that over to me as we'll.
 
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