What type of alignment?

[jayro]

So I picked up a tow vehicle and am now going to be able to trailer my SHO to the track. This should allow for a more aggressive/track oriented alignment. I was running -1.5* front and rear to keep the tires from wearing on the 2 our drive to and from the track.

I was thinking -2.5* to -3* up front and -2* in the rear....possibly with a little toe out in the front to aid with turn in. What do you think?

 

[SHOspazz92]

Try -2.5 up front and 2 in the rear. Carefully moniter the wear on the outside edge of the tire (Chalk/shoe polish). If if still wears the outside edge/sidewall....MOAR front camber.

I run -3 up front and I think 2.25-2.5 rear. I've never had a issue with turn in, so I run 0 toe and max caster.

-Sam

 

[jayro]

Try -2.5 up front and 2 in the rear. Carefully moniter the wear on the outside edge of the tire (Chalk/shoe polish). If if still wears the outside edge/sidewall....MOAR front camber.

I run -3 up front and I think 2.25-2.5 rear. I've never had a issue with turn in, so I run 0 toe and max caster.

-Sam

I will be running max caster.

Have you had your set up on a roadcourse at all? I was wondering if you noticed anything different about the way it handled vs Autox.

 

[RonPorter]

I wouldn't run more toe-out in front, you will naturally get a bit with a static toe setting at zero.

 

[black92]

I have run my SHO with ZERO toe road corse with good results. No Autocross experence with it.

 

[jayro]

Okay, I was debating about running any toe out or not. I will probably leave it at zero toe for right now.

Then I will set my camber at -2.5* in the front and -2* in the back. From there I can monitor tire temps and wear to determine what adjustments to make.

I have an IR temp gun, but have heard that they are not accurate to use when reading tire temps. What kind is recommended?

My understanding is that you want to try and have your tire temps be consistant when comparing the inner and outer sections of the tread. This means that you are working the entire width of the tire evenly and maintaining the largest contact patch, which equals more overall traction. Of course this is just a general theory and has to be tailered to the aspects of the individual vehicle. Thoughts?

Also, what effect does a cool down lap have on monitoring this? Does it skew the reading since you are not really working the tires on that lap, or is enough heat retained in the "hot" areas of the tire to still gather accurate data?

 

[platoribs]

I wouldn't run more toe-out in front, you will naturally get a bit with a static toe setting at zero.

Ron, This is due to the FWD pulling the assembly forward, yes?

How should I setup (non-track-dedicated) SC's and SHO's for good road race comportment but still serving DD status too without wearing the tires excessively, or at least weraing them evenly.

Okay, I was debating about running any toe out or not. I will probably leave it at zero toe for right now.

Then I will set my camber at -2.5* in the front and -2* in the back. From there I can monitor tire temps and wear to determine what adjustments to make.

I have an IR temp gun, but have heard that they are not accurate to use when reading tire temps. What kind is recommended?

My understanding is that you want to try and have your tire temps be consistant when comparing the inner and outer sections of the tread. This means that you are working the entire width of the tire evenly and maintaining the largest contact patch, which equals more overall traction. Of course this is just a general theory and has to be tailered to the aspects of the individual vehicle. Thoughts?

Also, what effect does a cool down lap have on monitoring this? Does it skew the reading since you are not really working the tires on that lap, or is enough heat retained in the "hot" areas of the tire to still gather accurate data?

Reviving this cause I need to go over both SHO and SC in preparation for a few track days this summer. I'd really like to figure out how to set both these platforms up alignment-wise. Can't seem to find anybody with alignmnet equipment who will work with me to get it dialed in.

I guess I need to have a target setup to tell them, relinquishing them from responsibility for how it performs after, then there's always the "gotcha"...
Oh! We can't get to your spec Mr. Gates, with your car lowered we can't move this side enough.
Oh! We can't realign your subframe Mr. Gates, you'll have to go elsewhere, have that done and come back for a re-alignment.
You know you really shouldn't be messing around with this stuff on Illinois roads Mr. Gates, you could **** somebody, you're going to shred your tires with that setup Mr. Gates.:argue: --->:idiot: ---> ---> --->


I suppose I need to learn how to align my own $#!+ in my own driveway and sort it out myself! Build an elevated wood alignment rack and get out the laser level...

 

[jayro]

I suppose I need to learn how to align my own $#!+ in my own driveway and sort it out myself! Build an elevated wood alignment rack and get out the laser level...

When I was driving to and from the track I ran -1.5* in the front and -1* in the back with zero toe on both. I didn't have any tire wear issues. From my experience it is the toe that really eats the tires. With -1.5* the car did understeer a bit when I attempted to take slow corners at a higher rate of speed. I am lucky because my father in law does alignments at the shop he works at. I just give him the specs and he sets them. I did have to get adjustable RCA and front mounts to get the specs I want though. I am planning on -2.75* up front and -2* in the back with zero toe.

I would think that you could go -2* without any real issues. You could always have a set of junk tires for driving to and from the track and then swap once you get there.

Another guy at the shop saw my car on the rack and told me "Looks like you have something wrong with your car....the tires are leaning out".

There are a number of videos on YouTube that walk you through a process to set your own alignment at home.....just looks like a bit of a hassle.

 

[dohcsable]

Jermey is correct, toe in or out is what chews the tires.....excessive camber can as well(2* isn't close to that)

 

[platoribs]

There are a number of videos on YouTube that walk you through a process to set your own alignment at home.....just looks like a bit of a hassle.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree it will be a learning curve, but given the difficulty to find cooperative service folks (in any industry) in Chicagoland may force the issue.

Any other tips or advice from more seasoned track ****** will be much appreciated. Even general tips while at the alignment shop, like when they say :blah: or I can respond with and not end up just:banghd:

Thanks in advance guys, for your wise counsel.:urock:

 

[zak]

To compensate for the camber thrust created by the negative camber, the rule of thumb is 0.1 degrees toe out for every -1 degree of negative camber.

This refers to the front only!

At -2 per side the trig worked out to 3/32" total toe out (across both tires) and I got no appreciable inside tire wear like this on the street (along with zippier turn in). Note to those that chose to run this much negative camber on the street - you reduce braking effectiveness (where rubber meets road) a tad bit because under heavy braking you gain even more negative camber and the tire is far from square on the ground. I run -0.75 to -1 camber in the front in the winter partly for this reason.

In the rear I have run -1.5 for many many years, year around, with about 1/16 inch total toe in and no inside tire wear (or outside tire wear from track/autox).

You can't run toe out on the rear except on the actual auto-x course ONLY - toe out in the rear makes the rear very lose, helping in tight courses, but it will mess with braking stability especially on road courses. No toe out on the street.

 

[K-Dawg]

Similar to Zak, I've been setting my street SHOs' camber at -1.5F/-1R with slight toe-out in the front and slight toe-in in the rear.