The Ray Scrugg's Home Alignment Method

[imcarthur]

To me, doing a Home Alignment was an important hurtle to reach. You intimately learn how your suspension works and how very small changes can have a major impact on driving. The booklet written by Ray Scruggs called Home Alignment of Porsche 911 For Street or Competition is essential.



To get a copy of the booklet, you can contact Ray Scruggs - PM me for his email address. I just got a copy from him today. I had downloaded the pictures of the booklet earlier, but I decided that he deserves my $10. For the help it gives, it is a great deal - rare in the Porsche world

Other resources:

Pelican Article

Another Pelican Article

Smart Racing

You will need:

A camber tool. Be inventive.
White string or thread (thread allows finer measurements & you can see white better).
19mm sockets & wrenches - breaker bar, torque etc . . .
12mm Allen wrench (tough to find but online guys have them as a last resort & you might as well get the 17mm one you need for transmission fluid change while you're at it).

My alignment tools:



An old metal bubble level is an excellent camber tool. I cut an old yardstick to match the wheel diameter & tie wrapped it to the oblong openings in the level. That way, it can shift up & down to make measuring easier. With some practice, sitting on the ground, you hold the bottom against the wheel with your knee & use a tape measure to measure the top as you center the top bubble. Subtract the 'known' width of the yardstick & you have your camber figure. A camber excel sheet exists somewhere (I downloaded it from someone) to convert measurement into degrees.





Decorative paving stones piled on blankets & planks (for protection & weight distribution) on the front seat & floor are a great way to simulate driver weight. These weighed 10 lbs each. Fuel was 1/2 to 3/4 full.



I fashioned wooden platforms (of layers of wood & old paneling) that I could drive up onto to level the garage floor or the car on the garage floor or . . . whatever . . .

Toe Measurement
This is the real fiddly part. I put jack stands on the four corners. White thread was strung around the stands. The stands were equidistant from each other with the tread equidistant from the center of rear wheel hubs & equidistant from the center of front wheel hubs and trust me, it is not hard, but it is really, really fiddly. Once you get these measurements, write them down so you can repeat setup & repeat setup & repeat setup . . .



It will take time. Lots & lots of it the first time. Every change you make requires a drive 'around the block' before you can re-measure. You will jack the car up & let it down hundreds of times. That's why you need the platforms. That's why you measure the string placement & write it down. You will have to reset it again & again. Everything must be easily & accurately repeatable.

But, you will learn how the suspension in a 911 works. And you can be one of the smug few who can do it at home.

Ian

[Jim Richards]

Roll your car back and forth a few feet within the garage works to settle the suspension. I use Ray's approach for home alignment to get the car pretty close after major suspension mods.

[dimps8]

I have to concur with Ian. I tried the Scruggs method a month ago, after rebushing the rear. It's a valuable book, and suprisingly easy after a few tries. His corner balance method is very straight forward.

[Elombard]

Yes yes, very good. I need to send my $10 to Ray. Glad someody found him.

Do you think you could get him on the board? I have some questions.

Like how the heck do you get an accurate measurement for the jack stands across the car with one person? I need some way to double check that its right. I am not trusting my toe settings.

[imcarthur]

Jim

I found that a quick back & forth wasn't enough. Maybe it was my new bushings, but the car settled better after some manhole covers & aggressive corners. My neighbors thought I was nuts.

Elombard

Yes, you should send him the $10. I know the booklet is free on posts in this forum, but in my book, he deserves it just for the education it has given me.

I ended up with the jackstands EXACTLY 66" apart which meant between 2-3 1/2" from wheels to thread.

BTW Rennlist user jet911 should get credit for finding him. He is an active PCA member in the South Bay area.

Ian