4 Wheel Alignment Questions

[peter carroll]

My ' 74 has been totally apart on all four corners and needs a good alignment. I have replaced the bearings, added sway bars front and back, turbo tierods, lowered the front , adjustable Koni's, installed bumpsteer shims and am using 7 inch Fuchs in back and 6's up front. I do not know the spring rate in the back. I am also running a Chevy 2.8 V6. I have a variety of shims for the rear suspension, if needed, from various parts cars I have disassembled. (Actually, when taking my rear suspension apart, I don't recall it having any shims -is this possible? ) Anyway, are there certain specs I will need to tell the guy based on my modifications ? The car is to be used for the street, with the possibility of an occasional track day. Thanks in advance for your help. Pete

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Stock caster is, I think, 6 degrees. Good enough for most uses. A little more gives the car more self-centering steering, but I don't think you can get a lot more without serious work.

A little toe-in all the way around. Maybe 1/8" total, 1/16" left and right. That's for both the front and the back. For a more autoX-biased car, a little toe-out in front can make for better initial turn-in, but the car will wander at speed.

Camber is where the real questions are. I think the stock settings are 0 in front and -0.5 degrees in back. Track-only cars can often use 3 degrees of negative camber or a bit more. I've been pretty happy with 1 degree negative camber in front and 1.5 degrees negative camber on the rear wheels, but that's with a pretty stock suspension.

The balance of the suspension setup will influence what camber you want, though. Generally if you want one end of the car to stick better, you add more negative camber to that end.

Also, a car that is up at stock ride height with soft springs and anti-roll bars will lean more than one that is lower, has stiffer springs, and bigger anti-roll bars. The car that leans more will need more negative camber to get the best grip in the corners.

...And so on.

--DD

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by peter carroll

My ' 74 has been totally apart on all four corners and needs a good alignment. I have replaced the bearings, added sway bars front and back, turbo tierods, lowered the front , adjustable Koni's, installed bumpsteer shims and am using 7 inch Fuchs in back and 6's up front. I do not know the spring rate in the back. I am also running a Chevy 2.8 V6. I have a variety of shims for the rear suspension, if needed, from various parts cars I have disassembled. (Actually, when taking my rear suspension apart, I don't recall it having any shims -is this possible? ) Anyway, are there certain specs I will need to tell the guy based on my modifications ? The car is to be used for the street, with the possibility of an occasional track day. Thanks in advance for your help. Pete

Are you the same Peter Carroll I read about racing in the BMW Car Club of America in the Roundel?

[peter carroll]

Hello, That is not me, nor do I have anything to do with the Trojan's football team. I do race an old Sprite though. Peter