DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings
08-20-2003, 04:06 AM
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DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings
While preparing ITR for the track, I decided I needed a way to do wheel alignments that were precise, repeatable, simple and low cost. I searched this and other boards, and I looked at what you could buy from the racing suppliers. My priorities were camber and toe, with caster a lesser need since it is not adjustable (well not easily). My car is lowered about 1.75", uses 225/50/15 tires on 15x7 wheels with Skunk 2 front upper A-arms for front camber adjustment and Ingalls rear upper control link for rear camber adjustment. Front and rear toe adjusters are the stock Acura links.
Sample of some useful links:
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=267237
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=466001
http://www.smartracingproducts.com/
This company carries many of the most popular brands of chassis setup and alignment tools. I am certain there are many others, but if you look at everything in this section, you will have a good idea about what is available.
http://www.pitstopusa.com/CHASSISSETUPTOOLS.htm
I was however not satisfied with the strings on axle stands to measure toe since you have to move the car to settle it on its suspension and allow the tires to be in their final position. It is very easy to see this requirement by simply jacking up the car and then letting it back down. As the tire lowers onto the floor, it begins to grab onto the surface due to its high friction coefficient and it will not slide into its final position unless you roll the car back and forth many times or drive it around, or unless you have toe plates on bearings which are free to move. However I use a set of scales for weighing and levelling the car, and the tires really grab onto the rough surface of the scales. Thus for camber adjustments where the wheel has to be removed and the car lifted, you must absolutely move the car. As well when you make a toe adjustment that does not require the car to be lifted, the tires will not settle in to the adjustment and will bind up the suspension. This led me to conclude that the entire toe setup needs to move with the car. The strings on axle stands are simple, but you cannot move the car back and forth without rechecking the strings for parallel each time. I never tried this but I am sure it is quite tedious, and if it's tedious, it is prone to error. When you are looking for a total toe of say 1/16”, which is 1/32" per side. You need a precise, repeatable setup to get this.
For camber measurement I concluded that the best choice was the Smart Camber product with the digital level. It is small and portable, easily calibrated to the planet's gravitational field (as in truly level), and adapts to any wheel. It is not however really inexpensive, but it is what I chose. You can also use it to measure caster by noting the camber change as you rotate the wheel a given number of degrees and look up the result in a table supplied.
For toe measurement I looked at the Smart Strings product from the same company, but it was a lot more than a set of strings on axle stands, and it seemed overly complex for the job. So I decided to design my own system. I have named it Simple_Strings. (I wanted to call it Genius_Strings as I thought it was one up on Smart Strings, but modesty got the better of me). I looked at a few sites that had toe string setups that move with the car, but I did not find any that were what I would call simple and elegant. Pondering upon my ITR in the garage, I looked under the car all around and imagined how to attach a frame, then how to make the frame, and then I came upon the idea of using the licence plate mounting points. They are not what you would call solid, but I estimated that if I could make a light enough setup, which did not put any torque on the mounting points but only downward load, then these points would do very well.
I proceeded to make two aluminium plates, one for the rear, and one for the front. The rear one I made big enough for it to rest on the bottom two plastic hooks for the bottom of the licence plate, since the boltholes are quite flexible. For the front plate, I made it long enough for it to rest on the bumper part below the boltholes where the licence plate attaches. I used 1/8" thick aluminium plate and drilled them on a drill press, after measuring carefully to keep everything square. Then I had to make supports to attach the 1/2" electrical conduit (EMT from Home Depot). I had some western red cedar 2x6's lying around from a deck project, and so I cut some strips from them to make the supports, by making two cuts to have a pair of smooth parallel edges to measure from. I bored each piece with a 3/4" woodcutting bit for the conduit to slip through, and I threaded a small hole for a machine screw to lock the conduit in place. Here are some picks.
1. Front plate with wood strips and conduit.
2. Complete view of front plate showing strings
3. Picture showing car sitting on scales. Notice levelling shims under scales.
4. Beginnings of the rear mount before drilling holes to mount wood strips.
5. Rear aluminium plate with wood strips and conduit, with locking screws for conduit.
6. Full view of the rear jig.
7. View of front wheel showing how string height was aligned to match the height of the center of the wheel. If the corner height is changed, the jig has to be adjusted with a pair of extra holes. I would imagine 1/4" precision in height is all that is required .
8. View of rear wheel string to wheel alignment.
9. View showing distance of string to wheel. I chose this to be as small as possible but large enough to easily fit the Smart Camber tool while the strings are in place.
10. SmartCamber and Simple_Strings
11. After I used my strings for the first time, I borrowed a laser toe gauge to check for a similar measurement. This gauge does not tell you if wheels are aligned to car's centerline. With Simple_Strings, all you have to do is loosen the two screws at each end holding the conduit, and slide each conduit until the string to center of wheel distance is the same for the rear pair and then the front pair. This gives you a perfect rectangle, assuming you have drilled holes in the conduits at equal distances. Then all toe measurements relate to the centerline of the car.
12. This dial gauge reads in minutes of arc. I got identical results. Note laser reflection from mirror on other wheel toe jig.
13.Full view of that costly toe gauge (but hey, lasers are cool)
14. Full side view from rear showing string. Use a scale or good tape measure to measure the distance between each wheel edge at the center height to the string. Some practise is required. I used Mason twine that is about 1/16" thick, allowing it to be over the 1/16" line of the scale, or between the 1/16" lines. (You can of course also use fishing line that is considerably thinner.) This gives a reading in the order of 1/32" with careful "eye-balling"
15. Simple_Strings shown dismounted from the car, with string rolled up. One person can put this jig on the car in about 1-2 minutes. Simple, fast and accurate. Plus it is very cheap. @ aluminium plates, 2 conduits 1/2", four pieces of wood, a few screws and some string.
16. A view of my setup allowing the whole car with jig attached to be raised and lowered, or moved forward and backward. I had to dismount the jig and remove the car since I forgot my invisible car paint.
Some of the pictures are a little dark, but I hope you can see well enough to copy what I came up with. I was thinking of improving the setup by making four aluminium plates the width of the wheels and placing two stick on scales to eliminate the tape measure. The plates would attach to the wheels with bungee cords. When I am bored, I may get to it. (When I spoke to the RealTime guys at Road America while they were testing their first ever RSX (a brown stock one from the dealer), I asked them about setup for various tracks for the ITR, and they told me alignment was something they often adjusted at each track to get the car to turn in the way they wanted.)
Enjoy, and may you begin your quest for the best alignment.
Modified by descartesfool at 9:50 AM 8/20/2003
Sample of some useful links:
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=267237
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=466001
http://www.smartracingproducts.com/
This company carries many of the most popular brands of chassis setup and alignment tools. I am certain there are many others, but if you look at everything in this section, you will have a good idea about what is available.
http://www.pitstopusa.com/CHASSISSETUPTOOLS.htm
I was however not satisfied with the strings on axle stands to measure toe since you have to move the car to settle it on its suspension and allow the tires to be in their final position. It is very easy to see this requirement by simply jacking up the car and then letting it back down. As the tire lowers onto the floor, it begins to grab onto the surface due to its high friction coefficient and it will not slide into its final position unless you roll the car back and forth many times or drive it around, or unless you have toe plates on bearings which are free to move. However I use a set of scales for weighing and levelling the car, and the tires really grab onto the rough surface of the scales. Thus for camber adjustments where the wheel has to be removed and the car lifted, you must absolutely move the car. As well when you make a toe adjustment that does not require the car to be lifted, the tires will not settle in to the adjustment and will bind up the suspension. This led me to conclude that the entire toe setup needs to move with the car. The strings on axle stands are simple, but you cannot move the car back and forth without rechecking the strings for parallel each time. I never tried this but I am sure it is quite tedious, and if it's tedious, it is prone to error. When you are looking for a total toe of say 1/16”, which is 1/32" per side. You need a precise, repeatable setup to get this.
For camber measurement I concluded that the best choice was the Smart Camber product with the digital level. It is small and portable, easily calibrated to the planet's gravitational field (as in truly level), and adapts to any wheel. It is not however really inexpensive, but it is what I chose. You can also use it to measure caster by noting the camber change as you rotate the wheel a given number of degrees and look up the result in a table supplied.
For toe measurement I looked at the Smart Strings product from the same company, but it was a lot more than a set of strings on axle stands, and it seemed overly complex for the job. So I decided to design my own system. I have named it Simple_Strings. (I wanted to call it Genius_Strings as I thought it was one up on Smart Strings, but modesty got the better of me). I looked at a few sites that had toe string setups that move with the car, but I did not find any that were what I would call simple and elegant. Pondering upon my ITR in the garage, I looked under the car all around and imagined how to attach a frame, then how to make the frame, and then I came upon the idea of using the licence plate mounting points. They are not what you would call solid, but I estimated that if I could make a light enough setup, which did not put any torque on the mounting points but only downward load, then these points would do very well.
I proceeded to make two aluminium plates, one for the rear, and one for the front. The rear one I made big enough for it to rest on the bottom two plastic hooks for the bottom of the licence plate, since the boltholes are quite flexible. For the front plate, I made it long enough for it to rest on the bumper part below the boltholes where the licence plate attaches. I used 1/8" thick aluminium plate and drilled them on a drill press, after measuring carefully to keep everything square. Then I had to make supports to attach the 1/2" electrical conduit (EMT from Home Depot). I had some western red cedar 2x6's lying around from a deck project, and so I cut some strips from them to make the supports, by making two cuts to have a pair of smooth parallel edges to measure from. I bored each piece with a 3/4" woodcutting bit for the conduit to slip through, and I threaded a small hole for a machine screw to lock the conduit in place. Here are some picks.
1. Front plate with wood strips and conduit.
2. Complete view of front plate showing strings
3. Picture showing car sitting on scales. Notice levelling shims under scales.
4. Beginnings of the rear mount before drilling holes to mount wood strips.
5. Rear aluminium plate with wood strips and conduit, with locking screws for conduit.
6. Full view of the rear jig.
7. View of front wheel showing how string height was aligned to match the height of the center of the wheel. If the corner height is changed, the jig has to be adjusted with a pair of extra holes. I would imagine 1/4" precision in height is all that is required .
8. View of rear wheel string to wheel alignment.
9. View showing distance of string to wheel. I chose this to be as small as possible but large enough to easily fit the Smart Camber tool while the strings are in place.
10. SmartCamber and Simple_Strings
11. After I used my strings for the first time, I borrowed a laser toe gauge to check for a similar measurement. This gauge does not tell you if wheels are aligned to car's centerline. With Simple_Strings, all you have to do is loosen the two screws at each end holding the conduit, and slide each conduit until the string to center of wheel distance is the same for the rear pair and then the front pair. This gives you a perfect rectangle, assuming you have drilled holes in the conduits at equal distances. Then all toe measurements relate to the centerline of the car.
12. This dial gauge reads in minutes of arc. I got identical results. Note laser reflection from mirror on other wheel toe jig.
13.Full view of that costly toe gauge (but hey, lasers are cool)
14. Full side view from rear showing string. Use a scale or good tape measure to measure the distance between each wheel edge at the center height to the string. Some practise is required. I used Mason twine that is about 1/16" thick, allowing it to be over the 1/16" line of the scale, or between the 1/16" lines. (You can of course also use fishing line that is considerably thinner.) This gives a reading in the order of 1/32" with careful "eye-balling"
15. Simple_Strings shown dismounted from the car, with string rolled up. One person can put this jig on the car in about 1-2 minutes. Simple, fast and accurate. Plus it is very cheap. @ aluminium plates, 2 conduits 1/2", four pieces of wood, a few screws and some string.
16. A view of my setup allowing the whole car with jig attached to be raised and lowered, or moved forward and backward. I had to dismount the jig and remove the car since I forgot my invisible car paint.
Some of the pictures are a little dark, but I hope you can see well enough to copy what I came up with. I was thinking of improving the setup by making four aluminium plates the width of the wheels and placing two stick on scales to eliminate the tape measure. The plates would attach to the wheels with bungee cords. When I am bored, I may get to it. (When I spoke to the RealTime guys at Road America while they were testing their first ever RSX (a brown stock one from the dealer), I asked them about setup for various tracks for the ITR, and they told me alignment was something they often adjusted at each track to get the car to turn in the way they wanted.)
Enjoy, and may you begin your quest for the best alignment.
Modified by descartesfool at 9:50 AM 8/20/2003
08-20-2003, 05:56 AM
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Re: (lustedp)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lustedp »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Lifetime alignment $139.99 at firestone.</TD></TR></TABLE>
I also have that but they have a hard time putting the settings where I want it. I don't know if it is a legal issue or not.
I was also told that if I had 'extra' adjustments that were not original (ie. camber/caster adjustment) I would be charged extra to make those adjustments.
I also have that but they have a hard time putting the settings where I want it. I don't know if it is a legal issue or not.
I was also told that if I had 'extra' adjustments that were not original (ie. camber/caster adjustment) I would be charged extra to make those adjustments.
08-20-2003, 05:57 AM
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lustedp,
Am I to surmise that for $139.99 they will follow you to all the tracks you drive at with their equipment and adjust your car as many times as you want, and this for life? Good deal, I think you should stick with that.
Am I to surmise that for $139.99 they will follow you to all the tracks you drive at with their equipment and adjust your car as many times as you want, and this for life? Good deal, I think you should stick with that.
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08-20-2003, 08:01 AM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (descartesfool)
nice setup.
regarding having to roll the car back and forth to settle.. you can stack 2 metal plates under each tire with thick grease between the plates. when you lower the car back down the tire will 'settle' into position.
regarding having to roll the car back and forth to settle.. you can stack 2 metal plates under each tire with thick grease between the plates. when you lower the car back down the tire will 'settle' into position.
08-20-2003, 11:07 AM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (kekek-20)
Looks like a cool system, but there are a few possible problems.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">11. .... With Simple_Strings, all you have to do is loosen the two screws at each end holding the conduit, and slide each conduit until the string to center of wheel distance is the same for the rear pair and then the front pair. This gives you a perfect rectangle, assuming you have drilled holes in the conduits at equal distances. Then all toe measurements relate to the centerline of the car.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Maybe I'm not clear on this, but for your perfect rectangle, you appear to be assuming that the front and rear track widths are the same (often not the case, but easily corrected for), and you most certainly are relying on a perfectly square chassis for this system. Any misalignment from the factory, curb hopping, etc will throw all of this off
Your strings have to be parallel to each other *and* to the *centerline* of the car. Locating the centerline of the car is often the hard part.
Example...
On my old car (not relevant to Honda's?):
1) Front suspension is mounted to the engine crossmember, engine crossmember is bolted to the chassis, that crossmember can be shifted relative to the chassis.
2) Rear suspension, all are rigid chassis points, but the adjustable panhard bar allows the rear end to be shifted left and right relative to the chassis.
Still, I like your system, and may copy it for my own use... Quite a bit of initial setup time, followed by very reproducable alignments!
Scott
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">11. .... With Simple_Strings, all you have to do is loosen the two screws at each end holding the conduit, and slide each conduit until the string to center of wheel distance is the same for the rear pair and then the front pair. This gives you a perfect rectangle, assuming you have drilled holes in the conduits at equal distances. Then all toe measurements relate to the centerline of the car.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Maybe I'm not clear on this, but for your perfect rectangle, you appear to be assuming that the front and rear track widths are the same (often not the case, but easily corrected for), and you most certainly are relying on a perfectly square chassis for this system. Any misalignment from the factory, curb hopping, etc will throw all of this off
Your strings have to be parallel to each other *and* to the *centerline* of the car. Locating the centerline of the car is often the hard part.
Example...
On my old car (not relevant to Honda's?):
1) Front suspension is mounted to the engine crossmember, engine crossmember is bolted to the chassis, that crossmember can be shifted relative to the chassis.
2) Rear suspension, all are rigid chassis points, but the adjustable panhard bar allows the rear end to be shifted left and right relative to the chassis.
Still, I like your system, and may copy it for my own use... Quite a bit of initial setup time, followed by very reproducable alignments!
Scott
08-20-2003, 11:28 AM
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If you all really want the at track quick and easy "simple string" solution, fetch one of those 18-20" bungies with the small hooks. Tie the string to the hooks and wrap with electrical tape to keep secure. Place a small hook on one end of the string and loop on the other where they would meet after wrapping around the car with the bunging suffieciently stretched. Wrap the entire set up around the airdams and rear bumpers, line it up vertically with the axle centerlines.
Remember this is the easy, quick, at the track measurement system. You can roll the car back and forth between adjustments and measurements.
It would be hard to spend more than .75 on building one. And for that price it should be worth the try.
Its the only thing I use at the tracks. It should also be noted that any alignment measurements are only as good as the surface the car is sitting on.
Rick--Who owns and uses a Dunlop Optical Alignment Gauge...in the SHOP.
Remember this is the easy, quick, at the track measurement system. You can roll the car back and forth between adjustments and measurements.
It would be hard to spend more than .75 on building one. And for that price it should be worth the try.
Its the only thing I use at the tracks. It should also be noted that any alignment measurements are only as good as the surface the car is sitting on.
Rick--Who owns and uses a Dunlop Optical Alignment Gauge...in the SHOP.
08-20-2003, 01:33 PM
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Re: (lustedp)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lustedp »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is DIY corner balancing as straight forward as DIY alignments?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Go to Firestone.
Nice writeup Descartesfool, and I like your SN!
Go to Firestone.
Nice writeup Descartesfool, and I like your SN!
08-20-2003, 02:01 PM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (celica73)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by celica73 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe I'm not clear on this, but for your perfect rectangle, you appear to be assuming that the front and rear track widths are the same (often not the case, but easily corrected for), and you most certainly are relying on a perfectly square chassis for this system. Any misalignment from the factory, curb hopping, etc will throw all of this off
Your strings have to be parallel to each other *and* to the *centerline* of the car. Locating the centerline of the car is often the hard part.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Scott,
You are right in that I am relying on the car frame and suspension being square. However there is no assumption that the track is the same front and rear. It is very easy to make a parrallelogram, with the two strings parallel to each other, which is really all I need to measure toe, by just having the holes in the 2 conduits for the strings at equal distances. If the car is square, with different front and rear tracks, and the two rear wheel center to string distances are the same (say both are 13 7/16"), as are the two front wheel centre to string distances (say both are 13 11/16"), then both strings are now parallel to the car's centerline and to each other. This is a parrallelogram. If the strings are also the same length under tension, you have a rectangle (not required for toe measurements). However if the car is not square, then you still have a parralleogram with both strings parallel to each other, but not to the car's original un-bent centerline. You can just use the same holes in each conduit and drop a plumb bob from all four corners (using four plumb bobs preferably) and mark the floor in those four spots. Then move the car out of the way and measure the diagonals. If they (and of course the sides and ends) are equal, your car is probably square. If not, check your measurements over once or twice, and if you're out of square, call your bodyshop for their expert advice!
On an Integra, the service manual shows where the centerline of the car is in the body dimensions section.
You could drop a plumb bob down from these points and see if it is in the center of your "rectangle". You could just drill each conduit exactly between the outside holes and find the centerline of the jig by drawing a line between the two center points on the floor with a chalk line, and then see if dropping a plumb bob from the chassis centerline reference points falls on this line. Maybe a laser level or two would help in that situation. You can buy them from harborfreight.com for about $12.
I did not really intend my jig to meaure chassis squareness, but you could certainly do it. I just wanted something "lo cost" and accurate, and that could easily be taken to the track when needed. I tested the repeatability of the jig by measuring the toe, taking it off the car and driving around. I then re-installed the jig and I got the same readings easily within 1/32". The accuracy of the jig itself just depends on the distance between the holes in the conduits not changing, and the string height to wheel center height being correct when you make it. The rest is up to the user taking careful measurements. You just need to practice a little.
Your strings have to be parallel to each other *and* to the *centerline* of the car. Locating the centerline of the car is often the hard part.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Scott,
You are right in that I am relying on the car frame and suspension being square. However there is no assumption that the track is the same front and rear. It is very easy to make a parrallelogram, with the two strings parallel to each other, which is really all I need to measure toe, by just having the holes in the 2 conduits for the strings at equal distances. If the car is square, with different front and rear tracks, and the two rear wheel center to string distances are the same (say both are 13 7/16"), as are the two front wheel centre to string distances (say both are 13 11/16"), then both strings are now parallel to the car's centerline and to each other. This is a parrallelogram. If the strings are also the same length under tension, you have a rectangle (not required for toe measurements). However if the car is not square, then you still have a parralleogram with both strings parallel to each other, but not to the car's original un-bent centerline. You can just use the same holes in each conduit and drop a plumb bob from all four corners (using four plumb bobs preferably) and mark the floor in those four spots. Then move the car out of the way and measure the diagonals. If they (and of course the sides and ends) are equal, your car is probably square. If not, check your measurements over once or twice, and if you're out of square, call your bodyshop for their expert advice!
On an Integra, the service manual shows where the centerline of the car is in the body dimensions section.
You could drop a plumb bob down from these points and see if it is in the center of your "rectangle". You could just drill each conduit exactly between the outside holes and find the centerline of the jig by drawing a line between the two center points on the floor with a chalk line, and then see if dropping a plumb bob from the chassis centerline reference points falls on this line. Maybe a laser level or two would help in that situation. You can buy them from harborfreight.com for about $12.
I did not really intend my jig to meaure chassis squareness, but you could certainly do it. I just wanted something "lo cost" and accurate, and that could easily be taken to the track when needed. I tested the repeatability of the jig by measuring the toe, taking it off the car and driving around. I then re-installed the jig and I got the same readings easily within 1/32". The accuracy of the jig itself just depends on the distance between the holes in the conduits not changing, and the string height to wheel center height being correct when you make it. The rest is up to the user taking careful measurements. You just need to practice a little.
07-06-2005, 11:22 AM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (descartesfool)
Subscribing to this thread! I have been pondering doing my own alignment for a while now - I live in Tennessee, you see. Shops here look at me funny when I ask if they can set the toe. Redneckville! 
07-06-2005, 01:16 PM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (Wilky)
Kick **** 
I have wanted to come up with something like that for some time, but I was way to lazy to build it or think about it. The usual jack stands really are not working well for me.
Walking the pits at Snow-Drift, a couple teams were using this idea: Here
Stick a peg (with the string attached at the other end) into a slot (front and rear wheel wells) and measure away; very easy to set up. However it might not be the most accurate, but its quick and easy.
Hope the picture makes sense, its somethig I modeled up to get the point across.. Yes I am bored at work..
I have wanted to come up with something like that for some time, but I was way to lazy to build it or think about it. The usual jack stands really are not working well for me.
Walking the pits at Snow-Drift, a couple teams were using this idea: Here
Stick a peg (with the string attached at the other end) into a slot (front and rear wheel wells) and measure away; very easy to set up. However it might not be the most accurate, but its quick and easy.
Hope the picture makes sense, its somethig I modeled up to get the point across.. Yes I am bored at work..
07-06-2005, 01:34 PM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (canuckr)
Good idea, and fast for sure. But I would think that would be hard to know if it is parallel and lined up to frame, plus fenders might get bent! If you made it quite carefully, I am sure it would work, but you have to try to drop plumb bobs and measure for square. Try it and you will see how hard that can be. Remember you are trying to set toe to 1/16" total, which is 1/32" on each wheel, and that is from the dead ahead straight position. That is precise. Once you knew what a reading from an alignment rack gave you compared to the strings attached to welded mounts on the fenders, you could just use them for reference, and that should work great.
07-06-2005, 01:54 PM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (descartesfool)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by descartesfool »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good idea, and fast for sure. But I would think that would be hard to know if it is parallel and lined up to frame, plus fenders might get bent! </TD></TR></TABLE>
Same reason I have not tired it yet on my car. I like your idea better anyways..
Same reason I have not tired it yet on my car. I like your idea better anyways..
07-06-2005, 02:18 PM
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Re: DIY ITR Wheel Alignment Simple_Strings (canuckr)
Or you can just buy this
http://www.ingallseng.com/grap...0.jpg
and learn how to roughly eyeball your toe or measure it with a measuring tape
http://www.ingallseng.com/grap...0.jpg
and learn how to roughly eyeball your toe or measure it with a measuring tape
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