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I have always wanted to do my own alignments and have tried on several occasions with minimal success. I finally invested in some toe plates and now it has all come together for me. I thought I would share my experiences with everyone. The first thing you need to do is read this article. It explains what you will be doing in great detail. I tried his method but eventually spent the $55 dollars on toe plates to avoid using the fishing line as a reference. Here is a picture of the tools I use to do my own alignments.
I made a camber gauge for about $4 using a tap/screw/and aluminum angle iron.
This is how you check you camber
The website gives the info on how to use all the tools I have listed. Here are some links for toe plates and instructions on how to use toe plates. Just don’t forget to roll the car back and forward after every change. Other then that it is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
I was wondering about the camber measurement, until I read the first article. I had some toe plates made at work. We have a factory south of here that makes stainless sinks and stuff, and I had them made in 16 gauge stainless. The problem I have is measuring the wheels at 3 and 9 o'clock. The tape measure hits the floor board, so its not straight anymore. I'll take pics of my plates tonight. Thanks Steve.
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1996 200SX SE-R VE powered
1991 Sentra SE-R
2004 Subaru Forester turbo
2006 Mitsubishi Evolution IX
Toe is easy. You just string two tape measure between the two cutouts in the toe plates. Pull gently on the tapes to have them under even tension and read the numbers. When I dont have a helper I use a bag of seed or charcoal to hold the oppisite plate tight against the tire. Lets say the front tape says 66 3/8 and the rear says 66 1/2 then you have a total of 1/8 of toe in (wheels pointing in). In the pictures of toe plates you can see the cuts made to provide a place for the tape measure to hook on one side and slide thru on the other. Most people I know set the front up with Zero toe or just a little bit of toe in. Toe out is great for handling but will eat your tires. I have checked many cars and they all have about 1/8 to 3/16 toe in using my plates which are a bit longer then most plates on the market.
Originally posted by eric96ser I was talking about toe. The site said to measure toe on the wheels at 3 and 9 o'clock. I have no way of changing caster anyway.
Just cut the slits lower on the plates. You want to measure the toe near the front and back of the tires (3 and 9 o'clock) to compare your numbers to other peoples. I.E., don't make really long toe plates and measure toe 2 feet in front of the tire and 2 feet to the rear of the tire, cause your 1" toe in would be 1/4" of toe in with shorter toe plates.
I know how to measure the toe. I was just wondering about the 3 and 9 o'clock deal. Here are my toe plates:
The cut outs in mine are more like 4 and 8 and 5 and 7. I mainly use the bottom cuts, and put the tape measure to the inside. To make sure I have them in the same place, I let the plate touch the splash guard. To see what side is off, I measure from the back bracket for the control arm, to the plate.
Compare your plates to the ones in my picture and then the ones in all the pictures on the other website I listed. Your cutout are way to high. They should only be about an inch off the ground or so. I can measure mine if you like. Other then that they look great to me.
Originally posted by eric96ser I was talking about toe. The site said to measure toe on the wheels at 3 and 9 o'clock. I have no way of changing caster anyway.
Don't worry about 3 & 9. That would be ideal, but it won't matter enough to make that big of a difference. Remember, you're just taking a comparison of measurements. The actual measurements themselves don't matter - only the difference.
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George Roffe
91 SE-R (well modded)
84 944 SCCA ITS race car under construction
http://www.nissport.com
I have a new way to measure thrust that is soo much easier then the string method. You need a good laser level (look at the accuracy over 50 feet and compare) and the toe plates you already have. It is important to get the camber set front and back and the toe at least close in the front. You then take the laser level and rest it on the rear toe plate at the same height as the rear ball joint and point it to the front of the car. Put the toe plate on the front wheel and put a laser measuring tool (or a square) at the ball joint heigth. Point the laser at your marks and you will get a measurement. Compare this measurement on the right and left. This will give you the thrust difference on each side.
On another note. I have never mentioned this in my post but it is important to measure your toe and then roll the car 180 degrees to see if you wheels are straight. If you measurement is not the same then the wheel or tire is out of round. Mark the tire and subtract the difference between the two. Measure your toe with the tire in the same location every time.
Do you have these pictures anymore steve? I remember seeing them and was wanting to refer back. This should probably be in the Tech Info Lib.
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My real name is Kyle
2002 Maxima SE (6MT) -Drop-in K&N and a brand new longblock VQ35
1994 G20 - SR20VE, JWT pop, SSAC 2.5", 2.5" VRS catback
I would even pay (in $$$ or beer) to attend a seminar like that! ////H
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...another thread invasion from Harry, who came back and noticed that everything was suddenly fcuking different. What happened?
Not on the forum much lately since neck injury - we'll be back at it soon, babying the n00bies.
JWT S4, HS 6, Home Depot Intake, Hypercoil 2s w/ KYB "GR-Poo", CF Sunroof Delete panel, and other crap - where's my interior?
Also, remember to roll the car after every change. One full rotation will do it for most smaller changes in toe. Also, check your wheels for true by rolling and measuring toe 180 degrees apart. They should be the same.
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