alignment question settings..

[geo3@earthlink.net]

Greyson Crowe <GCrowe@itd.state.id.us> wrote:

>SO does this sound about right yet?

Well, first off, few (including me) would argue with Mike about this.  Second,
if you're just asking for a set of specs and want to walk away happy, set it
to stock spec and forget about it.  But, I think you want to learn, so we'll
go into a bit more detail in a second.

>Although from reading a bit more maybe
>run 1/4" toe out for the front?  WOuld running 1 degree negative all around
>be safe?

I think you need some basic understanding of what the different settings will
do for you.

These are all generalizations and dynamic situations are different from static
ones (such as on the alignment rack).

Camber:  More negative (to a point) will generally give you more grip due to
the camber curve of the suspension and flex of the tire.

Toe:  More "in" will be more stable and tend to promote more understeer.  More
"out" will tend to make the car less stable and can even be darty.  It also
tends to promote more oversteer.  It also will wear your tires out more
quickly - much more so than camber.  Understeer/oversteer is affected by both
front and rear toe.

Caster can affect handling as well, but it really isn't adjustable on our cars
without cc plates.

Remember there are always trade-offs.  Also, you want to be careful about
introducing too much oversteer (or actually, reducing understeer too much)
because it requires a lot of concentration and can even be dangerous on the
street.

The whole set-up science, art, and philosophy is much more complicated than
this, but this is the basic starting point.  From here you would be wise to
read some books on handling.  I'm reading The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donahue
right now and it's interesting because it's insightful about the process of
chassis set-up.  Interestly, 30 years ago Penske racing knew less about
chassis set-up and dynamics than most autocrossers today.

So IMHO you shouldn't so much be asking if the numbers are right.  There are
no "right" answers.  Rather, you should be asking "why" and what the effect of
changes are.

I'm kind of pushing you and I hope you aren't taking offense.  Since you are
asking I'm assuming you would like to know.  Since there isn't a single right
answer, and you have some time before getting an alignment, you have a chance
to make an informed decision and understand it.  Then, when you decide to get
another alignment, you can tweak it some and possibly understand it a bit
more.

IMHO.

George Roffe
Bananaholics Anonymous

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