Show Me Your Racing Machines

[ZENNON]

just stumbled across these - taken at SAS December last year

[N1GTR]

Nankangs are the new race tyre.

http://www.modulus.org/photos/trackdays/20...ub/DSC_0216.jpg

lol

Looks like fun

[DumHedz]

more videos!

The 1:12.9 lap on Nankangs:

Chasing an MR2 for a lap:

Going for an off road excursion:

[Gts-t]

it may seem fine. and laser alinger may be top shelf for a truck or whatever and maybe some laser machines are better than others. this was the latest beissbarth machine. maybe 1 month old when I used it. and it doesn't take a genius to figure out where they fall down. they have those 4 massive things hanging off each wheel so the slightest movement with the car or someone farting etc sets them moving and figures bounce around. old school is best. trust me. we are talking tenths of a mil in measurement either so the amount of accuracy is crucial and those type of machines just don't have it.

I'll see if I can get you a pic of the traction rods.

there you go (it's the gold ikeya arm):

hey bb, thanks for the pic of the traction rod, though i would consider it more of a camber rod. The whiteline rear camber kit allows you to lengthen or shorten that arm.

About the laser alignment, which i use myself when i go to bridgestone, what you have posted is pretty ridiculous. I mean its not like i tighten the nuts while the numbers are changing or someones farting lol. Having done over 5 alignments my self and working progressively through alignment settings from pretty conservative to now a reasonably aggresive setting, i have no doubt in the equipment.

On the other hand i dont believe the string method to be a bad one, and might give it a shot in the future to see if there is any improvement to be had. On the other hand i pay nothing when i go to bridgestone so i might just keep doing that.

I also think the fine measurements u are talking up are not that fine, i mean say u ended up with 2.0 front neg camber RHS and 1.9 on the LHS id bet my left nut u/me whoever couldnt tell the difference.

cheers bb

[Beer Baron]

lol, consider it a salami rod if you want. it's an upper control arm, or traction rod or toe control rod. the main upper control arm adjusts camber. the traction rods mainly affect toe and the angle of the upright, not camber.

as for fine measurements. 0.2mm of toe makes enough difference. think about it. 0.2 of a milimetre. laser alingment in my experience is just not reliable and repeatable. hey I was a big fan until I started doing more and more stuff with it then I realised that it just wasn't repeatable. plus it takes longer for me to set-up than string line or set-sqaure type and when under the car on the lift and your head breaks the beam that is pretty annoying. look if it's my camary or whatever sure I wouldn't have a problem using it. but for the GTR manual is best. have a look at giants experience with laser equipment.

[Angus Smart]

I'm never getting lazer alingment again. the cocks can never get it right, and also cough and spit the dummy when you tell them exactly how you want it.

surely i could go to another place, but i agree with richard here, the old school way is still top notch! And just found out my dads mate used to set up john bowe's car many many moons ago,

[Eug]

how do you do string-line alignments? is it something one can easily learn?

[Beer Baron]

yeah it's easy to do. as long as you know where and how to adjust your various suspension arms, and how to read you can do it. knowing what is a good setting for any given part of alingment is a different matter. it takes experience, time in the car etc to find what works, but you can usually bludge some good starting points from somone.

you want something like this basically:

or like this even better:

[giant]

i have just bought a smart tring set up out of the states, but up until now have been using curtain rods and string (cost about $30)

another big issuee with laser stuff is attachment to the rim, if there not careful or if your rims dont have a good lip on the rim( eg r34 rims), they fu@#k it up everytime.

russ

[260DET]

Any links/ brand names/descriptions for these DIY alignment gauges? I see Maple on the white one above, who sells them?

Edited October 8, 2007 by 260DET

[Beer Baron]

the ones I posted are ikeya formula. russ's ones are smart string. google smart string alignment you'll find it.

the ikeya one is about $400 for a full set.

but you can make your own pretty cheaply with just some nice metal rulers, some tubes and some string.

[260DET]

Thanks BB, here is the Smartstrings link if anyone else is interested http://www.smartracing.net/alignment.htm

[Eug]

noice... cheers guys.

$400 is a worthwhile investment, considering it costs $50-60 at the local tyre joint.

group buy ?

[tacker]

yep i am interested

[ZENNON]

(more than 400 if you wanna play with camber too...)

[Beer Baron]

bear in mind the smart string $400 is USD. and also to do camber you'll need a camber gauge another $200odd USD.

the ikeya one is a bit cheaper at about $400 delivered for the "full set". and it can do camber too.

http://www.ikeya-f.co.jp/en/product_notice...a-one_gage.html

[tacker]

what about castor? cant get my head around how to measure that

[Beer Baron]

basically you need to measure the camber at different steering angles then apply a formula. in a workshop you have the car on a degree plate. you turn the wheel 20degrees, measure, turn it 20 the other way, measure and they usually have a thing there to calculate it.

[Eug]

might have a read into that ikeya one. thanks bb.

suppose there's no way of doing castor?

i'm also thinking, wouldn't it be 'ideal' to have the car on axle stands while doing any sort of alignment (not in mid air, but just to re-seat the wheels on the surface)? or to at least do the alignment, roll back and forth and re-check?

[tacker]

Bugga to the caster i just knew it wasnt going to be as easy as that :-)

And i would think you would need the wheels with the weight of the car on them to set it up, bump steer and all that