DIY budget 4-wheel alignment project. Update, done for under 20. Full write up!

For slide plates, two pieces of metal underneath the wheels with copper slip or LM grease in between.

Which replicates this:



And hell, if it's good enough for these guys...





This is the BMW loop I mentioned before:

 

Feel free to move this if require,d but i just got an e-mail saying this was now available to buy. Not quite 4weel alignment, but could be a useful cheap piece of kit.

http://www.trackace.co.uk

Update Use discount code THANKYOU25 which is 25 off

 

A very nice piece of kit, it has to be said. Doesn't do 4-wheel allignment, but @ 92 it looks a very quick way of sorting the fronts or the backs. Makes Dunlop tracking guages obsolete (250 - 500+).

 

Updated with discount code i forgot.

 

Now it just got more tempting! For the size of that for a quick DIY check, you really just can't grumble.

Dunlop stuff is cumbersome and bulky, yet only does 2 wheels.

 

System still based around the Dunlop guages principle, OK for 2 wheels for a quick check and adjustment which tickes the boxes for most DIY'ers

great find though Andy


Having completed VW wheel aligment based courses, and dealing with the later VW vehicles setups on a weekly basis, all four wheels in sync a better option and the way to go!

I've seen a number of cars that have been to various major tyre based business that have been adjusted the tracking spot on, but because the caster & camber that alters depending 'centre' position of the rack, the angles alter causing driving issues

keep with the Budget String System, it's more on the money as it will also check the rears and able to align all four
You'd be surprised how many cars have pulling issues that are caused by the rear axle

 

Interesting about this. I wonder if this affects more modern independent rear suspension more than the U-beams? A car can only crab sideways unless a U-beam is bent?

 

A bit more thinking today on this and the idealism of a one-size fits all concept isn't coming easily.

One thing that did spring to mind though was a pair of P-clips and suction pads for cars with smooth bumpers:



Certainly not a rigid set up, and some pipe lagging may be required part way along to settle the tubes. Gives total position adjustment on modern smooth bumpered cars though, on the proviso they can support the conduit weight?

 

I took these back yesterday, as they simply do not fit a Mk2, and I'm concerned they're wobbly.

Looking for long L-brackets really, off shelf ideally, to keep it accesible / easy to create. I could have made this bespokely long ago, but that isn't the point!

 

I have taken an interest in this thread and thought about how I would do - not on a shoe string budget but a budget none the less.

I took that comment as a challenge and have based my design on the picture above - if im going to start making something I may as well do it properly and it should save time setting it up and may be more accurate.

So here is the mockup to prove the theory (took a few mins to put together).



With the basics in place I set about designing a full scale prototype. I have based it on sizes of ali sheet I have lying around. For speed and accuracy I used the laser cutter to shape me some ply. Here is the working prototype.











It works well in the ply wood, the sides flex a little but you can still make very fine movements with it. I am now thinking of beefing up the sides and using this istead of wasting money on billet... so far this has cost me nothing.

I know its not quite in the spirit of the thread, but you could easily knock something like this up out of wood with just a pillar drill, make it like the first mockup with large pieces of wood, some 6mm threaded bar, some nuts and washers and the brass tube that comes pre cut in equil lengths Function over form.

 

Some nice work there, a welcome different slant on DIY

Threaded rod easily found cost-effectively in Wickes, but my guess is the brass-appearance tube will come at a price over the counter. Still good options for those with materials accessible.

 

I haven't read through this and absorbed everything posted properly yet, but will do as I'm now going to attempt to build a camber / tracking setup kit myself.

So far I've just bought some random items via eBay. Starting with this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250568422073&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT



Just got that tonight and it's an excellent little thing for 20ish quid.

Also ordered some laser modules:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150548667519&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT



These particular lasers can provide a spot or crosshair pattern.

I also have loads of lengths of 20mm box section steel on the way.


I've not put much thought yet into exactly how I'll turn all these bits into my tracking / camber kit. I might keep it really simple and use the usual trick of having the electronic angle gauge against a metal bar plus two nuts / bolts to measure the camber. To do the tracking, one method I heard of was to use a laser mounted on a horizontal bar held against the wheel, such that the laser aims onto a surface (e.g. garage door) ahead of the car. Mark the spot, and then place the bar with the laser on the opposite wheel and again mark the point. Measure distance between two points. Move the car back a few metres, do the same again, and use simple trigonometry to work out the toe-in/toe-out.

Or I might do something more elaborate with all the lengths of steel box.

 

Just to update this with the finished product, i remade the sides with 3 layers of ply to stop any flex, added holes to mount the tool and then inserted a larger brass tube into the middle part so that the bearing surfaces are now brass on brass as appossed to wood and brass. It now moves with little friction.









Next stage is to mount this to the car, i will be using these ply supports, they hook onto the slam pannel and boot.





When I get a chance to finish this I will put up some pictures of it in use.

 

Very smart! Enviable woodworking skills there, ever so neatly done. Thoughts of replication strikes fear!

Looking forward to the pics in use

 

I spent about 50 on square section steel from B&Q and my local metalsupermarket.

12mm for the hoop supports/rails and a 25mm(1.6mm wall thickness) length for the main bar, then 20mm sliders inside that.

Obviously I have access to a welder, so it was easy to do, but I'd say its worth the extra effort so as to get good accuracy.

Setup seems to work really well, ie easy to use, plus good results eg no more crabbing car. I'm sure it will save me alot more than 50 over the years.

Love what smudge is doing.

 

looks really good, to be honest your setup could be made without the use of welder too the joints could be butted and have sheet metal riveted inlace to form sturdy butress joints. Food for thought, and the square bar will just make this all easier.

 

thanks smudge.

They are abit rough, but I don't care - it works.

Yes I suppose it could be riveted, or even bolted together.

More time consuming, but not difficult to do, now I think about it.

Would be good for storage as well, flat pack style.

The way they are now is a pain to store.

Luckily I have a large garage with timber roof trusses, so I can hang them up out the way, above head height.

I think I feel a redesign coming on, or even a little business venture.

 

Its just about the principle of making not the finiesse of the final product (function over form). The first mock up made, would work perfectly well for someone if they wanted to make it.

I had a go at fitting to the car today, mangaged to find a spare hour or so after work to finish a few bits of. It is not yet complete as i need to mount the front to the car a little more solid - have a plan for this

Anyway, 10mins to set up from start to finish - no problem.















I could not find my fishing tackle but did find an old driveshaft nut

 

thats impressive

 

Guys, my problems may be different to yours, but in my day to day work life the problem I have is explaining datum points to my guys. i.e. a fixed set of points that are a known dimension/size/position etc. which you can set out/measure from. The guys like to measure up form the floor to get levels for example but you are then relying on someone else having got the floor level - doesn't often happen. This same problem, as I see it, applies to our cars, in differing levels.

On a std and straight road car (or one that hasn't been used in competition or crashed on the road) the problems are less complicated as you can use the body parts as mounting [measurement] points and assume that they are reasonably square/inline/level etc. On a race car panels are often there just to cover the chassis and display advertising stickers .

Certainly on my car every panel has been 'adjusted' by the driver or other driver/s over the years so you cannot use them as datum points. I use a combination of points but for ride height I use the point just under the front door on the bottom seam line and the same (or similar point) about 6" in front of the rear arch, as both of these are part of the main chassis and it's the least likely to be distorted (but not guaranteed). For suspension alignment I use the front rear suspension pick up point (my rear of the mounting plate that was specially made to be used to this) and the bottom of the joining plate on the rear beam that I have marked fro this purpose (the rear beam having been aligned when built by me). These points again chosen on the assumption that the chassis is square/straight and fairly fixed. I then check that they are at 90 degrees to each other (left and right) and the dimension from both points front to back. On mine its +/- 1mm which I use as close enough.

My point is that how do you know that the front or rear valance is square (90 degrees) to the rest of the car or the wheels are not set 4mm to the right or left of the car. You could align the wheels to the string and end up with something trapezoidal or some such shape?

I don't want to seem like I am being critical, what do I know, but to ask a question really, that is why there is such a long winded description. I spent a lot of time thinking about it when I built this years chassis and the big problem I had was making sure everything was straight and true and deciding where to measure from and to.

I have a set of tracking gauges, a corner weight gauge and camber gauge but these are only of use once you heave everything square, straight and level other wise you can end up in a right mess. What points do you use as the datum points to measure from?