He confirmed my suspicions based on my qualifying time of 2:04.364 which put me in P4, row two. Our recommendation is to find a nice flat surface with good lighting to begin your alignment. 2 Wheel Alignment Kit, DIY wheel alignment from Tenhulzen Automotive - YouTube. I chose the digital gauge with my purchase. QuickTrick Alignment offers portable wheel alignment tools and machines for manual use at home. But sometimes (inconsistently) it would take very long to start up. We offer several of Longacre's popular wheel alignment tooks to upgrade your kit to fit your exact needs. Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Turnology, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE! © 2017 Power Automedia. Here you can see we nailed it. Using his Watkins Smart Racing Products tools he aligned the Flying Lizard Porsches to be fastest enough to earn a pole position at Le Mans and a victory at Daytona. The easiest place to align a car is a level space with a smooth floor and lots of lighting. For this reason when doing alignments there is a specific order of operations: DIY Precise Alignment (Toe-in): I had just finished installing all new tie rod ends on my car and was looking up how to get the alignment at least relatively close. I’ve been asked before, “Why not just use toe plates? Steinjager Rod Ends, Cables, Threaded Tubes, Etc. Using Smart Camber and Smart Strings to get our car aligned is great for doing things at the track and in your own garage, but I was curious how close and accurate we were getting our alignments. For Double Nickel Nine Motorsports not only do we complete our own alignments at the shop with Smart Racing Products tools we verify our settings pre- and post-session at the track. At an average shop's 4 wheel alignment cost of $89.95, you'll pay for this kit with less than 3 changes in your alignment! To see how good Smart Racing Products alignment tools were we decided to align a car and then take it to a reputable alignment shop and compare the strings against the computer. We successfully developed an alignment tool package that ACCURATELY measures TOE, CAMBER, and CASTER and only costs $200. Tenhulzen Automotive produces a series of wheel alignment tools that are ideal for the home hobbyists. In our case, 11.75 inches high. This way front and rear adjustments are done simultaneously on the same longitudinal plane. Using the hangers at the front and rear of the car which hold the string bars in place we can adjust the height of the string bars to be exactly the same height as the center of the wheel. We made the arm shorter to get to our 3.2 degree negative camber goal. The goal then is to get the right front at the same number. Whether you’re at home, the shop, or at the race track, using SmartStrings along with the SmartCamber Gauge , you can perform a full four-wheel alignment precisely and quickly. Craig Watkins knows how to setup successful racing cars and he made adjustments at the track using his Watkins Smart Racing Products tools on the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsches. Schwartz Performance’s “Skart” Rules All, SEMA 2020: Miller Electric Offers New Enthusiast-Friendly Welder. This was an unacceptable result for our team, who is used to being on the front row. Offerings include a 2-Wheel System, Camber Gauges, Toe Plates, and a 4-Wheel Alignment System Loosen the two jam nuts at the ends of the control arm and then use an end wrench where the arrow is pointing to make the arm longer or shorter to adjust camber. Very happy with my purchase! I also won the race all thanks to Craig Watkins and his tools. 95. What would be much easier for racers is to have a simple portable alignment system that provides repeatable results they can use in their own shop and at the race track. Your friend will receive an email from you with a link to our site. Here is what the Smart Strings tools look like once they are quickly assembled. Alignment Kits and Tools. But front-end alignment, which usually requires fancy machines and/or real money to have it done in the shop, seemed do-able without all that— at least according to my own research on the topic. We were able to get 5.1 degrees of positive caster on the left front (maxed out). This method is used by professional racing teams and weekend track warriors. Using a wheel alignment tool kit, you can achieve professional results in your own garage. Video will open in a new window. Craig said, “It was so simple, it made sense.” Craig went home and designed Smart Strings. Using white boards on the wall of the shop is a very simple way to quickly track how your adjustments are changing the whole car. Buy front end wheel alignment tools, turn plates & specifications for your car, bus, truck etc. The front and back track width on cars are generally not the same so the measurement between front and rear will differ. Vehicle DIY Toe Alignment Tool -Off-Road DIY tool set is CNC cut for accuracy and to help save you money-Fit over the hub to help with setting toe alignment.-Unlike many other kits this does fit a 8 on 6.5 hub, where other kits have to be re-cut or ground to fit over … During the race, after just small adjustments to the left rear wheel using our alignment tools, I broke the Honda Challenge 4 class track record at Buttonwillow with a lap time of 2:04.076. DIY Wheel Alignment Kits; Wheels; Accessories; Mustang S550 Spare Wheel; Project 6GR; QuickTrick DIY Wheel Alignment; Filter By Price Range; $100 or below; $100 to $900; $900 to $1,700; $1,700 to $2,500; $2,500 to $3,300; $3,300 or above; Filter By Brand; Project 6GR Our kit supplies all the pieces needed to get started at an affordable price, now all you need is 3/4" tubing, bolts and string. Double Nickel Nine Motorsports uses Craig’s tools exclusively on their National Champion NASA  Honda Challenge cars. The setting probably changed after bouncing off of the curbing at Buttonwillow. Camber and toe adjustments are pretty easy to measure and adjust, but caster has a bit more mystery to it. All rights reserved. Rob Krider will race absolutely anything. To find the true center of the wheels we machined some portable center caps from Delrin for our Enkei RPF1s. Using our handy little aluminum millimeter ruler along with our center caps, we can determine how far from the center of the wheel our strings are. We only had an hour between qualifying and the race. He is an engineer by trade and was formerly the chief engineer for Flying Lizard Motorsports. Before he was engineering race cars at Le Mans, Craig was a desert racer competing in Baja. What is important is that side-to-side the left front is the same as the right front while the left rear is the same as the right rear. We lean the piece of aluminum against the wheel to accurately display if our steering angle is lined up with our 20 degree steering chalk line. Most of what you see here comes directly from Watkins Smart Racing Products when you order their Smart String and Smart Camber tools. It does not require an expert, but some mechanical ability and some time, Numbers and Letters: I need help selecting what material will work best, Numbers and Letters: I need help selecting what size will work best, Numbers and Letters: I want individually cut numbers and-or letters with no background, Numbers and Letters: I want numbers and-or letters on a background, Numbers and Letters: I want vinyl numbers and-or letters than are permanent. A couple of inexpensive fishing reels from Walmart ($12) are an easy way to quickly reel in the line and store the tools without getting tangled strings in the toolbox. With positive caster the steering wheel tends to self-center while going down the track. I was radioing in to my spotter the car wasn’t handling right. Tire Misc. Smart Strings creates a perfect parallelogram (rectangle) around the car where you can measure toe alignments by measuring from the outer rectangle to the edges of the rims. In addition to the tools you need to measure caster , camber , and toe angle , Summit Racing carries all the specialized wrenches, sockets, and other tools you need to make adjustments to your front end. To keep braking nice and straight we work hard to get our caster equal between both sides, even if it means dialing in a little less positive caster, so the two sides are the same. The Smart Camber tool is very easy to use. If you see that the tread on any one tire appears lower on one side of the car, or lower on one side of a tire than the other side, you have an alignment issue. These measurements will indicate if you have neutral toe, toe-in or toe-out. The string alignment method is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of making adjustments to your wheel alignments toe. (Tire Bags, Durometers, Markers, etc), Radios and Student/Instructor Communication Systems, Track Night in America and Starting Line Participant Benefit Program, Track Night in America and Starting Line Participant Benefit Program (Starting Line), Longacre Part Number 79501: Standard Toe Plates w/Magnets & 2 Tapes, Quickcar Billet Caster Camber Gauge - Choose your Adapter, SmartStrings 4 Wheel Toe Alignment System by Smart Racing, Longacre Part Number 79505: Deluxe Toe Plates (Set). 4.7 out of 5 stars 4. This is more than we want so we will adjust the toe-in slightly. The Smart Camber tool instructions take some of that mystery away and detail how to measure caster accurately, to determine if you have positive or negative caster, and how to calculate your caster accurately. Get inside the car and turn the steering wheel until it looks and feels … Check it out!!! Camber This mechanic procedure aims to set the wheels to the car maker's specification. This has proven to be extremely beneficial to our team. Everything you need from to complete an at home alignment in one money saving kit. We made the adjustments we needed and made it to grid just in time for the race. Here is how to measure it using the Smart Camber tool. Here is a quick reference guide for the Smart Camber (zeroing, calibrating, etc.) But towing a race car to an alignment shop during business hours and convincing the technicians there to set the car at unorthodox racetrack alignment settings is often a challenge. We are going to go through step by step how to use the tools to set an accurate performance alignment. One of the advantages to using Smart Camber and Smart Strings is you can use them at the track. Wheel Adapter:  Upgrade to a Longacre QuickSet Billet Aluminum Wheel Adapter for up to 17" wheel(+$30.00), or up to 22" (+$40.00). Do-it-yourself wheel alignment guide. But again, this has nothing to do with the quality of the toe plate, just how it's NOT designed to do. Street Legal Mario Kart! In order to adjust toe on the front of a vehicle you will first need to loosen the jam nut against the outer tie rod. All rights reserved. By holding the Smart Camber tool against the wheel, you can see our wheel is at 2.9 degrees negative camber. 2. Video: How Does One Build Confidence In A Race Car? The trail measurement (rear of the wheel) is 86 millimeters. Or take it to a shop if you’re really stumped. Video: Scaring Mom In A Lotus Exige Cup 430 At Cadwell Park! I ended up hand holding it against the rim when I need a read, the rest of the time I put the gauge away from the wheel. Trackace Is A … Both camber gauge and toe plates were made in high quality. The Smart Strings take a little practice in setting up on a car the first time. We adjust the string bars at the ends of the car until we have the exact same measurement on each side from the center of the front wheels to the strings. Overall, I rate this kit as 5 star. We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request. I brought the car in and we immediately set up Smart Strings on the car. I am guess it needs to re-calibrate itself from time to time? But after a while they get easier and easier to use. Toe. We use white boards on the shop walls to track our alignment progress. Its probably good for a quick check to see if your wheels are mis-aligned. How to getting your car straight, including toe in and out, positive and negative camber, steering and vertical axis. If caster is off between the left and right front sides, the car will start to wander under braking. Wheel alignment turntables are used in pairs and are necessary to prevent the suspension from binding during a wheel alignment. Get it as soon as Thu, Jan 21. The first time you attempt a DIY alignment, you'll likely end up spending a few hours working away at it because changes to a wheel's camber setting also results in … One of the easiest and cheapest modifications a racer can make to his or her vehicle to try to find more performance and speed is by changing alignment settings; simply adjusting camber, caster and toe can radically improve a car’s handling ability. Poor wheel alignment wastes fuel, damages tyres & increases your CO2 emissions carbon emissions. Easy, Accurate, Inexpensive, Do-It-Yourself Vehicle Alignment By Rob Krider May 09, 2019 One of the easiest and cheapest modifications a racer can make to his or her vehicle to try to find more performance and speed is by changing alignment settings; simply adjusting camber , caster and toe can radically improve a car’s handling ability. It is important to be able to verify a car’s alignment before and after a session to ensure it is set at optimal positions for peak performance. 10% coupon applied at checkout Save 10% with coupon. When we align our cars we either have the driver sitting in the driver’s seat or we place the driver’s weight in the seat using workout plates. Because the lead measurement to the outside string box is smaller, it means the left front wheel is steered slightly to the left, showing a toe-out setting. We also do the same adjustment with the back wheels. - The gauge mounts to the small gap between rim and tire, it's universal, but it does not mount very well. Have the steering wheel locked in place a the center (straight) position, either by having a driver in the seat holding it or with a locking tool. He is a multi-national champion racing driver and is also the author of the novel, Cadet Blues. High Travel Springs In, Street Legal Mario Kart! For our road racing cars we try to dial in as much positive caster as the vehicle will allow us to. We will contact you as soon as this product is available. Do it yourself alignment – at home for free – almost!! Once our camber and caster are set it’s time to move on to toe settings. Trackace DIY laser wheel alignment tracking gauge. Laser level clamped to rear wheel, use the ruler to measure the front and rear edge of the front wheel to figure out the angle. Fits almost any wheel and folds for compact storage. We did it! This is how to make wheel alignment at home by using just simple tools. One of the greatest advantages of Smart Strings and Smart Camber are their portability. Race cars are driven extremely aggressively. The item you are trying to purchase is currently out of stock.Please enter your name, email, and phone number below. The inner tie rod will have a spot where an end wrench can be used for this adjustment. My preferred method of setting up a quick alignment is a set of Toe plates. These calculations were done in accordance with the instructions on measuring caster which came with the Smart Camber tool. This front end alignment kit gives you the complete tools to keep things straight! We will adjust the left side to get it down to one millimeter of toe-out to give us an even setup side to side and an overall toe-out in the rear of two millimeters out. Here you can see how we determined if we had positive or negative caster and how we calculated how much caster we had. This allows us to do two things with Smart Strings: 1. find the height of the center of the wheel (11.75 inches) and 2. to help center the string box around the car. The chalk lines on the floor are for setting caster (we will get to that in a moment). Strings connecting the two string bars at the front and rear of the car create a perfectly square parallelogram (rectangle) around the car. Robby was also racing Indy cars at the time and Craig went to hang out with him at Laguna Seca for an Indy car race. Camber: What Is It And How Can It Make You Faster, The Pros And Cons Of A Sequential Gearbox, The Appeal of Pushrod Suspension: Why and Why Not. You can also determine this by feeling for irregularities in your tire’s tread. Before doing your own alignment on a track car, its a great idea to talk to a few people who have experience behind the wheel of similar cars with the same chassis, and get some recommendations for a starting point, with regards to Toe, Camber, etc. Affect toe settings are trying to purchase is currently out of necessity he Smart... The digital display will tell you what your camber angle is set at steering! Which put me in P4, row two them at the same so the measurement front. Were able to get 5.1 degrees of positive caster as the vehicle will allow us to grid in! By step how to measure it using the Smart camber tool smooth floor lots. 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