Tracking. Easy to do?
- Thread starter Jonty
- Start date
most tyre places offer tracking. but i'd fit the castor kit yourself and then get it tracked up. there's not that much adjustability in the castor kit and most places wont be able to check castor anyway. you just set it to remove the castor angle by fitting it so it appears to widen the track/push the bottom arms out. there's a downloadable fitting guide on whiteline website.
we're talking castor, not camber.
yeah. or it'll put tracking out if you do it after. and you'll have to pay again.
Camber, ive got a supertracker user guide somewhere from college which explains it
i was explaining fitting the castor kit. it doesn't really effect camber, just moves strut bottom forwards.Swiper; said:
frank; said:
fitting the whiteline castor kit removes some of the castor- thus, lightening the steering.
http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_detail4.php?part_number=KCA373
Usually fitted to increase caster angle thus giving more negative camber to outside wheel when turning. It has the side effect of increasing the steering weight feel and also the cars tendency to self straighten.
The unfortunate result is that, instead of passing on wisdom, we unintentionally contribute to myth and misinformation. Again, without the proper grounding to accurately communicate our observations and conclusions, and despite our best intentions, we end up spreading myths and misinformation across the Internet – preventing the next hands from becoming as expert as they could be. And the cycle begins again.
Usually fitted to increase caster angle thus giving more negative camber to outside wheel when turning. It has the side effect of increasing the steering weight feel and also the cars tendency to self straighten.
The unfortunate result is that, instead of passing on wisdom, we unintentionally contribute to myth and misinformation. Again, without the proper grounding to accurately communicate our observations and conclusions, and despite our best intentions, we end up spreading myths and misinformation across the Internet – preventing the next hands from becoming as expert as they could be. And the cycle begins again.
pollyp
Club Member
with a spanner, string, ruler, alot of patience, a sharp eye to take precise measurements and abit of maths, anyone can align their wheels straight with fair degree of accuracy.
i always align my own wheels now after wasting few quid from local garages.
see my blog page 26 post 1280 on when i first aligned my wheels with some string.
http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/pollymobiles-rebuild.35251/page-26
mine used to drift to the left but later on the blog i found it was caused by unequal front tyre height & wear (the front right tyre wall was stiffer for some reason)
my current setup in the garage are
-afew stacks of marble tiles under each wheel so the car sits absolutely flat (configured using a water line),
-under the front wheels i dowse some table salt between the top tile and the base tiles so it acts like ball bearings allowing the wheel to swivel freely,
-set the tyres to the same pressure,
-give the steering abit of a juggle then leave it centered (keep an eye that its always centered),
-measure the track width of the front & rear wheels (ie measure the front side, backside of the tyre then calc the average so u have the reading from the middle of the wheel). the front tracking is wider than the rears.
-run a string between two jack stands on both sides at upto the midway height of the hubcaps, position it till the distance of the string from the front & rear hubcaps are correct according to the tracking difference u measured (ie rear hubs are further away from string cos its narrower than the front). keep the string taught and don't touch it, its ur straight line reference.
-cut a stright piece of wood till it sits just on the rim of the alloy/steel wheel, measuring from the tyre wall is inconsistant.
-measure the difference between where the front & rear end of the wooden block for each wheel is from the string (the result is dependent on how precise u can measure)
-loosen the steering tie-rod end locknut and adjust the thread till the measurements are all equal = zero toe & straight
-tighten the locknut, rejiggle the steering, leave it straight then recheck the wheels are definately pointing straight.
then drive it down a straight level road and finetune the rod ends till it goes straight when the steerings straight
i always align my own wheels now after wasting few quid from local garages.
see my blog page 26 post 1280 on when i first aligned my wheels with some string.
http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/pollymobiles-rebuild.35251/page-26
mine used to drift to the left but later on the blog i found it was caused by unequal front tyre height & wear (the front right tyre wall was stiffer for some reason)
my current setup in the garage are
-afew stacks of marble tiles under each wheel so the car sits absolutely flat (configured using a water line),
-under the front wheels i dowse some table salt between the top tile and the base tiles so it acts like ball bearings allowing the wheel to swivel freely,
-set the tyres to the same pressure,
-give the steering abit of a juggle then leave it centered (keep an eye that its always centered),
-measure the track width of the front & rear wheels (ie measure the front side, backside of the tyre then calc the average so u have the reading from the middle of the wheel). the front tracking is wider than the rears.
-run a string between two jack stands on both sides at upto the midway height of the hubcaps, position it till the distance of the string from the front & rear hubcaps are correct according to the tracking difference u measured (ie rear hubs are further away from string cos its narrower than the front). keep the string taught and don't touch it, its ur straight line reference.
-cut a stright piece of wood till it sits just on the rim of the alloy/steel wheel, measuring from the tyre wall is inconsistant.
-measure the difference between where the front & rear end of the wooden block for each wheel is from the string (the result is dependent on how precise u can measure)
-loosen the steering tie-rod end locknut and adjust the thread till the measurements are all equal = zero toe & straight
-tighten the locknut, rejiggle the steering, leave it straight then recheck the wheels are definately pointing straight.
then drive it down a straight level road and finetune the rod ends till it goes straight when the steerings straight
i know people dont like kwikfit but i have never had any problems with them doing tracking they do 4 wheel tracking and afterwards my car has always tracked straight last time i had it done it cost me £25 but they will recheck it within 30 days and re-adjust foc if its out
