Best Alignment Settings

drewsky121

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If this question is answered else where, please let me know. But i have some newbie questions in regards to suspension setup on the car. Overall, i'm looking for the best alignment for the track for the car.. but have a few sidebar questions as well.

1. Camber..what works for you? I'm currently sitting right at 3* in the front.. about 1* in the rear
2. Caster.. just curious.. i'm locked into nothing less than 10* right now with my setup. See signature.
3. Ride Height.. I have stock K member, i'm curious as to a good ride height that works and doesn't screw up the geometry horribly. the real question is.. where is an accurate place to measure from in all four corners?
4. Toe.. i'm currently 0 toe in the front and i'm about 1/8 inch toe out in the rear to help a tad with understeer

Let me know if you can think of anything else i should be paying attention to. But i want to dial in these first and then start from there. Any advice helps, thank you!
 

ReplicaR

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Get a pyrometer, tire pressure gauge, do some data collecting (time, tire temps, tire pressure, feel) and go from there. No such thing as "Best Allignment Settings".
 
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drewsky121

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Get a pyrometer, tire pressure gauge, do some data collecting (time, tire temps, tire pressure, feel) and go from there. No such thing as "Best Allignment Settings".

I'm well aware that every car is its own character, but i'm looking for a good starting point. obviously, if i went out there and said i'm doing an inch toe in, and 10* negative camber, you'd have more to say than above. If i'm already in the right area, then just let me know please. I'm looking for a general rule of thumb for the above items, anything will help. Thank you!
 

RichV

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I know you're posting in the RR forum, that said, what do you do with the car? Is it a track ONLY car?

This is some info I have stored and have used:

Performace Spec #1
Front Caster: +4.7 to +5.5 (what ever the maximum attained is)
Front Camber: -0.6 to –0.8
Front Toe: 1/16” per side, or 1/8” total toe out


#2
Type of Driving Camber – Specific to Mustang


Drag racing-no street use -.2° to -.5°
General street use -.7° to -1.1°
Aggressive street handling -1.2° to -1.7°
Road race / Autocross -1.8° to -2.5°

I run the spec 1 settings and -2.5° of camber. It works very well, but I don't have as much suspension adjustment as you do.

I agree with Dmitry on the tire temps. That's the only real way to know if you're optimal. And that may change with track type as well. Hit the tires with a pyrometer, if you're cooler on the outside/inside adjust camber.
 
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drewsky121

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I know you're posting in the RR forum, that said, what do you do with the car? Is it a track ONLY car?

This is some info I have stored and have used:

Performace Spec #1
Front Caster: +4.7 to +5.5 (what ever the maximum attained is)
Front Camber: -0.6 to –0.8
Front Toe: 1/16†per side, or 1/8†total toe out


#2
Type of Driving Camber – Specific to Mustang


Drag racing-no street use -.2° to -.5°
General street use -.7° to -1.1°
Aggressive street handling -1.2° to -1.7°
Road race / Autocross -1.8° to -2.5°

I run the spec 1 settings and -2.5° of camber. It works very well, but I don't have as much suspension adjustment as you do.

I agree with Dmitry on the tire temps. That's the only real way to know if you're optimal. And that may change with track type as well. Hit the tires with a pyrometer, if you're cooler on the outside/inside adjust camber.

Thank you, i appreciate it. I have a pyrometer at home from when I raced oval that I planned on using at the track. Sounds like the rest of my estimates are about right. I'm currently away from home and will be for quite awhile unfortunately. This will be the occassional street car, hopefully majority track here soon. I spent all last winter trying to build the car the way i want it..

The one i struggle the most with is ride height. Has anybody tested out optimum heights? Or maybe the best measurement is angle of the front a-arms in relation to the ground? Without having scales, its hard to set cornerweights... and i've been trying to just keep the heights the same across the front and back but again, i don't have a solid measuring point on the frame.
 

RichV

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Thank you, i appreciate it. I have a pyrometer at home from when I raced oval that I planned on using at the track. Sounds like the rest of my estimates are about right. I'm currently away from home and will be for quite awhile unfortunately. This will be the occassional street car, hopefully majority track here soon. I spent all last winter trying to build the car the way i want it..

The one i struggle the most with is ride height. Has anybody tested out optimum heights? Or maybe the best measurement is angle of the front a-arms in relation to the ground? Without having scales, its hard to set cornerweights... and i've been trying to just keep the heights the same across the front and back but again, i don't have a solid measuring point on the frame.

Hit up MM, Jack Hidley over there loves to plug your info into his super calculator and it spits out the optimal setup for your combo. Worth a shot. My experience is the Mustangs like a little softer spring, but the CMC rules keep me from using the really good stuff on suspension.
 

ReplicaR

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Those are some mighty conservative alignment specs there [MENTION=17007]RichV[/MENTION]. Personally I'm running a lot more aggressive. I'll be trying my luck this weekend to see if anything can be changed to attain more front end grip without changing swaybar balance. I do have thicker swaybars on now, that that should keep the balance the same as it was before.
 

RichV

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Those are some mighty conservative alignment specs there RichV. Personally I'm running a lot more aggressive. I'll be trying my luck this weekend to see if anything can be changed to attain more front end grip without changing swaybar balance. I do have thicker swaybars on now, that that should keep the balance the same as it was before.

Whats your setup specs?

CMC is relatively stock on the front suspension.
 
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drewsky121

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Ya, max stock-ish caster +5-6, and camber I can't even get 3 with the MM plates in race configuration.



I know of one way, modify the shock towers. That camber is way too much for any track we run here.

perfect, these were the discussions i was looking for!
 

ReplicaR

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Ya, max stock-ish caster +5-6, and camber I can't even get 3 with the MM plates in race configuration.
I know of one way, modify the shock towers. That camber is way too much for any track we run here.

I got that camber by opening up the bottom hole of the strut where it mount to a spindle. Kind of the same concept as camber bolts, but no purchase required.
 

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