Front End Alignment

[olzed]

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Gents, by using the above method I should be able to fix a steering wheel that is slightly askew, right?

Yes. You would just need to centre the steering wheel with the car on the floor, wrap a strong string tightly around all four wheels just below the centre of each wheel. You should see at a glance how much the toe is in or out. Adjust tie rods to suit.

[grannyknot]

Makes perfect sense olzed, put the steering where is should be and correct the wheels.

Thank you

[rossiz]

i kinda did it the other way around - set the wheels parallel and when they were aligned i simply moved both left and right adjuster nuts equal turns to move the steering wheel.

just a note: it may look dead on, but i needed to do several test drives and re-tweaks to get the steering wheel dead on center. there's friction between the tires and the ground and some play in the steering system, so it sits a little different when rolling than when stationary.

very satisfying to get that wheel straight and have the car track straight with no hands on the wheel :}

[Captain Obvious]

Thanks for sway bar input. The end link bushings have to (by design) deal with significant misalignment in every direction other than vertically without loading the bar. Side to side, front to back, they just swivel on the bushings accordingly. Every direction other than vertically shouldn't load the bar. So I'll just count my lucky stars that my sway bars line up almost perfectly vertically. When I put mine back in I was able to tighten up the frame mounts and then just rotate the entire bar in it's mounts until the end link holes lined up. No muss, no fuss, not fight.

And I've done it the other way as well... With the end links still attached, I am able to remove and reinstall the frame mounts without any fight. In other words, I didn't have to wrestle or force the frame mounts to get the four holes lined up. They just aligned naturally and the bolts slipped in and went finger tight all the way to "home" without fighting preload. It wasn't like I had to squeeze the second mount into place after tightening the first. They just lined up. Hanging or loaded, same results.

I'll watch over my shoulder for Murphy to catch up with me as well? Sounds like maybe I owe him one?

[bacarl]

...there's friction between the tires and the ground and some play in the steering system, so it sits a little different when rolling than when stationary...

When you have an alignment done at a shop, their Hunter machines have bearing plates under each tire that allow the adjustments to be made with minimal friction. One way I've seen this done at home is to use two 12x12" vinyl floor tiles under each tire. Put some wheel bearing grease between the tiles and they form a poor man's bearing plate, allowing the tire to slide around relative to the floor when alignment settings are changed.

Pic courtesy of Google:

[zKars]

I hate to put a damper on the string method put forth above for toe alignments, but I think there is a critical flaw in the assumptions. To use the rear wheels as a reference, the track width of the front and rear have to be identical. And not just the official track width spec of the car, but taking into account the tires you have on the front and rear. Not all of us have the same tire and wheel size/offset on both end and there may be spacers involved as well. Never mind those of us with 3D adjustable suspension components...

I'm having trouble finding a trustworthy source for the stock front rear track width on a s30 this morning (even the FSM body section isn't helping...), but I'm pretty sure the rear is narrower than the front. 1353mm F vs 1346mm R is the only one I could find with a quick google hunt.

This puts your strings widening outward toward the front. Easy enough to check, just measure distance between the strings at the rear wheels and out front at the jack stands. They have to be parallel or your front toe settings will be incorrect (not as much toe in as you think).

Better to put the strings on four jackstands away from the body, and get the strings parallel and wheel centers evenly spaced to the strings, THEN measure from the tire edges to the string at the front and back of the tire.

DIY front end alignment- what's your method? - Brakes, Wheels, Suspension and Chassis - HybridZ

And Brian/bacarl, I tried your greased vinyl tiles idea last night. Slick!!! (pun totally intended) It's a lubricating, rotating miracle! All for 4x 89 cents! It also allows the tires to settle outward as well after jacking the car up without rolling the car around. just put it down, steer right/left a few times and everything slides into perfect static position.

Edited June 20, 2014 by zKars

[John Coffey]

This is how to properly string a car.

Determining Wheel Alignment - String Your Car - Circle Track Magazine