Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

I've got a 1992 Legacy saloon.

17 inch Prodrive speedlines with 215 40 profiles.

I understand that for aftermarket wheels the tracking/alignment needs to be adjusted/corrected according to the size of wheel/tyre - is that correct?

And if so, is the detail below the best??

Have experienced difficulties with tread wear in the past..

Some advice would be much appreicated!!

Claudius

OMG!

Your alignment is all over the place!!!

Put 1° camber (or more) front, something like 0.2 - 0.5° rear and zero toe all round.

Turn in on your car must be really crap right now and it has an understeer tendency, right?

Claudius

You've probably got some lift off oversteer, especially when turning left (more camber front right), telling from your rear toe out. If that's not a problem, leave the rear toe out

Claudius

When I say 1° camber front and 0.2 -0.5° rear, I mean negative values, ie -1 and -0.2 and -0.5 obviously

Claudius

That's because you do not have any camber in the front. Toe in doesnt help either. Put max camber in the front. -1° if possible (not sure it is telling from the "range" but it should be...)

Erm, no: the values are within the "range", but that doesnt really mean anything. They should be within 0.01 left and right, and be different. It's a little bit like saying "we put fuel in your car. The octane was something between 93 and 99".

No; the setting havent been corrected, they have been messed up.

I believe a Legacy turbo come with 15 inch wheels as standard. Now if you put 17 inch wheels on there with a corresponding tire size in order to keep the whole wheel the same circumference and width, that doesnt change the geometry. All it changes is the amount of the wheel that's metal and the amount of the wheel that's rubber.

If you get 215mm wide tyres instead of say 205, that wont change the need for some negative front camber either.

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

Cheers Claudius.....

I knew there was someone out there that understood all of this 'stuff'...

I'm getting there slowly!!!!!!!

So, Question

Do I go back to the same place and tell them the settings I want???

or,

Do I go somewhere else and hope they know what they are doing??

mmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhh

I'm at a loss

I didn't want to travel too far.... as I thought, the more distance, with the alignmnet out, there may be extra stress on bits that don't normally come under such stress??

Cheers

Claudius

On normal road tyres, travelling say 100 miles with the alignment out wont affect the wear unless you really push it.

I'd say go to a better alignment place and tell them you want
- 1 degree negative front camber
- zero toe all round (front and back)
- 0.2 negative rear camber
- maximum front caster

Camber needs to be the same left and right on the same axle, within 0.02.

I'd suggest you post a thread in the General forum "Alignment shop recommendation in XXX (your area) please"

Claudius

No problem

I found this place in Cardiff:

http://www.mottestingstations.co.uk/seawall.htm

They're an MOT station (not sure if that means they're more serious?)

Claudius

I mean positive caster. Max positive caster will improve turn in

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

Maximum caster = ???


2 degrees..... or 3???

Claudius

Tha maximum you can put. Telling from the printout you linked in here, it's 4 degrees.

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

Just spoke with a garage in Cardiff (He sounded as if he knew a 'bit')

He looked to Legacy up in the book and said that the caster is 'set' and cannot be adjusted???

Was willing to look at it this afternoon tho ad see what he can do and set it to 'my settings' (yours)....

It's a well established garage and is known well for fitting after market Alloys and tyres (17 inch and over - Whereby many other garages couldn't fit them)

I'm gonna head down there in a while and see what they can do for me!!

I'll let you know!!

Thanks again

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

I had the 'front tracking' checked yesterday by some side street garage and the toe was ZERO degrees ..... how could this be if the tyres are weraing on the inside???

Does that mean I need some negative toe??

Or will the other settings remove that requirement??

.......... this is a Great way to gather information.....

I really appreciate you time and knowledge!!

........ glad you don't charge!!! LOL he he

Claudius

That's well possible. In fact, I'm sure it cant be adjusted on a standard car. Nevermind, you have more important issues to address (camber!).

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

Cheers

I'm off down there

update later


Cheers

Claudius

According to the sheet you linked in here, your toe is as close to zero as possible. The equipment that measured it electronically needs to be calibrated before each operation. No one ever does that. That's why you cannot be 100% sure if your toe is 0.00 or 0.01. But dont worry, it's not the main issue here.

Toe doesnt affect tyre wear the most. Camber does. Normally, the more negative camber you put, the more the tyres will wear on the inside (because more camber is designed to give better grip in corners but when you go straight, the inside, which as more "weight" on it than the outside of the tyre, will wear more).

Zeor toe will minimise the tyre wear and give the car a more neutral handling. One degree front camber will give the front axle more grip (which is what your car suffers from, you said) but tyre wear on the inside will increase compared to no camber. In general, all cars run some negative front camber. Sports cars run more. I'd say it's better to change tyres sooner rather than going straight when you want to turn! Tyres seem to be relatively cheap in the UK, good ones go for as little as £80 or 90; I wouldnt worry about that too much

Claudius

So you ran away while I replied? Good luck to you

I was a little surprised to hear you got tyre wear with that camber. Are your tyre pressures correct? I think it's 33 PSI front in your car, at least.

See you later

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

Thanks,

The front end does tend to go in a straight line when I don't!!

OMG .... Thought I had a 'professional job' ....... d'oh!!

Would i be correct in saying that the original settings would be for standard tyres?? and the settings have not been corrected for 'aftermarket wheels/tyres'??






[Edited by Legacy4x4Turbo - 4/11/2003 11:52:19 AM]

Leg@cy

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Claudius......

MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!

I'll do just that!!!

Thanks for your advice and time.........

When you say maximum caster........ is that positive or negative??

or is caster only available as positive???

Cheers

Phil

[Edited by Legacy4x4Turbo - 4/11/2003 12:54:15 PM]