Allignment settings (definitive thread)

Weapon X · 03-07-2004, 02:36 PM

Hey, I was just wondering what kind of allignment settings you use on your car for drift/auto x/touge/etc. I want to make this thread as definitive as possible so please post your car, suspension mods, settings...and what kind of tires you're running. I'll post my settings later, just want to see if this thread gets a buzz at all.

driftfreak · 03-07-2004, 05:27 PM

I got a good write up on that, on my site...
http://www.speed-tribe.net/pages/suspension.htm
but anyway i run about 2.5deg nag camber..im farting around with diffrent toe setting this weekend..but now im at half a degree of toe out front
and no toe at all in the rear...

Im running junk tires all around i think right now there 215/40/16 but i got sevral rims to play with that are diffrent sizes..

my next suspension upgrade(after i fix a few things) is to get 25MM spacers up front and over finders...

this is all for touge/drift

Weapon X · 03-07-2004, 08:15 PM

Thanks alot man, nice writeup btw.

Weapon X · 03-07-2004, 11:01 PM

bump....

driftfreak · 03-08-2004, 08:52 AM

Dont count on to many people posting here... as it seems to me not to many people know about suspension...even the basics...there all about bolt on and go...

_uG TM · 03-08-2004, 12:28 PM

I do my alignments at school. I put what I want in at factory spec, then I will add - camber to a hundreth of a degree. Make sure everything is in good condition especally the tie rods. Broke 2, second one just recently this year

.

Toe I keep in spec, just so Im not always wearing out my tires.. Camber doesnt wear out your tires as much as toe does.

Usually I will overcompensate when adjusting these on the alignment rack so everything will settle in the correct specs.. usually hundreths over or under depending on what I am adjusting.

Next week I will be putting my car back on the rack, because I broke my second tie rod, putting on gymkhana springs, and new shocks. I might overhaul my rack and pinion for manual steering and take out all of the power steering as well. like the pistons, plug the p.s. holes, and grease the pinion. I will get a full print out of my specs, what I have replaced and such.

Weapon X · 03-08-2004, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by driftfreak
Dont count on to many people posting here... as it seems to me not to many people know about suspension...even the basics...there all about bolt on and go...

That's pretty ironic for a drifting forum.

driftfreak · 03-08-2004, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Weapon X
That's pretty ironic for a drifting forum.

True that...and i hope it changes...

miata619drifter · 03-08-2004, 04:09 PM

crap....i just posted an alignment settings question in the Drifting section.

i guess i'm getting my answers here.

funny strongbad pic btw

Ada180sx · 03-09-2004, 12:32 AM

First of all I have a JDM S13.

My susp mods are as follows:

Racing Gear JTC'N1 dampers
Yashio Factory Pillowball Tension Rods
Section Pillowball Rear Upper arms
Section Pillowball Toe Control Arms
Uras Urathane Subframe Spacers
Urathane Sway bar bushings
R32 GT-R rear Sway bar

And you can't really talk about susp w/o talking about chassis rigidity so:

Front/Rear Cusco Strut Tower Bars
Safety 21 9pt Roll cage
Trunk Bar
And soon to be added Pillar bar

Power also comes into play here so:
aprox: 350whp and 348ft/lbs torque

Now to the alignment settings:

Front: 2.5deg camber 0 toe 7 deg caster
rear: 2.5deg camber 0 toe (no caster adjustment in the rear)

If you are a person who doesn't have this kinda power or these susp mods you can use less rear camber, say 1deg or 1.5, and a little bit of toe out in the back, try about .5mm and work out from there. I would say no more than 1.5mm though because you are gonna go through tires so fast. Even if you don't have the rear arms get the pillow tension rods and save yourself many headaches.

banged240_drift · 03-11-2004, 08:48 PM

im getting adjustable tension rods here in like a week

so heres a few q's of my own
different degrees of toe are used to make it under or over steer right?

what is caster?

cani even adjust caster with the tension rods?

MrodDrft · 03-11-2004, 09:03 PM

i think caster is the angle of the shocks or coilovers, is that even remotely correct ?

driftfreak · 03-11-2004, 09:49 PM

yes toe can be used for adjusting the cornering..i have a little write up about alignments on my web page...
simply toe in=more stable toe out=better turn in...more toe=more tire wear..

Caster is the angle of the axis that the wheel/tire moves on while turning the stearing wheel...that very well could be the angel of the shot/strut/coilover unit..

Menchi · 03-11-2004, 10:03 PM

how about tire pressure? everyone here should at least be able to answer that, I run about ten over and I hear that SCCA racers somtimes go 15 over spec psi. overpressurizing eliminates tire roll but I hear makes drifting more difficult.

Menchi · 03-11-2004, 11:03 PM

most cars are stock toe-in to create a slight pressure between them, this gives'em steadier tracking and prevents bump steer. but when a car with a toe-in setup takes a corner the outside tires take on more than half the load. the imbalence with the inner tires creats a slight understeer into turns, (just another way manufacturers have made cars handle worse thoughout the years) and excessive toe-in will also wear your tires pretty badly. I don't tune my toe angel because I'm poor and can't afford to but if I could afford it, my tuning would definitly depend on the car I was driving. but for everone here who drives an S13 which tend to understeer but I don't need to tell you that, I would probably toe out a bit if the car wasn't my daily driver also. I would like to hear what some touge racers run because most of the touge runs are in pretty bad shape where I love and bump steer would be a big problem, it is even on the flat land here, so I would imagine that they run the stock toe angle.

gtrken · 03-12-2004, 04:10 AM

Front
Negative 2.5 deg front camber
as much caster as you can get ( usually around 5-7 degrees)
Toe in 1mm

Rear
Negative 1.5 degrees camber
Toe for grip about 1mm per side
Toe for Drift is zero or max 1mm toe out total.

If all your bushes are in GOOD cond or have been replaced with nolethane or rose joint/pillow ball then that set up will work well with most independent rear end S13/S14 , R32/R33 type Nissans.

I use Bridgestone RE55's all round for grip and any crap on the rear for drift.

Too much toe out on the rear makes for an unstable , dancing tailhappy car which in slow speed Solo 1 type application is fine but hi speed controlled drifting it becomes too nervous.

Toe out on the front aids in initial turn in but when the load comes onto the outside tyre it will then cause the car to understeer as the loaded tyre is facing away from the direction of travel.

Too much camber on the rear means that the tyre contact patch is only partially there ( especially with stiff side wall tyres like the RE55's ) and the problem becomes worse under hard acceleration as all Nissans have a tendency for the rear to go more negative the lower the car goes.

Also lowering the front too much without readjusting your steering rack position creates bump steer problems because the rack ends are already past horizontal before you even start compressing the springs.

Ada180sx · 03-12-2004, 05:27 PM

Excellent post GTRKEN.

Just one question. What do you mean when REadjusting the steering rack? What part are you actualy adjusting?

gtrken · 03-13-2004, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ada180sx
Excellent post GTRKEN.

Just one question. What do you mean when REadjusting the steering rack? What part are you actualy adjusting?

You have to try and raise the rack on it's mounts to get the arms( Tie rod adjustors) back to level if possible.

Cheers
Ken

03-07-2004, 02:36 PM	#1
Weapon X SHINJIRO Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Twilight Posts: 796	Allignment settings (definitive thread) Hey, I was just wondering what kind of allignment settings you use on your car for drift/auto x/touge/etc. I want to make this thread as definitive as possible so please post your car, suspension mods, settings...and what kind of tires you're running. I'll post my settings later, just want to see if this thread gets a buzz at all.

03-08-2004, 04:09 PM	#9
miata619drifter Turbo MX-5 Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 201	crap....i just posted an alignment settings question in the Drifting section. i guess i'm getting my answers here. funny strongbad pic btw Last edited by miata619drifter; 03-08-2004 at 04:29 PM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

03-07-2004, 05:27 PM	#2
driftfreak Pita didnt like my avitar Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: El Cerrito, CA. (east bay SF) Posts: 266	I got a good write up on that, on my site... http://www.speed-tribe.net/pages/suspension.htm but anyway i run about 2.5deg nag camber..im farting around with diffrent toe setting this weekend..but now im at half a degree of toe out front and no toe at all in the rear... Im running junk tires all around i think right now there 215/40/16 but i got sevral rims to play with that are diffrent sizes.. my next suspension upgrade(after i fix a few things) is to get 25MM spacers up front and over finders... this is all for touge/drift

03-07-2004, 08:15 PM	#3
Weapon X SHINJIRO Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Twilight Posts: 796	Thanks alot man, nice writeup btw.

03-07-2004, 11:01 PM	#4
Weapon X SHINJIRO Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Twilight Posts: 796	bump....

03-08-2004, 08:52 AM	#5
driftfreak Pita didnt like my avitar Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: El Cerrito, CA. (east bay SF) Posts: 266	Dont count on to many people posting here... as it seems to me not to many people know about suspension...even the basics...there all about bolt on and go...

03-08-2004, 12:28 PM	#6
_uG TM Touge only. Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: portland Posts: 261	I do my alignments at school. I put what I want in at factory spec, then I will add - camber to a hundreth of a degree. Make sure everything is in good condition especally the tie rods. Broke 2, second one just recently this year . Toe I keep in spec, just so Im not always wearing out my tires.. Camber doesnt wear out your tires as much as toe does. Usually I will overcompensate when adjusting these on the alignment rack so everything will settle in the correct specs.. usually hundreths over or under depending on what I am adjusting. Next week I will be putting my car back on the rack, because I broke my second tie rod, putting on gymkhana springs, and new shocks. I might overhaul my rack and pinion for manual steering and take out all of the power steering as well. like the pistons, plug the p.s. holes, and grease the pinion. I will get a full print out of my specs, what I have replaced and such.

03-09-2004, 12:32 AM	#10
Ada180sx Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Niigata, Japan Posts: 38	First of all I have a JDM S13. My susp mods are as follows: Racing Gear JTC'N1 dampers Yashio Factory Pillowball Tension Rods Section Pillowball Rear Upper arms Section Pillowball Toe Control Arms Uras Urathane Subframe Spacers Urathane Sway bar bushings R32 GT-R rear Sway bar And you can't really talk about susp w/o talking about chassis rigidity so: Front/Rear Cusco Strut Tower Bars Safety 21 9pt Roll cage Trunk Bar And soon to be added Pillar bar Power also comes into play here so: aprox: 350whp and 348ft/lbs torque Now to the alignment settings: Front: 2.5deg camber 0 toe 7 deg caster rear: 2.5deg camber 0 toe (no caster adjustment in the rear) If you are a person who doesn't have this kinda power or these susp mods you can use less rear camber, say 1deg or 1.5, and a little bit of toe out in the back, try about .5mm and work out from there. I would say no more than 1.5mm though because you are gonna go through tires so fast. Even if you don't have the rear arms get the pillow tension rods and save yourself many headaches.

03-11-2004, 08:48 PM	#11
banged240_drift Registered User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: dallas/ft.worth Posts: 260	im getting adjustable tension rods here in like a week so heres a few q's of my own different degrees of toe are used to make it under or over steer right? what is caster? cani even adjust caster with the tension rods?

03-11-2004, 09:03 PM	#12
MrodDrft Dorifto Pic King Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,559	i think caster is the angle of the shocks or coilovers, is that even remotely correct ?

03-11-2004, 09:49 PM	#13
driftfreak Pita didnt like my avitar Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: El Cerrito, CA. (east bay SF) Posts: 266	yes toe can be used for adjusting the cornering..i have a little write up about alignments on my web page... simply toe in=more stable toe out=better turn in...more toe=more tire wear.. Caster is the angle of the axis that the wheel/tire moves on while turning the stearing wheel...that very well could be the angel of the shot/strut/coilover unit..

03-11-2004, 10:03 PM	#14
Menchi hashiriya Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Aurora/Akron Ohio Posts: 339	how about tire pressure? everyone here should at least be able to answer that, I run about ten over and I hear that SCCA racers somtimes go 15 over spec psi. overpressurizing eliminates tire roll but I hear makes drifting more difficult.

03-11-2004, 11:03 PM	#15
Menchi hashiriya Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Aurora/Akron Ohio Posts: 339	most cars are stock toe-in to create a slight pressure between them, this gives'em steadier tracking and prevents bump steer. but when a car with a toe-in setup takes a corner the outside tires take on more than half the load. the imbalence with the inner tires creats a slight understeer into turns, (just another way manufacturers have made cars handle worse thoughout the years) and excessive toe-in will also wear your tires pretty badly. I don't tune my toe angel because I'm poor and can't afford to but if I could afford it, my tuning would definitly depend on the car I was driving. but for everone here who drives an S13 which tend to understeer but I don't need to tell you that, I would probably toe out a bit if the car wasn't my daily driver also. I would like to hear what some touge racers run because most of the touge runs are in pretty bad shape where I love and bump steer would be a big problem, it is even on the flat land here, so I would imagine that they run the stock toe angle.

03-12-2004, 04:10 AM	#16
gtrken Newbie Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Perth W Australia Posts: 39	Front Negative 2.5 deg front camber as much caster as you can get ( usually around 5-7 degrees) Toe in 1mm Rear Negative 1.5 degrees camber Toe for grip about 1mm per side Toe for Drift is zero or max 1mm toe out total. If all your bushes are in GOOD cond or have been replaced with nolethane or rose joint/pillow ball then that set up will work well with most independent rear end S13/S14 , R32/R33 type Nissans. I use Bridgestone RE55's all round for grip and any crap on the rear for drift. Too much toe out on the rear makes for an unstable , dancing tailhappy car which in slow speed Solo 1 type application is fine but hi speed controlled drifting it becomes too nervous. Toe out on the front aids in initial turn in but when the load comes onto the outside tyre it will then cause the car to understeer as the loaded tyre is facing away from the direction of travel. Too much camber on the rear means that the tyre contact patch is only partially there ( especially with stiff side wall tyres like the RE55's ) and the problem becomes worse under hard acceleration as all Nissans have a tendency for the rear to go more negative the lower the car goes. Also lowering the front too much without readjusting your steering rack position creates bump steer problems because the rack ends are already past horizontal before you even start compressing the springs.

03-12-2004, 05:27 PM	#17
Ada180sx Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Niigata, Japan Posts: 38	Excellent post GTRKEN. Just one question. What do you mean when REadjusting the steering rack? What part are you actualy adjusting?