I had four new tyres put on the car this weekend and they measured my alignment (toe, camber, caster,etc) The report I got in return appears to be rather alarming. Anything in red is outside the manufacturers range (as defined by the two smaller numbers in each box). green is okay, but they are no measurements thats are bang on where they should be. Given that I am using a different set of wheels, would the manufacturers recommended setting need adjustment? Given that I use the car on the track, is deviating from these original settings to reflect that worthwhile? And how does the suspension get so far out of whack over the years? Any thoughts/comments/suggestions? Thanks Stig Image Unavailable, Please Login
No, not if the tires remain the original size. If the tire sizes are changed there is a way to compute what the new alignments should be. If the tire sizes are pretty close, then the original settings are generally acceptable. The right tool, here, is NOT the internet, but a probe tipped pyrometer. It can tell you whether the alignment is correct for your driving style. It can even tell if the air pressures are correct. The drivers side has sagged, you can see this in the numbers. So, what you need to do is to get the ride height put back right. And due to the age of the car, you should have the bushings looked at at the same time.
Tyre diameters are pretty close but are 10mm wider at the front and back How does this particular do-hicky do the job? (BTW, I agree about you comment about the Internet often not being the right tool; just fishing for perspective) Is that a polite way of calling me fat? LOL!
"Tyre diameters are pretty close but are 10mm wider at the front and back" its not the width, its the height that matters. I agree, for its age I would replace or at least check all the rubber bushings first (look for cracks and if the bolts through the bushings are still in the middle)... then I would set the ride height first (factory ride height is a good start), then corner balance, then align. Factory alignment settings are a good start... for tracking I would start my settings as follows then readjust after testing... Front caster to OEM setting, camber -1.5 to -2.0, toe 0 to -2mm total. Rear camber -2.0 to -2.5, toe 3mm to 4mm total The car leans quite a lot with OEM springs and extra camber is your friend here (keeps the front tires from wearing on the outer edges and gives more front grip). Toe set at zero or a little negative helps it turn in on corners. Ride height can be played with for car balance (raise the rear a little to get rid of understeer). This should put you close to were you want to be and can start tweaking once you have some track time and tire temperature data. You should take tire temps right after coming off the track... Have someone record the reading as you measure... record 3 readings per tire... 1" from the outside edge, middle, 1" from the inner edge. From this you can tell if you are running the right tire pressures, how your alignment is working, and car balance. there are my thoughts... i guess it all depends on how serious you want to get into it. Getting the car back to OEM handling by changing the bushings along with ride height and OEM alignment would be the most important step. -daniel
It measures the temperatures. ONLY when you have a nice even temperature profile from the outside to the inside all the suspension parameters are in the right ball park. You want between 10dF and 20dF profile with the outside being cooler than the inside and you want the middle to be the average of the inside and outside. Air pressure: if the middle is not the average of the inside and outside, then you have too much (icenter is hotter) or too little (center is cooler) air pressure. Camber: Too much (inside is more than 20dF hotter than ourside), too little (outside is less than 10dF cooler than inside) So, find a place with a set of corner balanace scales, have them put your weight in the drivers seat with lead and inflate the tires to 40 PSI (hot hard driving air pressure). Then set the ride height back to factory spec and manipulate the corner weights for cross balance; and finally, set the alignments and recheck ride heights and corner weights.
In time springs and set ups are inevitably changing ... Is going to be expensive (somewhere around $600) but I think your best bet is to take your car to a Ferrari dealer. They have equipments and specs to make your car aligned and set the high the way it should be. I did that with mine and I found an amazing improvement.
