Ok - spent a fair bit of time playing around with stringlines on a 10 GSR. Running separate stinglines off jack stands and measuring out distance from the centre of each wheel to stringline is inaccurate for toe measurements. Why? there was 38mm more distance when measuring between the rear left & right strings than between front L&R strings...indicated the car had a 38mm wider rear track however Mitsu specs say this is not the case. This was done on a laser levelled floor with stinglines perfectly centered to each wheel. In effect I thought I was getting zero toe but it was 'well' toed-in when checked with a recently calibrated Hunter machine.

I would recommed smart strings or something similar over jackstands where you are guaranteed both the left and right hand side strings run exactly parallel to each other.

 

You're right, if you just measure the distance from the strings to the hub your results will be very incorrect due to the different track width front to rear.

The key is to also measure the distance between the strings in front of the car and behind the car, then adjust until they're parallel again. Then go back and make small adjustments on each side to get the distance from the hub center to the string equal on each side for the front tires, and then equal on each side for the rear tires. Then go back and adjust the strings to be parallel again. Repeat the whole process until everything works out. It's an iterative process, but it actually doesn't take too long if you make all of your measurements at once and make your individual adjustments accordingly.

The distance from string to front hub on each side will not be the same as the distance from the string to the rear hub.

I took two long pieces of spare PVC and drilled holes in them to run the strings through. Then I just attach the PVC pipes to the jackstands in front of and behind the car. This way the strings are always parallel, and it eliminates an additional adjustment step.

 

I resolved to do the alignments myself a few years ago because every custom super super best ever alignment I got was either crap or went to crap in a couple of months (two track days).

I leveled the garage and use shims made from 1/4 inch board to get it perfect.

I used string for a while and then made my own harbor freight ghetto laser setup and camber gauge. A 10 dollar digital level mounted on an aluminum T that exactly presses into the wheel lip.

I have since upgraded to the longacre mentioned (3prong) and use some more plane oriented laser levels to get a perfect U around the front of the car by measuring off of the center caps.

I also added longacre toe plates, which makes things easier and faster.

The trick is getting the bushings to settle when making adjustments. Getting a good alignment takes time, like tuning. There is no shortcut. And the shortcut of paying someone to do it is a wish, because they just don't spend enough time.

I then also started using planter carousels rated for 800 pounds each. These are built with bearings and allow the more exact toe settings without the bushings having to fight the tires resistance of friction.

The only way to do it right is to do it yourself. Changing a setup on a track day is also very interesting. A couple sessions with lots of toe out in the rear can be a great learning experience. Then pop it back to zero.

 

Longacre toe plates def work well

True
Where did you get those, sounds like a better idea than sand or sand between tiles send me a link please as not available except 250 lb rating...very interested
lots of toe out in rear = agricultural racing and the slow way around not to mention squirrely under braking...yikes.... I agree about the learning experience though and kudos for doing it yourself.

 

I think I bought them at Lowes.



Here is the sandwich I make to support the plate, because its hollow. These are also the plates I use to shim for the garage for perfect level.



Hahahaha, Yeah, that was only meant for folks to see how drastic and massive suspension setups can be on your driving and control. I big change with rear toe out to toe in will start to convince folks about why semi pro racers setup cars for each track and condition. I actually run zero in front and back, but only after trying a bunch of stuff for my setup/car.

 

So I want to pull my car apart to replace an assortment of bushings that I've been stockpiling. Obviously I will need an alignment after its all said and done so I would like to pull the trigger in the next couple of days on some alignment tools.

I am looking for two different tools. 1st is a way to measure camber. 2nd is a way to measure toe.

I understand that I can calculate toe with some string however I would prefer an alternative means since I get the vibe that leveling out my garage and setting up the jack stands with strings may be more tedious than I would like.

Can you guys share your experiences with any of the following devices? Please note that I am not set on a vendor yet so the following examples are merely there to show the different styles available.

CAMBER- Preferably digital to facilitate leveling it out. Pros cons of the different styles

3 Prong http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...d=1580&catid=5

Magnetic http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...d=1219&catid=5

TOE- Plates or a toe in gauge? Pros cons of each

Gauge http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...id=153&catid=5

Plates http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...id=152&catid=5

 

Concerning toe, I use whatever I have laying around the garage and end up with something pretty similar in concept to the plates.

 

The main problem with the toe-plates is you are taking a completely relative measurement. It's not a huge issue up front since the steering wheel will not be centered but the car will naturally center the wheels while driving.

In the back however, you might have 0" toe on the measurement, but you could have a parallelogram where the wheels are steering in one direction instead of straight ahead. This is where GriceIV was saying that by adjusting the rear toe adjusters equally on each side provides fairly reliable results though on centering the steering angle in the rear. Of course, if your car has been tweaked at all, this likely isn’t the case, although the EVO is a pretty stiff/strong chassis that I imagine takes quite a bit of abuse before something like that would occur.

 

In regards to toe the front seems to be straightforward given that once I find 0 toe and the steering wheel is straight I know its dead on.

In the back however taking what you said I can see what you are saying about the parallelogram issue. I had a thought that may be correct in theory however the reality of it may be not applicable.

Say you calculate 1/16th total toe in. Couldnt you simply toe out each side 1/32nd? I can foresee an issue where this wouldnt work if your current alignment does not have equal toe on each side.

Ultimately, it seems like the only way to accurately measure toe is to set up strings which is something that I really dont want to do. If there is no way around it, then i would rather purchase a smart string setup as opposed to toe plates.

 

As said earlier:

Personally, I plan to setup strings once and check everything out to make sure setting each side equal actually produces a straight alignment. But realistically, if the car hasn't been put into a curb and your bushings are in good shape, the EVO is pretty rock solid and likely going to produce a straight alignment with the method above.

 

^Correct, I understand that( I think). So assuming I have my alignment marks equal on both sides, and keep them consistent, toe plates will work just fine?

 

I just purchased this kit which should help facilitate stringing the car for proper toe alignment. http://www.tenhulzenautomotive.com/4...nt-system.html

Assuming I am using a "square" wheel setup does the evo have an identical track width front and rear?

I just want to make sure that I when I take measurements to the hub an equal distance front and rear will yield perfect rectangle with the strings or else all my other measurements will be off.

 

I ended up doing my own alignment on my other car and honestly, I have no clue why I didn't try it sooner.

The flattest area I have available isn't that level so I built up some wooden stands. A couple 2x6s, a sheet of OSB and some screws and I had stands in about an hour. Drill the bottom, large carriage bolt, nut and a fender washer into each corner and you have an easy way to level the car with weight on the stands. I made the ramps long enough that I could roll the car back and forth to settle the suspension. Basic bubble level to level each stand and a clear tube and a bucket of water to level out the four stands to each other.



The benefit of these stands was that I could get under the car and make adjustments without having to jack the car up.

Tiles and salt worked great. Two pieces of PVC tubing with holes drilled equa-distant and some jack stands to hold the strings. Dial calipers because I had them, but a good machinist ruler would get the job done just as well.

Two clamps and a 1x2 to lock the steering wheel in place. This is an absolutely critical step, don't think you can simply recenter the wheel on each measurement. You'll chase your own *** around doing this... Trust me.

It took a while to get consistent results, but once I figured out the process, it was pretty easy to get the alignment done. Expect the first time through to take the better part of a day though. Car drives straight as can be and the tires are looking great after a couple thousand miles. Threw the tour plates on after just to check and got identical results.

Longacre toe plates and digital camber gauge. Sure I spent a bunch doing all this but I'm stoked to be able to play with the alignment next season and not have to fork out $75 every time I want to make a change.

 

Yup, same track. That is how I measure as well. Laser or string, but not offset calculation needed, (like you needed to on the WRXs)

 

^Thanks for following up, I appreciate it. After actually doing it myself I realized that is not even important. With the kit I used as long as both ends were the set the same length all I had to do was make sure they were equidistant side to side.

After doing my own alignment for the first time last week I have a couple comments. For the front I will jerry rig up something to hold the steering wheel next time because I experienced exactly what 03whitegsr is talking about. I ended up chasing my tail and redid front toe probably 5 times until I got it to 0 toe on both sides with a straight steering wheel.

The only other thing that I didnt take into account was having the ability to get under the car to make adjustments. I was able to get by squeezing under the car because I was back at stock ride height but once I put back on my coilovers I will no longer have that luxury.

For me this time around was more of a learning experience than anything. I put on stock KYB's and my snow tires so Im not too concerned about a perfect alignment right now as I wont be racing the car for another 5 months of so. However in the future I need to device a strategy to both get under the car as well as level the vehicle perfectly. I really like what 03whitegsr built and might use that as my guide but Im also considering purchasing a pair of race ramps wheel stand since I already have a set of their ramps. The benefit to those would be that they are small and light weight and I can leverage stuff that I already have. Leveling it all out may be a little tricky but thats not something a couple floor tiles and some shims cant fix.

I wish I snapped some pictures while I was doing the alignment. I will have to next time around. Overall I was really happy with the quality of the kit that I purchased. Can you do it for cheaper, sure however the kit that I got enabled me to do exactly what I want and made it pretty simple to get everything setup perfectly.