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What is a good DIY alignment camber gauge?

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atikovi

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I can pretty much adjust toe with a tape measure at the front and back of the tires but now I want to check and adjust camber. I have a car with too much negative camber even after I rebuilt the front end and I don't want to spend $129 on an alignment when the camber tool is not much more. Anyone use this Faxtrax tool or can suggest a similar one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPC-FasTrax..._Automotive_Tools&hash=item41888d0c99&vxp=mtr
 
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sac02

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I made my own using the HF angle gauge, square tubing, and magnets. I trust it (accuracy-wise) just as much, or more, than the $120 Longacre bubble gauge that many amateur racer guys seem to have. And simple math lets you calculate caster.

DegCirc6.PNG
 
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cnk

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I use a Longacre digital camber gauge and it's worked well for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
 
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atikovi

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toplessHO

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Ive got an old snapon gauge Im willing to sell
its got the tow adapter with mirrors and light too
note this needs to be spindle mounted not wheel mounted
a string from front to rear,extended in front of car will also do tracking
 
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amolaver

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just remember, unless you've got a true centerline on the car (or better yet, a true perpendicular to the centerline) to measure front vs rear track width (of the same tire), you're measuring total toe (vs individual wheel toe..which is unrelated to camel). that is, if you're measuring the width of the leading edge of the wheel/tire vs the trailing edge by measuring one side of the car to the other, that's a total toe measurement. perhaps useful as a, 'is this thing totally f'd up' check, but nothing more.

point being..one side's toe in can 'offset' toe out on the other side. so your measurements show zero toe, when in fact one side is toed in and the other out.

ahm
 
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atikovi

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toplessHO said:
Ive got an old snapon gauge Im willing to sell
its got the tow adapter with mirrors and light too
note this needs to be spindle mounted not wheel mounted
a string from front to rear,extended in front of car will also do tracking
Click to expand...


Thanks but I'd use it on late model cars so want something fairly new.
 
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atikovi

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amolaver said:
point being..one side's toe in can 'offset' toe out on the other side. so your measurements show zero toe, when in fact one side is toed in and the other out.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow you. I just did the toe adjustment on said vehicle today. Originally it would wander to the right and the wheel was 30 degrees to the left when going straight. So a measured the toe at the front and then at the back of the tires and it was 3/4 inch greater in the back. Then I lengthened both tie rods a few turns each until the front and back reading was the same and went for a ride. The wander was gone now but the wheel was still about 30 degrees off center to the left. Since the tie rods are attached to the front of the spindle, I lengthened the left one turn and shortened the right one turn. Now the wheel is right on center going down the road and goes straight when you take your hand off the wheel.
 
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Jere

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I made mine with some angle aluminum, some screws, and a T shaped bubble level. Two ends of the angle at tapped with thumb screws and lock in place with bolts. The screws are spaced to the wheel diameter. Level the angle with the screws, then measure to the wheel. There are some charts around the web that convert inches to degrees. I leveled the car with a water level( bucket of water and some clear vinyl tube) then leveled each tire with some squares\shims of sheet metal from an old appliance.Its a simple setup but it cost 10 bucks or so and works well enough.

The angle works as a measuring point while setting toe also
 
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sac02

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amolaver said:
just remember, unless you've got a true centerline on the car (or better yet, a true perpendicular to the centerline) to measure front vs rear track width (of the same tire), you're measuring total toe (vs individual wheel toe..which is unrelated to camel). that is, if you're measuring the width of the leading edge of the wheel/tire vs the trailing edge by measuring one side of the car to the other, that's a total toe measurement. perhaps useful as a, 'is this thing totally f'd up' check, but nothing more.

point being..one side's toe in can 'offset' toe out on the other side. so your measurements show zero toe, when in fact one side is toed in and the other out.

ahm
Click to expand...

Have you done many (any) DIY alignments? People who do their own alignments don't use a tape measure to measure the front and rear of the tire like you described. They use strings. You need to know your steering wheel is splined correctly and steering rack centered, but those are basic checks. After that you can set individual toe no problem.

Source: I've probably done at least a couple hundred alignments in my garage on my various cars and racecars over the years.
 
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Zeke

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You can make a camber gauge out of a cheap carpenter's level.

attachment.php


if you use 10/32 screws you can convert one turn to degrees using 1/32" to degree.

use it like this:

large2431.jpg
 
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atikovi

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sac02 said:
People who do their own alignments don't use a tape measure to measure the front and rear of the tire like you described. They use strings. You need to know your steering wheel is splined correctly and steering rack centered, but those are basic checks. After that you can set individual toe no problem.
Click to expand...

What's wrong with a tape measure and how do you use strings?
 
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pi_guy

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atikovi said:
How does that attach to the wheel? I mean if you are under the car adjusting the caster, do you have to come out and hold it to the wheel to check the reading, then go back under and adjust some more?
Click to expand...

Yes, you need to rotate the wheel through 30 degrees of turning. And it has to be done at static ride height. On a level surface.
caster gets set before camber
In my world it is repositioning the upper or lower a-arm, lengthening or shorting a link.
 
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pi_guy

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atikovi said:
What's wrong with a tape measure and how do you use strings?
Click to expand...

You need to make a square around the car it needs to be parallel to the center line of the car.
You lock the steering in center position and measure toe from the strings.

They sell two plates that you mount outside the wheels and measure the front and rear distance this tells you your total toe. One wheel could have 1/4 out and the other 1/16 in. But your total toe is correct but going drive like a *****.

Making a square properly on a level surface will determine the accuracy of your alignment. <check tire pressures first>

We normally make a front and rear bar to attach to the car and holds the string and make a proper square, it is normally done on 4 scale pads which the time is spent to make them level
 
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amolaver

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sac02 said:
Have you done many (any) DIY alignments? People who do their own alignments don't use a tape measure to measure the front and rear of the tire like you described. They use strings. You need to know your steering wheel is splined correctly and steering rack centered, but those are basic checks. After that you can set individual toe no problem.

Source: I've probably done at least a couple hundred alignments in my garage on my various cars and racecars over the years.
Click to expand...

err. actually, yes. with all your race car alignments, have you ever seen someone use / suggest toe plates? that's exactly what i described. centering the steering rack should be done, yes. it does nothing for eliminating the possibility of measuring zero total toe while actually having one side toed in and the other out. setting up a string box is also exactly what i suggested - having a centerline (or line perfectly parallel to the centerline) or perpendicular to the centerline.

source: i've aligned my race cars for about a decade, along with a bunch of street cars (both mine and others).

ahm
 
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