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Old 03-08-2011, 11:40 AM   #21
Pilotdave
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Default Re: Setting Toe-in

Just in from the shop. After building my tool as described above, I rolled the car forward 3' and measured the tire separation 6" off the floor at a conveniently located rib on the sidewall near the tread. The front and rear measurements on my ruler index read 10 1/4" and 10 5/16", respectively, producing the 1/16" toe in as specified. That's after having the entire steering control system apart, replacing the tie rod, installing an EZ steer kit in the tie rod and drag link ends, and setting the tie rod end spacing by eye using the old one as a reference. It is better to be lucky than good - at least now and then! As we got lucky and had a chilly night here in Massachusetts, the roads were dry enough for a test drive. Seemed to steer pretty much as expected - though perhaps not as easily as promised by the makers of the EZ steer kit. Thanks again for all the help.
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Old 03-08-2011, 12:00 PM   #22
David J
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Talking Re: Setting Toe-in

Plenty workable ideas above and here's a couple methods from stock car land . The most common method is toe plates - these are two plates that are usually aluminum but can be whatever and are usually 32x16 and have hand holes top center and a couple horizontal slots in the front and rear 6" up to hook a tape measure in . Set these against your tires making sure the TOP is flush with your tire . Take your tape and hook it in the slot on one side and measure to the the other side . Really simple - fast - accurate and can be done by one person . You only need the slots on one side but they are always there on both and besides it tells you the proper height to measure from . The other common method is to make a toe gauge { we always used square tubing } but you can use whatever as long as it doesn't flex any . The simplest way is to take a length of tubing that is a foot longer than the width of the widest vehicle you may use this on and a couple 8" segments of the same material and weld these on the ends as uprights . On one end weld a good size bolt 3" long to the top of the upright horizontally with it's head facing the middle . This is your locator for the far side . On the near or measuring side you can just use your tape to check the gap or you can build an adjustable pointer . We always welded a couple identical 6" round washers on the bottom on each side so it would stand on it's own . Take this and set it with the bolt on the far side contacting the tire in the MIDDLE of the sidewall and position the near side in the middle of the sidewall and measure the distance between the tire and the near upright . Do the same for the rear and adjust your tierod until the rear dimension is 1/16 " wider than the front . This is also fast , simple , accurate and only requires one person . I would have the car on the ground so you don't get false readings . Also remember to roll the car back and forth a couple feet after adjusting your tie rod and before you check it again . This is WAY more important on A-frame cars but it still applies to these . Sorry no pics of these as it's been 18 years since I last raced and other racers borrowed them and you know how racers are about returning stuff Good luck David J PS Make sure your wheels are not BENT or Wobbly

Last edited by David J; 03-08-2011 at 06:24 PM. Reason: add stuff
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