Novice alignment question

[craig-ultima]

I'm getting uneven tyre wear. The outer 2 inches of the driver side (left side) rear tyre is wearing quite alot and around fast sharp right hand turns I can smell rubber. Also, that two inch band is noticeably warmer than the rest of the tyre.

I'm presuming that this is an alignment problem, or maybe incorrect inflation. But I just wanted to check in case I'm missing something. There is no body rubbing.

[gtr-gaz]

Sounds like the tracking is out. Did you set it up at all during the build?

[GreenV8S]

If you can smell burning then body rubbing would be my first guess. How certain are you that this isn't occuring? If you want to make absolutely sure, put masking tape around all the areas that the tyre could conceivably touch, and take it for a drive.

[B1 ECC]

It's tracking, or camber! I had this problem on a single trackday were it chaffed the outer 2inch's of the n/s rear tyre. All down to incorrect rear camber, suspension wasn't settled properly when i set it! However! if it's hitting the bodywork then that's another problem.

[craig-ultima]

Thanks - I'm certain that there is no body rubbing. We checked inside the wheel wells on both sides and the GRP bodywork is in fine condition. But the tape idea is a very good one.

I'm going to get a race shop to do the alignment since they have the right equipment. My main concern is whether I have some weird problem like the LSD locking up or something else that I may not be thinking about.

[BigMack]

Sounds like your toe settings or camber isn't correct. Did you follow the build manual when setting up the suspension? Its really pretty easy to do yourself but somewhat time consuming. One of the best purchases I've made is in buying a digital level that gives a digital reading. Not necessary I know, but I have a hard time reading the markings on the angle finders. Once its set, then record your setup in a diary of some sort so that you can play with different settings. Fine tuning the camber, toe, ride height, etc... This is what I've done. For my car, one full turn of the tie rod gives 1mm of toe difference. With camber, I have it set at 2 turns in from parallel at the front and 1.5 turns at the rear for track days. This gave me right at 1 degree of camber front and rear at static ride height with the ride height bars.
Cheers!
-Mack

[steve_d]

Don't forget to push the car back and forth several times when you put it back down after adjustment. This will ensure the tyres/suspension have settled to their correct positions before you take the next measurement.

Steve

[donkeasy]

I you do push it forward and backward push it down also a few times.
It will find it nutural position better.

[GTRene]

What I do is(because I'm laisy) get in the car while standing in the garage, start the engine and put in first gear, let the clutch a bit go and then brake.
Then the same in reverse, that way the car dive's a bit so its in its normal position.

[steve_d]

GTRene said:

What I do is(because I'm laisy) get in the car while standing in the garage, start the engine and put in first gear, let the clutch a bit go and then brake. Then the same in reverse, that way the car dive's a bit so its in its normal position.

That's fine as long as you do not hold the steering wheel as this will prevent the steering from settling where it wants to be.

Steve