NEMOC Random BS Thread
- Thread starter NETC_Redd
- Start date
Morning all! Yesterday I decided to F the man and do my own alignments. So, I bought some stuff and then stayed up way too late attempting to do my own alignment. Well, just to reliably measure it at first. Camber was actually pretty easy with a digital laser level. My floor is level side to side of the car. My car is over-cambered right now, rear was -2.2 (original alignment was -1.2), front was -2.2 left, -0.9 right (you could see the difference too)... original alignment spec for front was -1.6. I could buy the suspension settling a bunch, but right being so uneven leads me to think that it was an alignment job error in the first place.
Measuring toe, on the other hand, was way trickier. I tried a bunch of different approaches, with varying levels of accuracy. I think I got decent readings on the rear thrust angle (and "front thrust angle" of sorts with the steering wheel centered), by pushing the laser level against the center of the wheel (as propped up by a cooler) and shooting it at a tape measure pushed at the wheel centercap on the opposite end of the car. This method seemed to be precise. The idea is that you take the difference between left and right sides and that's how much your toe is offset to one side. So, if your rear wheels were even toe side to side, you'd end up shooting at the same point on the measure on both sides.
However, I couldn't get accurate and precise enough readings for the toe all around. I bought two aluminum plates to try the toe plates approach, but they were too flexible, bendy and I'd need to go to a machine shop to bend a lip on those for those to be truly useful. So that method didn't really work and the tape measure method seemed to be just a little too inprecise, for various reasons (crappy toe plates being the primary reason).
So then I used a 2nd laser level, the kind that projects a line along a wall, to have a straightline alongside the car, which was a lot better. But there's just a little too much variance reading the distances from the rim edge to the laser line. Half a millimeter error on one side and half on the other and you now have a toe reading off by 1mm. I got toe out on 3 wheels out of 4 and slight toe in on the front left. However, the thrust angle calculations don't agree between that method and the one I did earlier.
Anyways, I have yet another method to try and I may do the fishing line for a more precise centerline to measure against.
Measuring toe, on the other hand, was way trickier. I tried a bunch of different approaches, with varying levels of accuracy. I think I got decent readings on the rear thrust angle (and "front thrust angle" of sorts with the steering wheel centered), by pushing the laser level against the center of the wheel (as propped up by a cooler) and shooting it at a tape measure pushed at the wheel centercap on the opposite end of the car. This method seemed to be precise. The idea is that you take the difference between left and right sides and that's how much your toe is offset to one side. So, if your rear wheels were even toe side to side, you'd end up shooting at the same point on the measure on both sides.
However, I couldn't get accurate and precise enough readings for the toe all around. I bought two aluminum plates to try the toe plates approach, but they were too flexible, bendy and I'd need to go to a machine shop to bend a lip on those for those to be truly useful. So that method didn't really work and the tape measure method seemed to be just a little too inprecise, for various reasons (crappy toe plates being the primary reason).
So then I used a 2nd laser level, the kind that projects a line along a wall, to have a straightline alongside the car, which was a lot better. But there's just a little too much variance reading the distances from the rim edge to the laser line. Half a millimeter error on one side and half on the other and you now have a toe reading off by 1mm. I got toe out on 3 wheels out of 4 and slight toe in on the front left. However, the thrust angle calculations don't agree between that method and the one I did earlier.
Anyways, I have yet another method to try and I may do the fishing line for a more precise centerline to measure against.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
wow...you have more patience and time than me oleg!
I don't really have that much time, so I ate into my sleep... got done in garage at 4am (started at 10pm), then still spent another 30 minutes tinkering with thrust angle math.
I just need to narrow down a quick and reliable way to check toe. Once I got the technique down, it should be quick to measure (less than half an hour total, hopefully about 15 minutes). It takes about 30 seconds per wheel to measure camber in my garage (+/- 0.1 deg), maybe with a minute of digital level setup.
I just need to narrow down a quick and reliable way to check toe. Once I got the technique down, it should be quick to measure (less than half an hour total, hopefully about 15 minutes). It takes about 30 seconds per wheel to measure camber in my garage (+/- 0.1 deg), maybe with a minute of digital level setup.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
man, this place is dead huh?
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- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
so the longest project ever is about to come to an end.
I just have to seal the grout, and the floor is done..
I'll have my garage and bottom floor back soon (yippy)
I just have to seal the grout, and the floor is done..
I'll have my garage and bottom floor back soon (yippy)
What's up NEPOC friends?!?!?!? I went exploring a little bit today. Not too much tho. Walked about... 6 or 7 km round trip to the mall and back. Stopped at the convenient store across the street, bought 3 600mL bottles of Yanjing Beer. Cost me 9 RMB. ~ $1.50 USD. I swear, this place is going to make me a damn drunk.
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- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
that blonde model looks like she's only like 4'8
/RX-8Chick
Member
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- Winning Blue RX-8 MT and Aquatic Blue Mica 2 MT
Morning all!
I agree Mahk, it's been dead in here.
Phen.. you might want to start up VPN.... just sayin..
I agree Mahk, it's been dead in here.
Phen.. you might want to start up VPN.... just sayin..
Ok... I started the VPN, saw the pictures, and cried a little inside. I don't know what I'd do if I saw a cute blonde girl walking down the street right now...
I need a photogenic car and more photographer friends!
I need a photogenic car and more photographer friends!
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- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
eh, you aren't missing much.
Yup, both very short and awesome to work with. I could have stayed out all night shooting pics with all these folks. Soooo much fun. I have a bunch of photos I do not think I can post here though.
That's good because I dig short chicks. Don't know why either. Two of the bartenders at the Dusty that I'm friends with (and used to dig quite a bit at one point) are both just about 5' even. Probably good that I'm in China. They're all that damn short.
