esoteric alignment question ....

[Hrant]

Say you had an alignment done when the tires were 2/3 worn out (at about 4/32") on the front inside ..... how much will your camber/toe alignment change when you put new tires? Assume same brand of tires; rears remain the same.

I am guessing your front camber will decrease (less negative) marginally as the contact patch area has increased while your toe will not be affected?

And, do the wheel alignment weights with the adhesive backing stay on tracked wheels or do they have a propensity to fall off (assume the contact patch is cleaned) ..... my wheel took 1.25 oz of weight on the outside (first time ever ...) and they had to put 2 weights .... I don't mind one hammered in, but the two looks ugly!


[This message has been edited by Hrant (edited 12 November 2002).]

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Hrant,

The difference will be negligable, if anything at all. The only change I see would be if the tires were a bit taller (more tread depth) the rake of the car overall would change, but we are talking fractions of an inch over the length of the car.

Change then and drive, I say

HTH,
LarryB

 

[JPS Europa]

Adhesive weights stay on just fine in a tracked car. We used them on formula cars and never had one fall off. Some folks put a small piece of duct tape over them to make sure, but I don't think it necessary.

------------------
Happy Motoring At all Costs!

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by JPS Europa:
Adhesive weights stay on just fine in a tracked car.

That's the advantage of the adhesive weights on the inside of the rim. The extreme centrifugal forces of track driving press the weights onto the wheel even better. With bang-on weights on the outside of the wheel lip, the centrifugal forces tend to pull them off the wheel.

 

[CityofAngels]

Your alignment settings are not affected by tire wear/replacement. Notice when you get your car computer aligned they clamp the sensors onto the rim, not the tire?

Older bubble gauge aligment tools hook onto the hub of the disc brake so the rim and tire are merely there to support the car's mass.

In your case, camber/toe remain the same while the height of the car increases.

With stick on weights, I have the tires balanced then use some duct tape to cover the weights and stick them down.