[DeTomaso] alignment

JDeRyke at aol.com JDeRyke at aol.com
Tue Apr 22 16:26:38 EDT 2008


In a message dated 4/22/08 6:31:06 AM, tcabanski at tencom.com writes:

> I have removed the spacers and had the steering rack rebuilt and bump steer 
> correction added...
> What is recomended for settings for the front & back ? I have 17" after 
> market wheels & tires.
> I mainly do some in town cruising or high speed rides. No track or 
> autocrossing.
> 
OK, the bump-steer thing is a good start. But upgraded handling is not just 
for track use; it comes in handy in everyday traffic and cruising on curvey 
roads, too. With big wide tires front & rear and polyurethane a-arm bushings, I 
suggest only minimal toe-in of 1/16" at both ends. Note- toe-in is only used to 
guarantee the suspension will NEVER go to toe-OUT, which is highly unstable! 
With stock rubber bushings, you'll need more toe-in to compensate for the 
extra compliance of the rubber- perhaps 1/8" toe-in at both ends. The extra toe 
will slightly negatively affect your fuel mileage from extra tire drag.
The camber can be set at minus 1/8" or about -1/2 degree (tipped toward the 
center of the car at the top) and caster at minus 3-1/2 to 4 degrees (laid back 
towards the front firewall). This last will require offset upper front a-arm 
bushings (not available in rubber) and perhaps slightly modified upper front 
ball joint carriers, since as-stock, the max caster one can get is about minus 
2-1/2 degrees- not enough for stable highway driving IMHO. Wide tires and 
stock caster = twitchy, extra-sensitive handling sometimes called 'tramlining' or 
'hunting' which is quite tiring to drive fast. 
If you insist on using rubber a-arm bushings, vendor Pat Michel at Future 
Auto in MA makes a modified upper front a-arm that bolts on & can give extra 
caster with stock bushings and un-modified balljoint carriers. 
FWIW, polyurethane suspension bushings do not in my experience cause more 
road noise inside the cockpit, nor a jarring ride. They can profitably be used in 
all the a-arms, all the shock mounts and the front & rear anti-swaybar center 
mounts, with no detectable effects except to tighten up the handling and 
maybe squeek a bit (greasable versions are available). Poly bushings will cause 
binding problems if used on the outer ends of the swaybars; for use here, I 
suggest sphere-ball mounts.
My best guess- J DeRyke



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