east bay self alignment thingies...

[SR240DET]

has anybody use the east bay self alignment thingies?

[Replicant_S14]

got a link?-----------------------------------------

[MakotoS13]

im interested. i hate having to let someone tinker with my stuff cuase i dont have a rack.

[the head]

i have been looking at one of the longacre caster/camber gauges for a while now has anyone had any experence using one of them?

[MakotoS13]

should be pretty straightforward. wheel angle in relation to the the ground or front or rears or whatever the hell.

[Replicant_S14]

i have been looking at one of the longacre caster/camber gauges for a while now has anyone had any experence using one of them?

No. Seems like it'd be a nice tool to have tho.
You can check your camber with a square, a scale and a scientific calculator. Probably caster too but I can't adjust mine so I don't bother.

[SR240DET]

yeah some friends and i are planing on throwing our money together... and buying the toe/camber scale and caster guage... together it should be like 200-300... out of 6 people that not that much money.... im just woundering if anybody out there has tried it to see if it was very acurate...

[sr240mike]

It should work just fine. I've used similar devices for go-kart alignments for several years. You dont mean the Eastwood one (http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2450&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=545&iSubCat=549&iProductID=2450), do you?

[wootwoot]

I'll throw down 20 bucks then driver over there for an alignment. I hate taking my car to get aligned at places with weird ass shady "techs". The heads on the rack at my work dont like the wheels I'll be ordering soon as well so poop. Where the f is Niceville anyway? Sure its in Florida?.....

[HyperTek]

It should work just fine. I've used similar devices for go-kart alignments for several years. You dont mean the Eastwood one (http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2450&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=545&iSubCat=549&iProductID=2450), do you?


thats just toe... what about camber?? http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=11134&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C544%2C545&KickerID=200&KICKER

[Kouki]

My dad has a dirt track racecar, and he has one of the Longacre caster/camber gauges. Pretty easy to use. It has a magnet to hold it in place on the hub, may be hard to use on these with aluminum wheels. My dad has to run steel wheels to meet the rules in his class of cars. Pretty slick tool though.

[98sr20ve]

I made my own one of those just using a angle iron, tap and screw and then a level. You need a level floor to do camber on a car. So you need to get some 1/8 shims cut out of some 4x8's. Make them long enough to roll the car on (to settle things after changes). I would recommend toe plates as your first purchase. Then make your camber gauge, and get a laser to do your thrust with 250 shold more then cover it all. I basically describe how to do all of it near the end of this post.

http://www.sr20forum.com/showthread.php?t=110732

I have been doing alignments for years like this on a variety of cars. If someone wants to rehost those pics for this forum that is fine with me.

[Wiisass]

Are any of you guys measuring toe at each wheel or just cross toe? If you are measuring toe at each wheel what are your reference points?

98Sr20ve, are you just doing thrust angle becuase you're measuring cross toe and not individual toe?

Does anyone have any easy ways to measure caster with the car still on the ground and the wheels on? I've tried to do it with the smart tool but I was having trouble making sure it was in the correct plane. http://www.smartracingproducts.com/alignment.htm
But then again, I didn't do it the way they suggested I was actually trying to measure the angle of the strut.

Tim

[98sr20ve]

98Sr20ve, are you just doing thrust angle becuase you're measuring cross toe and not individual toe?

Does anyone have any easy ways to measure caster with the car still on the ground and the wheels on? I've tried to do it with the smart tool but I was having trouble making sure it was in the correct plane. http://www.smartracingproducts.com/alignment.htm
But then again, I didn't do it the way they suggested I was actually trying to measure the angle of the strut.

Tim

If you are using toe plates you are measuring total toe. In the front total toe is all that matters. Then you drive the car and if the wheel is pointed straight your done, if it isn't then you need to take toe out of one wheel and add it to the other to get the wheel straight. The back is a different story. You need to know thrust. Thats why I recommend toe plates. You can use a accurate laser and put it on the rear toe plate and shoot a reference to the front toe plate. Then you do the same on the other side and compare. Do this all at the balljoint height and after you have equal camber on each axle. This process takes two people but it's pretty easy really. My post/link to the other forum describes all this. Those strings sound nice but you have to find the centerline of the car. On my previous car that was much harder then what they make it sound.
On my Sentra I had adjustable caster with my GC Camber/Caster plates. I maxed the caster out on both sides and then took it to a regular shop and got a printout of the caster. Then I took caster out of the wheel myself on the side that had the most so that it would be even. If you have the caster adjustable rods it would cost far less to just pay a shop to do your caster adjustment then to buy turnplates at 200 or so bucks a set.

[Wiisass]

See, I like to take toe measurements at each wheel. The string method is a good way to do it and shouldn't be too hard if you can square them in relation to the car. So the first time it takes a little longer to do it but every other time everything is already setup, you just have to attach your toe bars to the car.

Also, turnplates can be very easy to make. Just take 2 pieces of sheet, use a protractor to draw lines on one at different angle increments and then attach the other piece of sheet on top and throw some grease between them so they will slide easily.

[98sr20ve]

See, I like to take toe measurements at each wheel. The string method is a good way to do it and shouldn't be too hard if you can square them in relation to the car. So the first time it takes a little longer to do it but every other time everything is already setup, you just have to attach your toe bars to the car.

Also, turnplates can be very easy to make. Just take 2 pieces of sheet, use a protractor to draw lines on one at different angle increments and then attach the other piece of sheet on top and throw some grease between them so they will slide easily.


I love how people who are not currently doing alignments disagree with me, someone who has been doing it himself for years. I tried the string method. I did not have the $360 eastwood thing but you can do the string method without that thing. You need to set up the string for each car. It's a PITA to do more then one car as you have to redo everything each time. Measuring at each wheel is no better or worse then doing it as total toe. It's the same basic thing IF the thrust is right. Now if you feel like spending $360 to measure toe then go ahead. It looks like a nice product but is a little rich for my blood.

[kandyflip445]

Um...the eastwood toe alignment tool says it's 40 dollars....

[98sr20ve]

Right, but the fancy string one is $379

[MakotoS13]

ALL i want is a simple device that allows me to accurate read camber and toe so i can adjust accordingly that 169 dollar eastwood fastrax thing looks like it'd be king. reads -4 to +12 camber.

wait... that isn't NEAR enough camber for SOME of you ;)

ahem, stew

[98sr20ve]

ALL i want is a simple device that allows me to accurate read camber and toe so i can adjust accordingly that 169 dollar eastwood fastrax thing looks like it'd be king. reads -4 to +12 camber.

wait... that isn't NEAR enough camber for SOME of you ;)

ahem, stew

If you would bother to read that link I showed you above you would see that 170 for that tool is way overpriced.

[SR240DET]

woot woot.... im located about an hour away from pensacola..... :coold:

[MakotoS13]

If you would bother to read that link I showed you above you would see that 170 for that tool is way overpriced.

A- im at work and don't feel like reading through your crap

B- some of us dont mind buying the right tools for the right job because we aren't eating ramen noodles every night to afford dumb motors from japan. 170 isn't a lot of cash for what that can do.

C- bite me cause im a premium member and i said so.

[S14DB]

If you would bother to read that link I showed you above you would see that 170 for that tool is way overpriced.
Some strings an't going to help you with a IRS car. In a perfect world you could just aling everything to itself. But you'll never get the thrust angle right with the strings. Laser is the only way to get toe right on with a car that's rear end is ajustable.

The Fastrax is great for Caster / Camber at the track. to change the settings before and after you race. I would not mess with toe on your own. It's to easy to end up going down the street sideways.

[98sr20ve]

A- im at work and don't feel like reading through your crap

B- some of us dont mind buying the right tools for the right job because we aren't eating ramen noodles every night to afford dumb motors from japan. 170 isn't a lot of cash for what that can do.

C- bite me cause im a premium member and i said so.

A-I am trying to help you out but you clearly don't want too get any. I have used that 170 tool and it's really not that impressive for the money.

B-The right tool is the tool that gets the job done. Lots of ways to get the job done.

c-Bite me too, so you can be a jerk because you post a lot. Thats stupid. I'm not some 20 year old kid saving his penny's. I just don't like wasting my money.


Some strings an't going to help you with a IRS car. In a perfect world you could just aling everything to itself. But you'll never get the thrust angle right with the strings. Laser is the only way to get toe right on with a car that's rear end is ajustable.

The Fastrax is great for Caster / Camber at the track. to change the settings before and after you race. I would not mess with toe on your own. It's to easy to end up going down the street sideways.


First, you can't accurate measure camber outside of a shop with out a level floor, changing camber at the track is not truely a easy option. I know that tool claims to level itself to the floor but when I tested it it did not do a good job with that. Second. It's really realitively easy to set toe on a IRS car (including thrust). I posted how using a laser and toe plates. I do it all the time in my garage. Third, if you look at the string setup that cost $380ish you will see it does take care of thrust with out a laser. It's actually a really neat setup if it wasn't so damn expensive.

I actually do all this on my own, how many other people posting here actually do there own alignment in there own garage? People pay me all the time to do alignments on cars.

Edit: As I was driving get some Ben and Jerry I had a funny thought. This supposed Ramen Noodle eating cheapskate has made about $2000+ doing alignments over the last couple years. Just made me smile. :) And if you think I am lying, I can prove it. My customers have all posted over on another forum.

[Wiisass]

You can do the string thing without buying the $380 thing. All it costs is a couple feet of square tubing and some fishing line. It's not as hard to do as your trying to make it sound, you just have to be smart about it.

"I love how people who are not currently doing alignments disagree with me, someone who has been doing it himself for years."

I have been doing setups on our open wheel racecar for the past 2 years, so I think I know a little about this as well.

[98sr20ve]

You can do the string thing without buying the $380 thing. All it costs is a couple feet of square tubing and some fishing line. It's not as hard to do as your trying to make it sound, you just have to be smart about it.

"I love how people who are not currently doing alignments disagree with me, someone who has been doing it himself for years."

I have been doing setups on our open wheel racecar for the past 2 years, so I think I know a little about this as well.

I always said it was doable. I just think its a PITA. Well worth the 50ish for the toe plates