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John Stafford
TryHard
Qld.
Soarer UZZ31 GT-L V8

Posts: 107
Reg: 02-2010

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Monday, December 27, 2010 - 05:06 am, by:  John Stafford (Johng12) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I did a post with this question but can't find it so doing it again: Does anyone know where I can find a soarer wheel alignment expert near Caboolture Qld. The guy at Fulcrum didn't know that he had to adjust the rear even after I gave him the specs sheet. I have just fitted new tyres and don't want to trust his job. Also I am looking for Stabalizer bar links for the rear. Where can I get them at the best price? Cheers John
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car

Posts: 2525
Reg: 04-2006

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - 10:15 am, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Even when you find a guy that someone recommends, Ask if you can hang around. I watched a 'specialist' do my alignment and was horrified how wrong it can be and still be "within spec". eg: say you want a bit of toe out, say 4mm total. It can have 3.5mm one side and .5mm the other and it may be within spec, but you haven't achieved what you wanted. My guy was going to drop the car with 8mm toe out on one side at the rear because he had the camber I'd asked for on both sides. All a lot of them do is punch your model (or any old Lexus if their machine doesn't have Soarer listed) into the alignment machine and turn spanners until the screen goes green.

I was so disappointed I now do my own with string line, home made camber gauges etc. My tire life has increased dramatically since.

I took the alignment specs listed here and other Soarer sites to a bloke, and he told me that would be crap to drive, and refused to set it up accordingly.

At a minimum have a good hard look at the spec sheet before handing over cash...
John Stafford
TryHard
Qld.
Soarer UZZ31 GT-L V8

Posts: 111
Reg: 02-2010

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - 10:51 pm, by:  John Stafford (Johng12) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ok Ben, How do I make a camber measuring tool? I thought about doing the string line trick with a steel tube with a an adjustable rod inside it, olden days guys used to use them. Thanks for your input. Cheers John
Ben Lipman
Goo Roo
SA
Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car

Posts: 2531
Reg: 04-2006

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Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - 07:53 am, by:  Ben Lipman (Ben12a) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I made one up using a piece of aluminium sheet, a pendulum (washer and string), and trigonometry. I can't remember the measurements exactly but I worked out a scale where a cm deflection of a pendulum was equal to 1 degree, and split that into quarters for a scale where I can be reasonably accurate to .25 of a degree.

You can buy them from performance/racecar shops in various forms. Most will measure castor as well. I can't measure castor on my home made gear (THE maths is too detailed!), I run max caster on the track car so I am not too concerned.

On the road car I just follow the matrix in the workshop manual to get the most accurate alignment I can without the castor measurement.

The other thing you will need are 'turn tables' or 'skid plates'. Once again I made my own using 30cm square pieces of steel and a thin piece of aluminium with a layer of grease sandwiched between them. This allows the suspension to settle, move etc.

I will not say it is easy to do: in fact it is pretty tedious and I never look forwards to doing it, but at the same time is rewarding. I have learnt a LOT about the Soarer suspension from lying under the car trying to make adjustments.
John Stafford
TryHard
Qld.
Soarer UZZ31 GT-L V8

Posts: 112
Reg: 02-2010

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Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - 08:04 am, by:  John Stafford (Johng12) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks for the info Ben. The grease sandwich is a good cheap idea. I will have a look in a performance shop when I get time to see what they offer. Cheers John

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