My last alignment

[Dibbons]

About 1,500 miles into my present road trip (1972 Satellite Sebring Plus with power steering) I found the outside edge of the left front tire had worn down to the steel belts and the passenger side outside edge was worn too, but not so bad. Had to purchase two new front tires and alignment:

from Les Schwab:



Left:



Camber before +1.7 degrees Camber after +0.5 degrees (should be -.25 to -.50)** see chart below

Caster before 0.0 degrees Caster after -0.5 degrees (should be +1.5 to +2.5)** see chart below

Toe before -0.66 degrees Toe after +0.13 degrees (should be OK)



Right:



Camber before -0.3 degress Camber after +0.2 degrees (should be -.25 to -.50)** see chart below

Caster before -1.2 degress Caster -1.8 degrees (should be +1.5 to +2.5)** see chart below

Toe before -0.77 degrees Toe after +0.12 degrees (should be OK)



total toe before -1.42 degrees total toe after +0.25 degrees



THERE IS A NOTE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LES SCHWAB PRINTOUT THAT STATES THE FINAL CASTER IS OUT OF SPEC (NEGATIVE INSTEAD OF POSITIVE) AND THAT TIRE WEAR, HANDLING, AND SAFETY PROBLEMS MAY RESULT. This was not explained to me when I picked up the vehicle.





This chart is what I found on internet that shows settings recommended for new radial tires based on driving style:



Granny -.25 Camber, +1.5 Caster, 1/16 to 1/8 Toe-in**

Perf street -.50 Camber, +2.5 Caster, 1/16 to 1/8 Toe-in**

Max street -.75 to -1.0 Camber, +2.5 to +3.5 Caster, 1/16 to 1/8 Toe-in

auto-X -2.0 to -3.0 Camber, +3.0 to + 4.0 Caster, 0 to 1/16 Toe-in

Drags 0 Camber, +1.5 to + 2.0 Caster, 0 to 1/16 Toe-in




These are from the 1972 Plymouth Factory Service Manual which Les Schwab tried to duplicate, but that I have read are NOT valid for modern radial tires:


factory specs (DO NOT USE) are listed here below:

Camber left +1/4 to + 3/4 (+1/2 preferred
Camber right 0 to + 1/2 (+1/4 preferred)
Caster for power steering +1/4 to +1 1/4 (+3/4 preferred)
toe in 3/32 to 5/32 (1/8 preferred)
Caster for manual steering 0 to -1.0 (-1/2 preferred)

 

[Kern Dog]

Kick that alignment guy in the ***.
Quality help is difficult to find. No car that I know of performs better with POSITIVE camber and NEGATIVE caster. No new car is set up that way.
I don't know when they switched to digitalized readouts as opposed to inch fractions. A tiny bit of toe in is okay, something like 1/8" (.125) because the rolling resistance of the tires tends to push them rearward slightly. By turning the toe in slightly, you are trying to achieve a zero toe setting while in motion.
During cornering, the front tire to the outside takes a greater load as weight shifts. NEGative camber allows that tire to maintain a better contact patch. If the camber were positive already, the lean of the body makes the top of the tire tilt out even more to the point where you scuff the tire all up the sidewall.
Caster affects stability. ZERO caster makes the steering wheel less likely to return to center after a turn. Steering effort is lower but the car will want to dart and swerve even on smooth roads.

 

[HT413]

I know it's not feasible during a road trip, but I did my own alignment. I originally planned to do a rough alignment just to get it to the shop, but it turned out so good that I literally drove past the alignment shop and went for a cruise.

These 4 years later the tires are wearing evenly and the car tracks nice and straight. The steering wheel is like 2 degrees off of perfect but honestly, I think it's mostly a function of having to steer to counter the crown of the roads near me.

I did it with a tape measure, a 2' level, couple scraps of 2x4's and homemade alignment plates (each is 2 pieces of sheet metal sandwiched together with grease between them).

 

[Dibbons]

Do your own alignment:

https://www.quicktrickalignment.com/wheel-alignment-tips/

 

[MoparLeo]

Of course this is all dependent on the condition of you front suspension parts. An alignment is static, that is the car is not moving. As soon as the car moves, any play in the tie rods, idler arm, centerlink, pitman arm, strut rod bushings etc will move. Stack all of these tolerances and you can have a good alignment on paper and a disaster once you get on the road.Tire size and pressure. Ride height. Type of wheels. Do they match ? Were you carrying any extra weight on your road trip ? The alignment will change as the load/weight of the car changes. You should set your alignment with a full tank of gas and similar weight you will be carrying on your trip, including your self unless you are a slim guy.

 

[Dibbons]

The two front tires they sold me are OPTIMO Hancook H274 21570R-14. I anyone would like to comment on this tires (from personal experience) feel free. On the tire: 500A T (118 MPH) 96 (1565# load rating) and advertised 60K tread life (I don't believe that claim for a minute).

 

[MoparLeo]

That is an good quality tire. Same size on the rear ? Stock rims ? Condition of steering/suspension parts ?

 

[Dibbons]

I have stock rims and same size tires on the rear. Will install a PST front end rebuild kit when I get back home from this road trip (things must be worn out by now).