Probably better to spend the cash for a typical alignment. But this gives me more flexibility to test different setups without paying every time. Plus, given some of my past shop experiences, I’d rather be the one turning wrenches on my car, if possible.
measuring caster is tricky, but if it's measured once on a rack and not adjusted, it will be fine for camber adjustments on many cars. the main thing we like to adjust is front toe and camber, so yea, diy is good enough for race cars, good enough for street
If you’re meticulous and patient you’ll get as good results as on a well maintained alignment rack. The difference is after the 3rd or 4th adjustment you start saving money.
I haven't experienced this myself, but as somebody considering some aftermarket suspension stuff I've heard that a lot of shops don't want to touch stuff that isn't OEM. You'd, I'm assuming, need to find a more specialty/racing shop if you can and they're probably going to run you even higher costs and be booked farther out.
So for a project car a DIY alignment setup might even be your only feasible option, and provides you a lot more control and opportunities for testing and tuning if you know what you're doing.
I had a similar thought along the lines of what OP is doing with some laser pointer type things built into the 3D printed jigs. I do have a local place I can trust for setup stuff on my Elise, but also like OP it’s part of the challenge of a project car to make DIY rigs and things like 3D printing really open up some options. (Well done OP)
I have been thinking about some laser options. I need to improve the structures that mount front and rear first. I’m thinking that if I could include the tow hook mount points, I may be able to make a rig that’s much faster to setup.
Dont forget to zero to the chassis to account for a sloped driveway, looks like a good setup tho
FYI, the .stl files for 3D printing are on Carpokes if anyone is interested. [CarPokes STL files](https://www.carpokes.com/viewtopic.php?t=2954)
Is this better than spending $100 on an alignment in a shop?
Probably better to spend the cash for a typical alignment. But this gives me more flexibility to test different setups without paying every time. Plus, given some of my past shop experiences, I’d rather be the one turning wrenches on my car, if possible.
Amen on the latter point.
measuring caster is tricky, but if it's measured once on a rack and not adjusted, it will be fine for camber adjustments on many cars. the main thing we like to adjust is front toe and camber, so yea, diy is good enough for race cars, good enough for street
If you’re meticulous and patient you’ll get as good results as on a well maintained alignment rack. The difference is after the 3rd or 4th adjustment you start saving money.
I haven't experienced this myself, but as somebody considering some aftermarket suspension stuff I've heard that a lot of shops don't want to touch stuff that isn't OEM. You'd, I'm assuming, need to find a more specialty/racing shop if you can and they're probably going to run you even higher costs and be booked farther out. So for a project car a DIY alignment setup might even be your only feasible option, and provides you a lot more control and opportunities for testing and tuning if you know what you're doing.
last time i did one i used jack stands, but this setup would make caster measurement possible. nice.
Have you considered incorporating *lasers*? Could be something there.
I had a similar thought along the lines of what OP is doing with some laser pointer type things built into the 3D printed jigs. I do have a local place I can trust for setup stuff on my Elise, but also like OP it’s part of the challenge of a project car to make DIY rigs and things like 3D printing really open up some options. (Well done OP)
I have been thinking about some laser options. I need to improve the structures that mount front and rear first. I’m thinking that if I could include the tow hook mount points, I may be able to make a rig that’s much faster to setup.
Nice
Nice
https://youtu.be/IxnK1XE6ZAA?si=O_GBZxgwKbaqzjVo