front end alignment specs

[ratonabike]

what are your favorite caster/camber/toe in settings for the track? i seem to have my settings fine for the street, but when i'm racing, my car tracks pretty straight on the power, but when i let off at the big end she gets way too squirrelly (i have an Art Morrison 2x4 chassis with tubular A-Arms, Aldan coil-overs, & Mustang power rack, 8 inch street tires in the front, and a TH400 with no engine braking... and all my ball joints are fine).

[RichSchmidt]

If you have a sufficient amount of caster then you might want to check the postioning of the rack.When the rack is mounted too high or too low it can cause the toe to change when the front end rises or drops.The toe always changes some as the suspention travels,but if the rack is postioned correctly the travel should be minimized.You can sometimes correct this problem using spacers to lower the out tie rod ends,but sometimes you need to raise or lower the entire rack.Get the car back on the alignment rack and raise and lower the front end and watch the toe change.Also know that an instant center in the rear suspention is too short or too low it can cause the rear to lift the rear tires off the ground when you let off the gas or hit the brakes which can make the car get loose on you.Shock settings on all 4 corners can do the same thing.Good luck.

[ratonabike]

thanks rich, that's great info... i'm going to start with my coilovers first.... i haven't checked them since i built the car 6 years ago... they seem ok just pressing down on each corner of the car, springs seem tight and shock seems to be dampening... but i'll pull them and see how they feel with the spring off.. hmmm i wonder if i could make some sort of homemade shock tester, to see if they're dampening at a correct rate (or at least consistant with the other shocks)...