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Motorsport Wheel Alignment: Step 3: Check Base Alignment

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Step 3: Check Base Alignment

02.02

00:00 - Step 3 is to record the current settings of the car.
00:03 In motorsport this is often referred to as a set down.
00:06 It's the opposite of a setup.
00:09 If you weren't setting the car up from scratch for the first time then this gives us a way of recording the final setup we ended up with with the last time we ran the car.
00:17 This is an important step of getting the most out of the car and understanding your setup.
00:21 First thing is to check the caster, start by removing the strings so that they don't get in the way.
00:27 WIth the steering unlocked temporarily and the steering wheel centred, make sure that the toe plates read zero.
00:32 Here we're using this adjustable frame that makes it simple to attach our caster gauge to the wheel.
00:38 Starting with the left front we can turn the steering wheel to the left by 20° using our toe plates to guide us.
00:45 Looking at our caster gauge, use the small level at the base to get it sitting flat then we use the thumb wheel to zero the caster vial.
00:52 Go back to the steering wheel and turn the wheels 40° to the right, which will result in the wheels pointing 20° to the right from straight ahead.
01:00 Use the caster gauge again, making sure it's sitting flat and read off the caster value.
01:05 Repeat this process for both the front wheels and record our caster readings.
01:09 Here the caster values were 6.25° on the left front and 6.75° on the right front.
01:15 Relock the steering straight ahead and fit the strings back to the bars, taking care to make sure they're still centred on the chassis.
01:23 Now we can use our camber gauge to move around the car, recording the values as we go.
01:27 We measured -0.9° left front, -0.3 right front, -1.7 left rear and -1.6° right rear.
01:36 Now we can use a steel ruler to measure our toe settings with our string box as the reference.
01:43 The current settings are 2 mm toe in left front, 0 right front, 1 mm toe in on the left rear and 2 mm toe out on the right rear.
01:52 Make sure you record all these values as you go so you can refer back to them in future as required.
01:57 Now we're ready to move onto the next step.

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