Steve-O Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hi Tony I can't believe i only just found this site - i only live a 2 minute drive down the road !!! Today my car (1999 Nissan 200SX) is being aligned/MOT'd at a garage in Leighton Buzzard. The car has just had poly (nolathane) bushes fitted all round and has adjustable rear camber bushes, fully adjustable coilovers with adjustable top mounts at the front (camber/caster). I get the impression that this garage thats going the initial alignment (as per a spec i have given them) dont really understand the cars new adjustment options (the bloke failed to notice the adjustable camber bushes and complained of a lack of adjustment at the rear, and also didn't realise the caster was adjustable !!)and as a result i want the car re-checked by someone who knows what they are doing and cares about the job.... Is this something you can handle ? How much would it be to get a check done ? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hi Tony I can't believe i only just found this site - i only live a 2 minute drive down the road !!! Today my car (1999 Nissan 200SX) is being aligned/MOT'd at a garage in Leighton Buzzard. The car has just had poly (nolathane) bushes fitted all round and has adjustable rear camber bushes, fully adjustable coilovers with adjustable top mounts at the front (camber/caster). I get the impression that this garage thats going the initial alignment (as per a spec i have given them) dont really understand the cars new adjustment options (the bloke failed to notice the adjustable camber bushes and complained of a lack of adjustment at the rear, and also didn't realise the caster was adjustable !!)and as a result i want the car re-checked by someone who knows what they are doing and cares about the job.... Is this something you can handle ? How much would it be to get a check done ? Cheers Steve UPDATE: I've pulled the car out of this garage. I've lost confidence in their ability to set the car up so it looks like i will need it setting.. interested ? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hi Tony I can't believe i only just found this site - i only live a 2 minute drive down the road !!! Today my car (1999 Nissan 200SX) is being aligned/MOT'd at a garage in Leighton Buzzard. The car has just had poly (nolathane) bushes fitted all round and has adjustable rear camber bushes, fully adjustable coilovers with adjustable top mounts at the front (camber/caster). I get the impression that this garage thats going the initial alignment (as per a spec i have given them) dont really understand the cars new adjustment options (the bloke failed to notice the adjustable camber bushes and complained of a lack of adjustment at the rear, and also didn't realise the caster was adjustable !!)and as a result i want the car re-checked by someone who knows what they are doing and cares about the job.... Is this something you can handle ? How much would it be to get a check done ? Cheers Steve UPDATE: I've pulled the car out of this garage. I've lost confidence in their ability to set the car up so it looks like i will need it setting.. interested ? Steve Just spoke on the phone to you Tony - see you friday morning Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Tony will sort you out mate Welcome to WIM as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahmet Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Welcome to WIM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hello Steve, welcome to wim...... You don't hang around do you I get the distinct impression you move as fast as your car.... See you Friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hello Steve, welcome to wim...... You don't hang around do you I get the distinct impression you move as fast as your car.... See you Friday Thanks for the welcome guys Your right Tony i don't hang about - you wouldnt believe the aggrovation i have had with the 200 in the last few months. I am desperate to get her back in shape - the fact that i have found you and your company in my own back yard is an absolute godsend. I'm in desperate need of someone who knows what they are doing and actually takes some pride in their workmanship. You can see my project at the following address - i hope you can see it without logging in : http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=286282 Ultimately she is a fast road car but she will see track action maybe once a year... looking to take her to the ring at some point as well but before all that i want to make sure she corners on rails and my tyres last more than 100 miles Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 How close is that wheel to the shock!! Car's looking good mate, nice repair job as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hello Steve, welcome to wim...... You don't hang around do you I get the distinct impression you move as fast as your car.... See you Friday Thanks for the welcome guys Your right Tony i don't hang about - you wouldnt believe the aggrovation i have had with the 200 in the last few months. I am desperate to get her back in shape - the fact that i have found you and your company in my own back yard is an absolute godsend. I'm in desperate need of someone who knows what they are doing and actually takes some pride in their workmanship. You can see my project at the following address - i hope you can see it without logging in : http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=286282 Ultimately she is a fast road car but she will see track action maybe once a year... looking to take her to the ring at some point as well but before all that i want to make sure she corners on rails and my tyres last more than 100 miles Steve Superb repair on the rear 1/4..... Looks like your garage is in Apsley and the tyre centre is Apsley tyres Anyway nice blog on the car..... Question though. The front tie rods, where is the castor adjuster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Superb repair on the rear 1/4..... Looks like your garage is in Apsley and the tyre centre is Apsley tyres Anyway nice blog on the car..... Question though. The front tie rods, where is the castor adjuster? Yeah i was pretty impressed with the bodywork i can pass on details if you ever need someone. He is based between berko and chesham He is a friend of a friend and his partner in the business is running a tuned saphhire cosworth which he is rebuilding at the moment. The apsley garage is nothing to do with the agro with the alignment (just wanted to make that clear). The garage the pics were taken outside of is Apsley Pit Stop and that is owned by a friend of mine. I used his bay to get the wheels on. The clearance of the rim against the standard shock was pretty damn tight i agree.. but as far as i know its not the end of the world as long as your rubber doesn't foul the shock as the wheel as no give in it ? Regarding the location of the caster adjuster - to be honest at this moment i cant say with any certainty. I know enough to get me by and i am learning new things quickly but there are still things that elude me at present. I was hoping joining here and posting my experiences and bantering would increase my knowledege as i am getting hands on with the car more and more these days so its really interesting Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Quote Steve: Learning and questions is what wim is all about. No one is ever belittled tiss the rules On your car the front tie rod should have some method to extend or reduce the length, something like this> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Quote Steve: Learning and questions is what wim is all about. No one is ever belittled tiss the rules On your car the front tie rod should have some method to extend or reduce the length, something like this> I'm pretty sure i have that kind of adjustment.. i will take a peek when i collect her tomorrow... gonna have to raise the arse a bit for you (few turns of the collar) so you can get you alignment kit on the wheels properly. So what sort of cars are you seeing in your place? I bet you have a broad cross-section? Do you get many tasty cars from the local areas ? I never seem to see many enthusiast (older) performance cars being driven if i am honest... my mate has an 500BHP R34 Skyline GTR in hemel who is looking for some adjustments also before he hits the ring in august so he is keen to see how the 200 goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Quote Steve: Learning and questions is what wim is all about. No one is ever belittled tiss the rules On your car the front tie rod should have some method to extend or reduce the length, something like this> I'm pretty sure i have that kind of adjustment.. i will take a peek when i collect her tomorrow... gonna have to raise the arse a bit for you (few turns of the collar) so you can get you alignment kit on the wheels properly. So what sort of cars are you seeing in your place? I bet you have a broad cross-section? Do you get many tasty cars from the local areas ? I never seem to see many enthusiast (older) performance cars being driven if i am honest... my mate has an 500BHP R34 Skyline GTR in hemel who is looking for some adjustments also before he hits the ring in august so he is keen to see how the 200 goes I have all manor of cars mate..... Have a look at this thread> http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/ind...p?showtopic=657 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Right quick question... At present the rear can only give 2 degrees negative camber (wound out fully positive!!) because the ride height might be too low for the camber bolt and bushes to compensate. I need to raise the arse to provide the extra positive camber so i can run 1.1 or as close to that as i can. Do you think a 10mm rise in ride hight would be able to scrub all that negative camber off ? I know it might be hard to say but i need a ball park figure so i Dont waste your (Tony's) time when he sets about aligning it tomorrow. Any help/advice appreciated ! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Right quick question... At present the rear can only give 2 degrees negative camber (wound out fully positive!!) because the ride height might be too low for the camber bolt and bushes to compensate. I need to raise the arse to provide the extra positive camber so i can run 1.1 or as close to that as i can. Do you think a 10mm rise in ride hight would be able to scrub all that negative camber off ? I know it might be hard to say but i need a ball park figure so i Dont waste your (Tony's) time when he sets about aligning it tomorrow. Any help/advice appreciated ! Steve 10mm should allow another 20 to 30'... This would be a valuable extra is i need to use this to make the positions symmetrical over the axle..... Other than that don't worry, calibrating a modified car like yours always needs some manipulation to acquire the best set-up. Let me worry about the calibration... Remember i need a full fuel tank so that the suspension is preloaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Right quick question... At present the rear can only give 2 degrees negative camber (wound out fully positive!!) because the ride height might be too low for the camber bolt and bushes to compensate. I need to raise the arse to provide the extra positive camber so i can run 1.1 or as close to that as i can. Do you think a 10mm rise in ride hight would be able to scrub all that negative camber off ? I know it might be hard to say but i need a ball park figure so i Dont waste your (Tony's) time when he sets about aligning it tomorrow. Any help/advice appreciated ! Steve 10mm should allow another 20 to 30'... This would be a valuable extra is i need to use this to make the positions symmetrical over the axle..... Other than that don't worry, calibrating a modified car like yours always needs some manipulation to acquire the best set-up. Let me worry about the calibration... Remember i need a full fuel tank so that the suspension is preloaded. Ok thats cool - i'm just worried that the excess negative camber wont be able to be dialed out enough even after a 10mm raise without going and adding rose jointed camber arms or the like... I dont fancy going down that route as i cant be arsed to maintain the rose joints, and put up with the knocking that they cause on today's roads ! I would like to drive it to leeds this weekend, hence the concern... that and i havent driven her for ages - i'm getting withdrawal symptoms ! Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Right quick question... At present the rear can only give 2 degrees negative camber (wound out fully positive!!) because the ride height might be too low for the camber bolt and bushes to compensate. I need to raise the arse to provide the extra positive camber so i can run 1.1 or as close to that as i can. Do you think a 10mm rise in ride hight would be able to scrub all that negative camber off ? I know it might be hard to say but i need a ball park figure so i Dont waste your (Tony's) time when he sets about aligning it tomorrow. Any help/advice appreciated ! Steve 10mm should allow another 20 to 30'... This would be a valuable extra is i need to use this to make the positions symmetrical over the axle..... Other than that don't worry, calibrating a modified car like yours always needs some manipulation to acquire the best set-up. Let me worry about the calibration... Remember i need a full fuel tank so that the suspension is preloaded. Ok thats cool - i'm just worried that the excess negative camber wont be able to be dialed out enough even after a 10mm raise without going and adding rose jointed camber arms or the like... I dont fancy going down that route as i cant be arsed to maintain the rose joints, and put up with the knocking that they cause on today's roads ! I would like to drive it to leeds this weekend, hence the concern... that and i havent driven her for ages - i'm getting withdrawal symptoms ! Cheers Steve Worst case scenario if the camber is lazy i can still balance the calibration by recalculating the positions on the fly... This is not uncommon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi Tony I hope you get this this evening Having gone to leighton from my work in london and picked the car up at 7.45pm and got home i managed to quicklydial on what i thought was 10mm on the shock body. Top of the arch to centre of hub read 310mm both sides before i started. When i lowered the car back onto its wheels i now have 330mm arch to hub both sides which is 10mm more than i was expecting... anyway that was a good thing but its still sitting lower than i think you need it...?? I can get my hand under the arch up to my knuckles on the rear (after the arch lip there is more clearance so its the body thats the limiting factor. Fronts i can get pretty much my whole hand on and i think you would be happy with it. Its a bit too late in the day now to go back and make another adjustment... do you think you will be able to work with it? Maybe its best i turn up at 8.30 tomorrow and you can have a quick look.. if its no good i will have to reschedule for a week or two... i knew it would be tight but i have run out of time now tonight What do you think mate ? Please call me on my mobile number if need be as i cant reply this evening as i have to dash out again !! will cheak later tonight when i return Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hi Tony I hope you get this this evening Having gone to leighton from my work in london and picked the car up at 7.45pm and got home i managed to quicklydial on what i thought was 10mm on the shock body. Top of the arch to centre of hub read 310mm both sides before i started. When i lowered the car back onto its wheels i now have 330mm arch to hub both sides which is 10mm more than i was expecting... anyway that was a good thing but its still sitting lower than i think you need it...?? I can get my hand under the arch up to my knuckles on the rear (after the arch lip there is more clearance so its the body thats the limiting factor. Fronts i can get pretty much my whole hand on and i think you would be happy with it. Its a bit too late in the day now to go back and make another adjustment... do you think you will be able to work with it? Maybe its best i turn up at 8.30 tomorrow and you can have a quick look.. if its no good i will have to reschedule for a week or two... i knew it would be tight but i have run out of time now tonight What do you think mate ? Please call me on my mobile number if need be as i cant reply this evening as i have to dash out again !! will cheak later tonight when i return Cheers Steve For those watching this thread, i have just spoke to Steve and all sounds good for a go tomorrow..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Cars in now so fingers crossed we can get it somewhere near the settings i have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Cars in now so fingers crossed we can get it somewhere near the settings i have Things were looking grim until you said the car has additional (invisible) camber/castor adjusters.. so in the morning i will have her back on the rig..... My only concern is a attitude of the track-rod ends. Despite there is no bump-steer the camber gain looks aggressive toward the pins perpendicular position.... NSF> OSF> The position is solely due to the lowering since the track is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Here is an adjustable TRE that may solve the problem. Not exactly the right one for your car but you can see the principle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Here is an adjustable TRE that may solve the problem. Not exactly the right one for your car but you can see the principle. Hi Tony Just got back from leeds First indications on the alignment that was possible on friday is very good as you said Car seemed more eager to move on and was more planted in all situations... exactly what i am looking for. Worlds apart from a standard 200 which is to be expected. As far as i see it things can only get better once the caster has been equalised and adjusted, and the rear camber has been dialed out some more. The only thing i have seen that i might like to improve if possible is the tramling?.. its only very slight but it was noticeable so if possible i would like to try and take some of it away ? Is that possible ? Would it be the toe adjustment that would help with this ? Those tie rod ends look the part.. can you supply those ? Who manufactures them and whats the price ? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 29, 2007 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Here is an adjustable TRE that may solve the problem. Not exactly the right one for your car but you can see the principle. Hi Tony Just got back from leeds First indications on the alignment that was possible on friday is very good as you said Car seemed more eager to move on and was more planted in all situations... exactly what i am looking for. Worlds apart from a standard 200 which is to be expected. As far as i see it things can only get better once the caster has been equalised and adjusted, and the rear camber has been dialed out some more. The only thing i have seen that i might like to improve if possible is the tramling?.. its only very slight but it was noticeable so if possible i would like to try and take some of it away ? Is that possible ? Would it be the toe adjustment that would help with this ? Those tie rod ends look the part.. can you supply those ? Who manufactures them and whats the price ? Cheers Steve Excellent news so far then. The "tramlining" is due to the toe positions... we will need to experiment on the final positions since the spacers add subliminal maths toward the end positions. As for the adjustable TRE i will make some enquiries. "ASAP" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted July 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 Here is an adjustable TRE that may solve the problem. Not exactly the right one for your car but you can see the principle. Hi Tony Just got back from leeds First indications on the alignment that was possible on friday is very good as you said Car seemed more eager to move on and was more planted in all situations... exactly what i am looking for. Worlds apart from a standard 200 which is to be expected. As far as i see it things can only get better once the caster has been equalised and adjusted, and the rear camber has been dialed out some more. The only thing i have seen that i might like to improve if possible is the tramling?.. its only very slight but it was noticeable so if possible i would like to try and take some of it away ? Is that possible ? Would it be the toe adjustment that would help with this ? Those tie rod ends look the part.. can you supply those ? Who manufactures them and whats the price ? Cheers Steve Excellent news so far then. The "tramlining" is due to the toe positions... we will need to experiment on the final positions since the spacers add subliminal maths toward the end positions. As for the adjustable TRE i will make some enquiries. "ASAP" Sorry yeah i meant to say Tramlining no Tramling ! Whatever adjustments are made will only need to be small.. i wasn't having to wrestle with the wheel when i got caught in the grooves in the slow lane of the M1 but i did have to make minor corrections.. i could live with it if i wasnt so picky I was toying with the idea of putting on my spare set of 5mm spacers onto the rear so the wheels all sit equal.. but my only concern is when the camber is made more postive the wheel/tyre may foul the arch lip... which itself is not a problem as i can get them rolled but fingers crossed we can get as close as possible to the elusive 1.1 without the need for arch rolling I guess a 5mm spacer wont make a massive change to the geo work you have already done ? We should get the caster and camber sorted and then i could just bolt them on at my leisure or do you want them on for the fine tune on wednesday and see what happens? either way its no prob. Look forward to hearing more about the TRE's i know the Tein and K-Sport offerings require their own matching arms... if these fit the standard arms thats great... failing that i will have to stump up for matching arm/end set. Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.