I noticed when I go for an alignment on a brand new Hunter Elite system that when the first readings are done (fully loaded and rolled), the rear toe has a certain number, but when the tech pulls the pins from the shim plates on the rear to do adjustments, the toe changes. He sets my rear toe from there..
Ive noticed when going back in a day later for a steering adjustment the rear toe is again different, which makes me think my theory is correct..

Im under the belief that this is in fact an incorrect way to set toe, and that multiple adjustments and rolling readings would be needed without the rear shim plates moving to get an accurate loaded reading.

Do any track junkies out there have a suggestion. I have access to a fully calibrated machine, perfect level rack....

 

What do you mean by "he pulls the pinns from the shim plates on the rear to do the adjustments"??? Toe is set by the eccentric bolt or at the toe arm if you have adjustable arms.

 

running 2 piece LCA's and shimming and then readjusting toe?

 

That's what I thought but not sure what the issue is. Any change in camber will naturally change toe. It's a give and take. You don't need to shim rear arms as the camber eccentrics have more than enough adjustment in and of themselves.

 

+1


would be the only potential shim-able part
Get cambered, dial toe.
And yes OP, if that's what you're asking, the suspension needs to be relaxed, in its 'set' position to check numbers...more of an issue when you still have rubber joints vs monoball

 

I think he means the plates on the table that the car is sitting on. These plates effecting float, ensuring there is side load on the suspension or wheels and that the car is settled.

He he is saying when the car rolls on to the alignment jig it showing one toe setting, but when the mechanic takes the pins out of the plates, which allows everything to settle properly, it shows another toe.

I think ink this is what he is saying.

 

^ Yes what LQQK said.. Sorry, I should have clarified that better.. I mean the pins from the plates of the alignment rack that alow it to float.. not suspension shims. sorry..

any thoughts on this?

 

Whenever I've done an alignment on my car it's placed of plates which "float" in all directions on ball bearings. There are no pins. The plates also have weight sensors which allow you to corner balance the car. We remove the 340ft.lb axle nuts and thread the laser heads directly onto the wheel axles. This provides a dead square set up as we are NOT mounting the laser heads on the wheels themselves which will always have a small bit of run out. By using the axles, you are eliminating any variance caused by minor wheel runout which will constantly change your setting depending on the position of the wheel.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/K2y2Zx]

 

+1, you either want it to float so the suspension resets automatically, or depending on your alignment setup you can roll it back and fourth to reset suspension as well

 

Hmmm.. so whats going on then..?

When the car is driven onto the rack without floating, just like a road, it has a certain reading, but as soon as the rack plates are allowed to float, the numbers bow out..

Which is the true reading.. Both scenarios the car is rolling loaded

 

depending on what level of movement you are seeing, sounds like worn suspension bushings or play in a joint to me, toe-in/out will torque the suspension up on fixed ground.
Do you still have rubber elements in your suspension?
Without changing any components, I would use the roll-on tensioned numbers as this best emulates real-world use for your car

 

Is that Cervilie's (sp) set up?

 

Yes, that's Cervelli's rig. Off topic, we have a few of us running COTA on march 3/4/5. You should come thaw out down south..

 

Looks like a awesome set up, would love to get my car over there and have him set it up.

 

Chris retired and only comes out of hiding to do work for our small group of die hards or special projects, engine/gearbox builds, etc.. The guys that are running his old shop are also very good. I started doing my own alignment on his alignment rig when I was spending a lot of time at the shop and have to say it's an awesome set up. He customized it so he can utilize the axle post to make alignment dead accurate. It's very slick. I am not aware of anyone that uses this type of a set up. He's re-gearing my gearbox this week and while at it installing a new clutch and Guard's chromoly billet GT2 Pro LSD. I ordered it last June and after a long wait it finally came in. Should have the car back next week.