Did My Own Alignment

Did My Own Alignment*pics*

I aligned my car myself today. I bought a caster/camber gauge along with a toe gauge. Setting the camber/caster is very easy. The toe is simple, but just takes time. You also must be careful to turn each tie-rod the same when changing the toe. It is raining here so I didn't have a chance to see if I turned them equally

I used the following setup:

Caster: positive 5.5 degrees
Camber: negative 1.0 degree
Toe: IN 3/32"

Here is one pic of the toe gauge and three of the caster/camber gauge. It all cost $240, but the caster/camber gauge is very nice and comes with a case. I can also change the settings whenever I want, which is the point of adjustable C/C plates.

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/79627960.jpg">

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/p4241155mm.jpg">

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/p4241156mm.jpg">

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/p4241157mm.jpg">

The toe gauge was $79 and could be easily made for half that if you wanted to take the time. The caster/camber gauge was $105 and $39 for the rim mount. It took me about two hours to do it. The thing that takes so long is raising the car up each time to adjust everything.

Also, there is not much adjustment in the caster/camber plates. The caster from one extreme to the other was a positive 4 degrees to a positive 7. The camber was adjustable from about 0 to negative 1.5. I could move the plates a lot and not change the settings, which I guess is good. The toe is another thing. Turning the each tie-rod 1/2 of a turn moved the toe 7/32"