What toe to run?

[p0cket penguins]

Thanks man

[guibo09]

I'm running about 1/8" toe-out total (so 1/16" each side) and about -3deg camber. The front end feels great, now I just need to iron out the rear.

Btw, you should get the Longacre toe plates. So much easier than dicking around setting up strings or making an appointment($$) everytime to mess with your suspension.

i dont agree. those toe plates do nothing for thrust angle. you can end up doing more damage than good. strings across the side of the car is the best way to DIY a home alignment.

[Hellabad]

i dont agree. those toe plates do nothing for thrust angle. you can end up doing more damage than good. strings across the side of the car is the best way to DIY a home alignment.

In my experience, Toe plates work perfectly. Strings have too much room for error, including the assumption that the track width is the same front and rear.

I just like toe plates because they are fast, repeatable, portable, and have a huge margin to remain accurate.

As far as toe-out? when in doubt toe it out. Anything over 150 hp can push all the toe out you ever need down the straightaway, and on an autocross there never is a straightaway so 1/4 to even 1/2 toe-out is seen.

I usually stop at 3/16, not because the car is necessarily slower, but because I can usually bumpsteer the car to get what I want without so much toe-out.

Jay


PS front toe out has nothing to with thrust angle. You should be centering the rack anyway to get consistent ackerman and bumpsteer.

PPS "stop at 3/16" doesn't necessarily mean 3/16 is best, but I would sure as heck be at least 1/8 out.

PPPS you can't bumpsteer the front of an e30 with some brands of camber plates, so this may not apply to everybody.

[z31maniac]

When you say 3/16 you do mean total correct?

[guibo09]

In my experience, Toe plates work perfectly. Strings have too much room for error, including the assumption that the track width is the same front and rear.

I just like toe plates because they are fast, repeatable, portable, and have a huge margin to remain accurate.

As far as toe-out? when in doubt toe it out. Anything over 150 hp can push all the toe out you ever need down the straightaway, and on an autocross there never is a straightaway so 1/4 to even 1/2 toe-out is seen.

I usually stop at 3/16, not because the car is necessarily slower, but because I can usually bumpsteer the car to get what I want without so much toe-out.

Jay


PS front toe out has nothing to with thrust angle. You should be centering the rack anyway to get consistent ackerman and bumpsteer.

PPS "stop at 3/16" doesn't necessarily mean 3/16 is best, but I would sure as heck be at least 1/8 out.

PPPS you can't bumpsteer the front of an e30 with some brands of camber plates, so this may not apply to everybody.

thrust angle is not a problem in the front, and yes, plates will give good results. it's in the rear that i dont like using that sort of solution. anyway, plates or string, done the wrong way will give bad results.

how exactly do you bump steer an e30? you play with the castor at the camber plate?

[Brew]

PPPS you can't bumpsteer the front of an e30 with some brands of camber plates, so this may not apply to everybody.

What does the brand of camber plate have to do with bumpsteer?

[2002maniac]

Zero

[gearheadE30]

I run no toe up front with my plates set all the way out. Running -3.5 degrees on the autox adds a great deal of toe; so much that the car seems very darty on the highway afterwards. I prefer running around 1/16" ish out at the autocross because it *feels* like it improves turn in a bit. With the M42, I'm not too worried about hard braking much.