Tracking Again

[Guest timswait]

Does anyone know where I can get some shims from to go in the rear suspension of my 2B to correct the toe and camber angles? I think rs jigtec used to sell them, but now they've gone tits up is there another source? I'm getting tired of munching tyres, and I think the tail happy handling in the wet may have something to do with the fact the rear tyres aren't pointing the same way!

Also does anyone know how one of those garage tracking machine works? I had my car on one today and they helpfully told me I had 5.5mm toe in on the back. When I asked what this 5.5mm was relative to, the guy in the garage waffled for a while, and didn't really know. How can I convert this mm figure into degrees so I know how many shims I need? If I knew where the 5.5mm was measured it would just be a bit of easy trig to calculate.

[Big Jim]

If you've got toe in on the rear, then the bushes in the rear "wishbones" have gone knackered, replace those before trying anything else.

Have fun, they aren't an easy job to do!

[Guest chris brown]

Have fun, they aren't an easy job to do!

Your good at these understatements aren’t you Jim! They are right Ba*****s to do :angry:

[IanS]

5.5mm should be the difference in the distance appart of the front of the wheel rim verses the distance appart of the rear of the wheel rim.

So if you know the wheel diameter 14inch?? then you can work out the angle.

 

Ian

[Big Jim]

QUOTE 

Have fun, they aren't an easy job to do!

 

Your good at these understatements aren’t you Jim!  They are right Ba*****s to do 

 

Eer! yep!!

They are not to be tackled without the correct tools, ei, bush pullers that are the correct size and strong enough. Mind you, the old gas axe helps, but doesn't have make some horrible black smelly smoke!

[Guest timswait]

Pants, why is everything always a bigger job than it seems.

IanS- That would seem logical, but there doesn't seem to be anything in the machine where they set the rim size, so how does the machine know I've got 14 inch rims? The arms on the tracking machine (where the light comes from)protrude 400mm beyond the centre line of the wheel, so I thought it might mean that this point is 5.5mm further apart than the wheel centres.

[Grim]

you can read your rim size off from the side of the tyre - they should be something along the line of a code like eg 205/50/15 for the RH wheels, the last number being the wheel rim diameter. (first is tread width, 2nd is sidewall height as a percentage of tread width).

 

 

PS Hiya, this is Andy Wilkinson (materials sheffield + 1st year motorsports club)

[IanS]

Most car wheels are in the 13 to 15 inch rim diameter. So these machines tend to assume 14 inch and the error over the normal range of sizes is smaller than the normal setting tolerance.

[Guest timswait]

So if it's 5.5mm over 14 inch rims, then thats 0.44 degrees, sounds reasonable, although it's probably not worth doing anything about it until I've changed the bushes if Jim's right and they are knackered, I haven't had a chance to check yet.

Hi Andy - Have you got or are you getting a Hood then?

[Grim]

I'm working up to getting one, a project for between finishing uni and getting a job (i've got another year as i chose to do a masters ).

 

I'd be keen on getting a part built kit,. but i've got plenty of time to survey things and decide what ireally want

[Guest timswait]

I was looking for a part built kit originally. They do seem to come up quite rarely though, and when they do they are never exactly what you want, that's why I ended up getting a new kit. There was a 2B being advertised on this site with a vauxhall 2.0 lump. That sounded good except it was mild steel, and I think stainless is a much better idea.

[Grim]

yeah, i'll probably end up buying a new kit, but i'll keep my eyes open! Stainless panels is a definate, dunno about chassis - i'm a little concerned about the fatigue life of stanless steels (as big jim has fallen foul of).

 

So what are you doing now? Graduated or foolish like me and staying on?

[Guest timswait]

I went for stainless panels and a mild steel chassis. I regret not getting a stainless chassis. It feels like you're always fighting a losing battle trying to keep it rust free, and water can collect inside the tubes and corrode them from the inside. Big Jim's car was a monocoque, and I don't think there'd be the same problem with the 2B spaceframe, it's so over-engineered that I don't think there's high enough stresses to cause fatigue problems.

I'm doing a four year course, so I've got another year to go like you. I'll probably be up in Sheffield this week.

[Grim]

i shoild be in shef next week. As i've been on a work palcement in Hereford since april, i took a bit of a gamble by not getting anywhere to live so i didn't have to pay 2x rent, so next week is trying to find somewhere! Currnetly trying to find someone to let me sleep on their floor for a few nights, which is proving harder than i first thought!