Alot to be said about proper allignment

[SLESTAK75]

I had noticed that my buggy turned really wide; so while it was still very cold and I was involved in other things in the CVT and engine, I devoted only a small amount of time trying to correct the alignment. The wheels were toed out so I set them to toe in (by eye). After that the buggy had a wobble while in motion and turned very wide to the left and so tight to the right that it would bring the buggy up on two wheels. So yesterday I took my time and used a measuring stick to get it right. Knowing that the steering box must be off center (causing more turn to the right than left) I first measured the arms that extend from the box to insure it was at center position. Then I adjusted the wheels to where they "looked" close to center. To do this I looked from the back aligning my point of view until I was looking straight across the rear wheels then looked at the front wheels. I then continued to adjust until the front wheels "appeared" to be slightly toed in. I then took out the 8 foot measuring stick and compared the measurements from the front and back sides of the tires as close as I could get to where the tire meets the pavement. At this point I noticed that eyeballing the alignment is not a good idea as this 4inch section of my tires was 1-1/2" toed in. Not sure what that equates to in terms of angle but it seemed a bit much to me. So I continued to adjust until there was about 3/4" difference between the front and rear of the tires. So the distance now between the front of the two front tires is 55-1/4" and the rear is 56". A test drive after this revealed a nice tight turn radius in both direction as well as much sensitivity to small turns of the steering wheel. The wobble is gone and the buggy feels more attached to the ground. An even nicer suprise was that my acceleration increased as well as top speed as a result of the tires no longer creating drag. The whole buggy now has a much more solid feel to it. I know that many on here have rebuilt and even built up your front ends and Im certain that you all have already put time into alignment. But for the average Joe who just bought and started riding or who even assembled their buggies and just made it "look" good. Taking the time to get that front end properly aligned will be time you wont regret spending.

[SLESTAK75]

And if anyone has a better or more accurate method of alignment please share with those of us who are forced to resort to crude caveman-like methods of doing things.

[Miamieddie]

I was in the same boat as you 3 weeks ago. On the steering. Rod I first counted the threads on both sides for a starting point. Then I got two 2×4 wood 8ft. Long. Laid them flush against the rear tires going all the way to the front tires. And by eye started aligning it. Till it looked even wit the 2×4. Keeping my eyes on the steering wheel making sure it don't move it stays straight. It worked for me. Drove it and felt good to me and my top speed went back up to 35mph. I'm happy with the results. First time doing this...Eddie.

[SLESTAK75]

This us similar to what I tried the first time only I put the boards on the front tires. But when I did it I had the steering box off center. Thanks for sharing Eddie.

[Masteryota]

I agree with the alignment full fledged, I can't count the number of times customers have asked how their gas mileage increased just by having me do an alignment.

Another way, although a little more crude, is the way we do bikes after a tire change, chain swap, etc.., and that's with wooden dowel rods about 6 foot in length, tied to the sides of the rear tires, this sets you up to ensure the rear axle is squared to the frame, and if long enough, can be used to set the front toe at the same time.

The camber(inward tilting of the top of the tire) can be gotten close with a small level placed against the side of the tire or wheel, if adjustable, to make both tires roughly the same angle. While perfect(0 degrees) is best for tire wear, it can create a wander effect, for off road, a light negative angle(inward tilt towards the vehicle) is preferred for stability.

Caster is likely the most frustrating and difficult to understand, let alone adjust correctly. In short, it is the angle of the line intersecting the top and bottom ball joint/kingpin. Generally, a slight tilt back of the top ball joint will result in the front tires wanting to return to straight line driving, and this angle is at times used to compensate for tire pull and road crown on production vehicles, but can help to stabilize the front end by wanting to return to center while moving forward.

I hope my ramblings help.

[SLESTAK75]

Thanks Yota. All I can adjust on mine is toe in.

[xlint89]

From what I've seen, there is a lot of inconsistency in tires, especially since most are made in Taiwan. (as noted in the differences of tires in my thread) Some are slightly taller and/or wider.

I like to turn my steering all the way left and take a measurement of the rack, then all the way right and take a measurement. Set the steering in the center of that measurement and lock the steering wheel with a bungee cord. Now your steering is centered.

What I've read is to pull measurements from the center of your rear axle to the center of your front spindle. Adjusting your tie rod to make both sides even.

Measure the distance between the front tires in front (center to center) and in the back of the front tires (center to center) Most recommendations I've seen calls for a 1/8" to 1/4" toe in. Meaning your front measurement (center of tire to center of tire) should be 1/8" to 1/4" smaller than the measurement in the back of the tire.

Toe in means the tires are pointing slightly in to each other, while toe out means the tires are pointing outward from one another. (toe out would have a larger measurement in the front as opposed to the rear)

Some guys I have read actually prefer a slight toe out of the front tires, so I would suggest you try what setting works best for you.

Don't forget to lock down your tie rod locking nuts, and recheck your measurements as this might affect your adjustment ever so slightly.

[SLESTAK75]

Thanks xlint. Measuring on the tires is how I did mine. But I may have to adjust a bit more as mine are at about 3/4" right now.

[rich1]

[Measure the distance between the front tires in front (center to center) and in the back of the front tires (center to center) Most recommendations I've seen calls for a 1/8" to 1/4" toe in. Meaning your front measurement (center of tire to center of tire) should be 1/8" to 1/4" smaller than the measurement in the back of the tire.

Toe in means the tires are pointing slightly in to each other, while toe out means the tires are pointing outward from one another. (toe out would have a larger measurement in the front as opposed to the rear)

Some guys I have read actually prefer a slight toe out of the front tires, so I would suggest you try what setting works best for you.

Good general description for this process. I would like to make one statement. The toe in or out on a dirt buggy is not really a factor on total performace. In fact either one can hurt performace. Why ? because toe in or toe out creates drag on the tread blocks. So what is better? ZERO toe ,that places the tires in the best position for the least drag. It also creates a better self centering of the steering wheel and less abnormal treadware. If you really think about it how can tires pointed inward or outward give best results.( I know some will say that it makes their set- up feel better , that is partly because Zero is less forgiving of driver input errors) However if you go back and measure every angle invloved you will mosty likely find you were compensating for a bad angle already present, bent rim ,out of round tire or even a bad wheel bearing . My findings are based on more than 15 years of past dirt track kart and roadracing kart National and State Champions.

[SLESTAK75]

Thanks for the input Rich. As always I appreciate the voice of experience.

[SLESTAK75]

Took it down to somewhere around zero to 1/8 toe in. Feels GREAT.

[xlint89]

[zman007007]

slestak the bs flag is right, with all those mods it has to be at least 250 H.P. LOL

[SLESTAK75]

I was trying to be modest.