Wheel alignment specs.

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pyrojim

pyrojim

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Does anyone have them for a 1971 Dodge Dart swinger? Originally a 318 car with ac.
Help is appreciated.
 
well, the original specs are no longer valid because of modern day radial tires, shocks, crown in the roads, etc.

for a street car i like 4 degrees positive caster, 1/2 deg negative camber and 1/8" toe in.

install the Moog offset bushings in the upper control arms to achieve that much positive caster.
 
mopardude318 said:
well, the original specs are no longer valid because of modern day radial tires, shocks, crown in the roads, etc.

for a street car i like 4 degrees positive caster, 1/2 deg negative camber and 1/8" toe in.

install the Moog offset bushings in the upper control arms to achieve that much positive caster.
Click to expand...

I appreciate it. I enjoyed your rebuild thread as well!
 
mopardude318 said:
well, the original specs are no longer valid because of modern day radial tires, shocks, crown in the roads, etc.

for a street car i like 4 degrees positive caster, 1/2 deg negative camber and 1/8" toe in.
Click to expand...

What if you still run bias ply's?

Factory specs took into account the crown in the road. Camber differed side to side.

I'm trying to decide on what specs to use for my alignment appt tomorrow.

Curently thinking 3 deg castor or max what the stock units will allow. Camber L -.5 R -.25 and 3/32 toe in.
 
roccodart440 said:
What if you still run bias ply's?

Factory specs took into account the crown in the road. Camber differed side to side.

I'm trying to decide on what specs to use for my alignment appt tomorrow.

Curently thinking 3 deg castor or max what the stock units will allow. Camber L -.5 R -.25 and 3/32 toe in.
Click to expand...

Flip your camber numbers side to side. -.25 on the left, -.5 on the right with even caster
 
67Dart273 said:
IF you run bias, use factory specs.

IF you run radials, use the modern specs
Click to expand...

What would more modern specs do to a bias tire?

Dcuda69 said:
Flip your camber numbers side to side. -.25 on the left, -.5 on the right with even caster
Click to expand...

Thanks, glad you caught that.

So with bias tires... I'm asking for 2 degrees castor, -.25 camber on left, -.5 camber on right and 1/16-3/32 toe in.

Sound like that wil work for a street strip car with factory hardware?
 
Don't play, install some offset bushings, there are plenty of recent threads on alignment take a look around. :)

alignment-specifications.gif
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Don't play, install some offset bushings, there are plenty of recent threads on alignment take a look around. :)

alignment-specifications.gif
Click to expand...

I used this chart in part base my decision on specs. Street/strip car. My proposed specs are a blend of drag and street perf.

I'm not putting any money into this stock setup as my pennies are being saved for an RMS AlterKation.
 
Here is the chart and the information on offset bushings.
 

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I'm cheap. I like to get the MOST wear out of my tires. When I did alignments, all of my customers did, too. So, I very rarely set negative camber. While it's true, a small amount of negative camber does enhance driveability a little, these radial tires made today have rounded edges. Once a wear pattern starts, it is a sumbitch to reverse. Running negative camber is a surefire way to start it. I like settin camber between 0 and .5 positive. Remember, camber already goes negative in a turn. My thought has always been not to let it go too negative. Always had good luck with that and precious few combacks. Of course if the car is designed for negative camber, that's a whole nuther can of worms.

...and about the radial VS bias ply. Radials have different specs because it takes more to "move" the contact patch on a radial tire. They hold the road better. That's what they are designed to do. So usually they require more camber to get to the same place so to speak as a bias ply.

Usually good specs for just about any rear wheel drive muscle car era vehicle is 1/4-1/2 degree toe in, 1/2 degree to zero degree camber and 3-5 degrees caster....IF you can get it. Get the specs there and the car will near bout drive itself and wear the tires really well.

None of these old cars were designed to carve corners as they are anyway. They can be, but it take some modding to do it.
 
roccodart440 said:
I used this chart in part base my decision on specs. Street/strip car. My proposed specs are a blend of drag and street perf.

I'm not putting any money into this stock setup as my pennies are being saved for an RMS AlterKation.
Click to expand...

Unless your out there being competitive making money, after market k members are a waste of cash. Unless it's burning a hole in your pocket, look at old autoxcuda rip on stock stuff. Plus, what does this have to do with the original topic?
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Unless your out there being competitive making money, after market k members are a waste of cash. Unless it's burning a hole in your pocket, look at old autoxcuda rip on stock stuff. Plus, what does this have to do with the original topic?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say they are a total waster but for many it's overkill.

I really don't want to be buying trick bushings or tublular uppers/lowers etc to be able to get better adjustability.

The car was way out of wack. Major differences side to side. A ton of toe in. A ton of positive camber. I got it perfect on the passenger side. Drivers side I couldn't keep enough castor in it after setting the camber. It's around 0.

the car drives SO much better though. it's totally different. Almost drives itself now.
 
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