$10 Home Laser Alignment Checker

[wret]

After pounding my wheels and suspension through some cavernous pot holes over the winter (bad enough to damage a tire), I began to suspect my alignment was… well, out of alignment. For one thing, I perceived that my steering wheel was no longer centered while traveling straight roads. So I devised a simple toe alignment checker that can be used quickly and easily.

-Mount a laser level on flat piece of wood. $9.99 at Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41895

-Measure how much standoff there is between the flat mounting surface and the beam emitter. In my case it was 6.3 cm.

-Center your steering wheel and roll back and forth to make sure your tires are settled in to the wheel position.

-Hold the device against a front wheel aimed toward the rear of the vehicle. I used a bungee cord and screw eyes to secure it to the wheel.

-Set up a “target” that is flush with the rear wheel. A cardboard box will do.

-Activate the laser and direct toward the target.

Measure the distance from the tire surface to the beam and subtract the standoff amount (6.3mm in my case). If you end up with a positive number you have toe-in, negative means toe-out. Since the distance from the beam emitter to the target was 230 cm, and a 1° arc of a circle with a radius of 230 measures 4, figure your alignment is off 1° for every 4 cm. In my case, I was +1 cm on one side and -1 cm on the other. Not even worth bothering with. In fact a slight tweak of the steering wheel made it even without visibly affecting the centering of the wheel.

I will still follow up with a visit to the alignment shop but at least I know it’s not an emergency.

 

[bosljeff]

Damn clever!!!!

 

[TechT]

I must agree..

 

[Defiant]

Nice stuff--

"Workin' so hard, just to make things easy" Van Halen, "Right Now"


Were you molested in an alignment shop or something? :laugh:

 

[wret]

Originally posted by Defiant
Were you molested in an alignment shop or something?

A. Yes, I've been phoked by the body shop, the transmission shop, the engine shop, and yes the alignment shop.

B. I've been tinkering on cars since a teenager. My Spyder was leased for 4 years and I bought it at the end of the lease. That's four years of pent up mechanical instinct waiting to be expressed.

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by wret
A. Yes, I've been phoked by the body shop, the transmission shop, the engine shop, and yes the alignment shop.

Ah, a fellow Car Owner. We need to start a support group. Mine goes in tomorrow morning for the transfer case. I'm trying to keep the dread at bay. It's not working.

B. I've been tinkering on cars since a teenager. My Spyder was leased for 4 years and I bought it at the end of the lease. That's four years of pent up mechanical instinct waiting to be expressed.

Oof. Don't ever add up those costs.

 

[pneumo]

Nice job!

I hope this doesn't throw a wrench in the works, but does the 2G have the same track (width at the tires) front to rear? The reason I ask is because the 1G has a slightly wider front track.

 

[wret]

Good question. I assumed the front and back wheelbase were the same but I double checked. The best I could confirm with a tape measure is that they were within centimeter, more than enough accuracy.