It really depends on how you work. No one here is a pro race team. The thread title is home string alignment. That means amateurs not even at the level of teams of amateurs that show up at Runoffs with multi-man crews. A serious amateur team and all race teams are going to have scales, rigged string set-up, slip plates, and hubstands. Conservatively that's $3000 That same pro team is probably racing a real car. I bet those porsches mentioned above and real racecars are monoball suspension. Home racer amateurs mostly on rubber bushings and we don't get out of Delrin bushing until SCCA T1
Bushing are important just because we need to make an attempt to settle the suspension with car on the slip plates. That means rocking it shaking it and guess what is in the way and not really securely attached? The bar string holder things. That monoball porsche will settle on the slip plates under its own weight. There is inconvenience of strings #1.
Sometimes you need to open the door for something or move some weight around or run 2 classes add more ballast. Strings in the way that's #2.
I'm not a porsche guy so how do you reach the link nuts to make adjustments for say rear toe? I know I could not make adjustments on the mustang without hitting the strings. The strings are in the way. There's #3.
Strings are a total pain.
1- attach string bars to car (it is a lot of work to fabricate a rig plus you have to store and transport it) I have yet to see a string rig that can be considered universal for many different cars. If just using the jackstand rectangle string method that's even more a pain to set-up.
2- setup rectangle. Measuring and making sure perfect is critical and is probably 10 measurements or more. Then 1 accidental misstep moving something means you start over.
3- Thrusting car 4 measurements just to see if you are zero and more if you need to make change
4- rear toe 4 measures then more if you need to change
5- front toe 4 measures then more if you need to change
lazer pointer method you need laser pointer like the ones that are laser level $20 bucks a 12" ruler, an L rule sized to rear wheel.
1- no set up
2-Thrusting 12" ruler on front hub. L rule on rear wheel shoot laser to the ruler measure and compare to other side. That's 2 measures more if you make change
3- rear toe using toe plates $40bucks 2 tape measures 20 bucks. 2 measures more if you make change
4-front toe same 2 measures more if make change
Nothing attached to car so I can jump on it all I want to settle it. If no slip plates you can roll to settle suspension doable with attached string rig but not with a jackstand string rectangle. I work on a lift so I can comfortably lift car make adjustments and lower back down on scale pad/slip plates and check measures.
I do ghetto flat floor. I use a $3 home depot bucket some water, 10ft of aquarium tubing, and a ruler. then 1/8" flooring tiles to level. For ghetto camber I use the same "L" rule from above on the wheel and the same laser level on the L rule and the level reads out the angle. Finally, every measure is a chance to make an error. Did I break $100 bucks yet?
Bushing are important just because we need to make an attempt to settle the suspension with car on the slip plates. That means rocking it shaking it and guess what is in the way and not really securely attached? The bar string holder things. That monoball porsche will settle on the slip plates under its own weight. There is inconvenience of strings #1.
Sometimes you need to open the door for something or move some weight around or run 2 classes add more ballast. Strings in the way that's #2.
I'm not a porsche guy so how do you reach the link nuts to make adjustments for say rear toe? I know I could not make adjustments on the mustang without hitting the strings. The strings are in the way. There's #3.
Strings are a total pain.
1- attach string bars to car (it is a lot of work to fabricate a rig plus you have to store and transport it) I have yet to see a string rig that can be considered universal for many different cars. If just using the jackstand rectangle string method that's even more a pain to set-up.
2- setup rectangle. Measuring and making sure perfect is critical and is probably 10 measurements or more. Then 1 accidental misstep moving something means you start over.
3- Thrusting car 4 measurements just to see if you are zero and more if you need to make change
4- rear toe 4 measures then more if you need to change
5- front toe 4 measures then more if you need to change
lazer pointer method you need laser pointer like the ones that are laser level $20 bucks a 12" ruler, an L rule sized to rear wheel.
1- no set up
2-Thrusting 12" ruler on front hub. L rule on rear wheel shoot laser to the ruler measure and compare to other side. That's 2 measures more if you make change
3- rear toe using toe plates $40bucks 2 tape measures 20 bucks. 2 measures more if you make change
4-front toe same 2 measures more if make change
Nothing attached to car so I can jump on it all I want to settle it. If no slip plates you can roll to settle suspension doable with attached string rig but not with a jackstand string rectangle. I work on a lift so I can comfortably lift car make adjustments and lower back down on scale pad/slip plates and check measures.
I do ghetto flat floor. I use a $3 home depot bucket some water, 10ft of aquarium tubing, and a ruler. then 1/8" flooring tiles to level. For ghetto camber I use the same "L" rule from above on the wheel and the same laser level on the L rule and the level reads out the angle. Finally, every measure is a chance to make an error. Did I break $100 bucks yet?