Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 77
Page 77 — English translation
Everything is pulling left. The front camber is especially extreme: positive on the left and negative on the right. It is like constantly steering left.
The toe is also badly out, almost like braking as you drive, so turn-in must be difficult. At the rear, the left is toe-out and the right toe-in, again pointing left. Notice the thrust angle: it indicates the front wheels are offset left relative to the rear.
I have aligned many cars, but have never seen one this bad.
First, notice the front camber: the left wheel is more upright. This is the closest matching setting the adjustable upper mounts allow. Because it still tends to pull left, I added a little left toe-in to compensate.
Caster was increased to eight degrees; the article says this lengthens the wheelbase and makes spinning less likely, a precaution against another crash. Thrust angle requires a four-wheel alignment tester. Bringing it to zero and matching the left and right settings helps the car track straight.
For this beginner, toe-in improves turn-in while caster helps reduce spins. Adjusting thrust angle is especially important on a crash-repaired car.
Captions and page details
Alignment measurements after adjustment
Right front wheel
Total
Left front wheel
-1°56
-1°27
Camber
8°02
8°00
Caster
0.01
Right rear wheel
0°03
Total
0°02
Left rear wheel
-2°32
229
Camber
Alignment measurements before adjustment
0°00
0°00
0°00
Toe
Right front wheel
Total
Left front wheel
0°00
Correcting the misalignment while giving it a beginner-friendly…
Thrust angle
-2°46
0°26
Camber
…setup!
…dedicated drift alignment…
Explanation
758
-0°35
-1°09
721
Caster
Right rear wheel
Total
Left rear wheel
-0°34
-2°50
-2°41
Camber
0°21
0°19
0°12
-0°02
Toe
Thrust angle
I have never seen one this bad.
Explanation
This is a first for me…
Question 2
Assessing the current condition
Alignment terminology
An alignment set properly…
Entered two events at Nikko Circuit over two and a half months…
Last alignment date: May 11
Basic knowledge
How far does alignment drift in two and a half months?
…the left front wheel was hit hard enough to bend it.
About twelve 15-minute sessions in total.
Repeated hard curb strikes and excursions off the track. At the final corner…
[Toe]
You paid to have the alignment set. How long…
…how long it lasts is something you wonder about, right?
Suzuki Skyline (HCR32)
With the steering straight, look at the car directly from above…
…the angle of the tires. Opening toward the front…
…is toe-out. Conversely…
…if it changed after only a few runs, spending that money…
…would defeat the purpose. So our test car was…
…with increased displacement, producing 420 PS.
…an ECR33 RB25 enlarged to 2.6 liters…
…Suzuki's Skyline, producing…
…toe-in. In drifting, toe-out… [fragment]
…toe-out makes steering response duller, while toe-in… [article claim; fragment]
…opening toward the rear is called toe-in… [fragment]
The results show considerable movement! This time the reason…
Alignment specialist Suzuki's own Skyline.
…Skyline. Alignment is checked every two months…
…checks it once a month, but this much…
…this is the first time it has moved this much…
…tends to make turn-in sharper.
[Total toe]
…apparently causing it. The wheel was bent…
…it must have been a powerful impact to bend the wheel. However…
…the left front tire struck a curb while drifting at full countersteer…
[Suspension parts fitted]
Tein HR coilovers; YMS pillow-ball tension rods
…he says. [fragment]
…the sum of the left and right toe angles. The left…
…assuming the right and left toe angles match…
…normally does not change it very much.
…based on past measurements, simply running over a curb…
YMS front upper arms
This was the cause!
Cusco rear upper arms
…and toe-out are evaluated using total toe.
…so a total of 6 mm normally means…
…3 mm per side. Toe-in…
Answer
An impact strong enough to bend a wheel…
…the bent left…
[Camber]
…is normally judged this way.
…also changes the alignment!
…front wheel…
…of course, this much…
…judging by the damage.
…wheel. It appears to have been a considerable impact…
With the steering straight, look directly at the front of the car…
…the tire's angle viewed from the front…
…when the top leans inward…
Alignment measurements taken May 13
Right front wheel
Total
Left front wheel
Alignment measurements taken August 3
…would alter it.
…with an impact of this magnitude…
…the alignment also…
…is negative camber; conversely, the top of the tire…
…camber. Usually, adding camber…
…leaning outward is positive…
Right front wheel
-102
Total
215
Left front wheel
Camber
Caster
602
-108
227
554
Camber
Caster
…contact patch during cornering. Adding camber… [fragment]
…means moving toward negative camber…
…increases the outside tire's…
644
005
011
639
006
030
Right rear wheel
-058
Total
-028
Left rear wheel
[Caster]
…can increase the tire's contact area.
Right rear wheel
-126
Total
Left rear wheel
-127
Camber
006
-136
029
023
-045
Camber
…the inclination of the coilover viewed from the side…
…the angle relative to the ground. A coilover…
011
000
021
010
Toe
Thrust angle
009
The toe changed drastically…
Thrust angle
Camber and caster changed relatively little…
…lengthens the wheelbase…
…vertical is zero degrees; leaning rearward…
…increases the angle. Adding caster…
An alignment focused on response…
…alignment!
Explanation
…has gone out of alignment…
Explanation
…for a multilink suspension such as the Skyline's…
…Suzuki suspects movement in the rack itself.
…considering the substantial change in the left and right toe…
…less likely, but makes turn-in less responsive. [article claim]
…increases straight-line stability and makes spinning…
[Thrust angle]
…cannot adjust camber at the upper mount like a strut-equipped car.
The Skyline's multilink front suspension…
Hmm, it has moved considerably. Because the impact was on the left…
…that side has moved substantially. From these measurements…
…the data show the left front tire was struck from behind while driving…
…suspension requires upper arms like these…
…arm, priced at ¥32,000 for a left/right pair.
…required. The photo shows a Cusco negative-camber…
…the centerline defined by the rear tires' total toe…
…the car's centerline viewed from above, compared with…
…adjustable upper or lower arms.
However, my Skyline has nonadjustable arms, so I leave camber…
…cannot adjust it this way. Changing camber requires…
…so the curb impact clearly had a substantial effect.
…unaffected areas changed very little…
…we can tell, because toe changed from in to out…
…track straight. A four-wheel alignment tester…
…a displaced thrust angle prevents…
…this offset. Even if the other alignment values match…
…more prone to spinning, but focused on response. The rear…
…alone. Front caster and toe are set for quick…
…the setup aims for nimble driving. It is a little nervous and…
…I had never compared it this closely either, so it was a new…
…discovery.
…is difficult to measure without the appropriate equipment.
…the rear also has toe-in, seeking faster transitions.
75
About this issue
ドリフト天国 (Drift Tengoku), September 2004, is a Japanese drifting magazine. This archive preserves 316 scanned pages in their original right-to-left reading order, including the covers.
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