Alignment

[richieap]

Can anyone tell me what the best way to align my front end ? Thanks

[sportcoupe]

Pull wheels and while using a straight edge, measure front and rear approximately where the tires would be. You want about an 1/8" toe-in.

[richieap]

Originally Posted by sportcoupe

Pull wheels and while using a straight edge, measure front and rear approximately where the tires would be. You want about an 1/8" toe-in.

Ok thank you

[Olman]

Rich---Sportcoupe's method is probably better but I leave the cart on the ground, get two pieces of straight 2x12's about 24" long, get the wheels straight, place the boards tight against the outside of each tire (you might have to put a brick or something to hold them tight), then measure between the boards at the outside diameter of the tires front and back. As Sportcoupe said, about 1/8 inch toe-in is good. Works for me.

[bronsonj]

What I do is lift the cart and spin each tire while hitting it with a shot of spray paint. Then keep spinning the tire and lightly press a nail into the spinning paint. This will give you a true centerline that is perfectly parallel to the hubs since you nail is a fixed point in space. Do this on both sides.

Then set the cart back onthe ground. This is exceedingly important for modified A-Arm carts. roll the cart back and forth a few inches to get it to settle into where it will ride normally. Measure from the nail line to nail line front and back. Like sportcoupe said, it should be 1/8th of toe in.

For non-a-arm carts, the part about setting it on the ground and getting the cart to settle in is not very important.

[richieap]

I used sport coupes method , worked great!!!! , I will not spray my nice tires and new rims with paint , Thank you all for the tips

[yurtle]

Originally Posted by bronsonj

What I do is lift the cart and spin each tire while hitting it with a shot of spray paint. Then keep spinning the tire and lightly press a nail into the spinning paint. This will give you a true centerline that is perfectly parallel to the hubs since you nail is a fixed point in space. Do this on both sides.

Then set the cart back onthe ground. This is exceedingly important for modified A-Arm carts. roll the cart back and forth a few inches to get it to settle into where it will ride normally. Measure from the nail line to nail line front and back. Like sportcoupe said, it should be 1/8th of toe in.

For non-a-arm carts, the part about setting it on the ground and getting the cart to settle in is not very important.

I've never done this, but I'd assume a fully loaded cart "might" be affected by weight, thus the suggestion for the cart being on the ground. I could be wrong, as I've never done alignment (but need to check it).

[bronsonj]

With an auto or any other a-arm suspension you want the weight of the vehicle on the tires to verify how it really sits.

As for painting the tires, never had an issue with that since we never cleaned the tires first. So in essence you end up painting the dust. Don't paint the rims, just the rubber. You can use paint or a marker or even just a pencil instead of paint and a nail. All you need is a mark.

For the fixed front suspension of a cart sitting on the ground it's not such a big deal. The only difference would be any slop in the king pins and spindle/bearings which normally is negligible.