Alignment Specs for a 66 GT350 with no Arning drop?
So this 66 is a late 66 and did not get the drop and a buddy of mine is installing different wheels and new tires and we are going to re-check everything and change if needed.
When I did my car I used the specs that everyone recommended for the cars with the drop (I cannot remember what those were and I dont have my notes in front of me).
Anyway, this car needs to be right, its a solid dry car thats largely unmolested and I want it to be right, but I am concerned about using the original specs since they were for bias tires, and I dont want to use the specs for the Arning dropped cars because this car does not have that.
So this 66 is a late 66 and did not get the drop and a buddy of mine is installing different wheels and new tires and we are going to re-check everything and change if needed.
When I did my car I used the specs that everyone recommended for the cars with the drop (I cannot remember what those were and I dont have my notes in front of me).
Anyway, this car needs to be right, its a solid dry car thats largely unmolested and I want it to be right, but I am concerned about using the original specs since they were for bias tires, and I dont want to use the specs for the Arning dropped cars because this car does not have that.
So, what do I shoot for?
Same specs will work with or without the arning drop. around -.5 camber and around +2 degrees caster and toe in around 1/16" will work well for a street car.
thanks, I did not know if the specs for the lowered arms were unique to that setup.
Just to give you an example, you will want close to .2 to .5 degree difference from right to left to compensate for the crown of the road. Most roads have a crown to the right for water runoff so i will set the alignment to drift slightly to the left. the vehicle will tend to pull to the side with the most camber and the least caster. On my 65 Falcon that i use as a daily driver I set the camber at -.6 on the left and -.7 on the right. My caster is set at +1.7 on the left and +1.9 on the right. This gives it a .3 total to the left and it drives very straight. just keep your angles as close together as you can with a slight extra to the left. I usually do not set the caster over 2 degrees on a manual steering street car as the steering feels heavy at low speeds and when parking but some people do not mind.
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Just to give you an example, you will want close to .2 to .5 degree difference from right to left to compensate for the crown of the road. Most roads have a crown to the right for water runoff so i will set the alignment to drift slightly to the left. the vehicle will tend to pull to the side with the most camber and the least caster. On my 65 Falcon that i use as a daily driver I set the camber at -.6 on the left and -.7 on the right. My caster is set at +1.7 on the left and +1.9 on the right. This gives it a .3 total to the left and it drives very straight. just keep your angles as close together as you can with a slight extra to the left. I usually do not set the caster over 2 degrees on a manual steering street car as the steering feels heavy at low speeds and when parking but some people do not mind.
I have my car set to the Shelby specs, but I kept them as close to the same on both sides and my car feels really good, I dont know that I would count on the crown in a road to be the same for very long, so I prefer parity between the sides.
I have my car set to the Shelby specs, but I kept them as close to the same on both sides and my car feels really good, I dont know that I would count on the crown in a road to be the same for very long, so I prefer parity between the sides.
So my angles of -.6 and -.7 camber with +1.7 and +1.9 caster does not have Parity between sides? It is not easy getting them that close using accurate equiptment. And the crown of the road is always there to some extent. Your car will never drive straight on all roads. you are just trying to make it drive well on most. i guess i just do not understand your statement but it is all good everybody has a different opinion on what they like. Mike
I would not deliberately create a directional bias.
How do you think cars are set up from the factory? There angles are set slightly to the left because of the road crown. Do you really think that car alignments are set exactly the same on caster and camber? If they were you would see a lot of warranty alignments at the dealerships. and .5 degrees to the left is very standard in the industry and does not create a directional bias. You are just looking to overcome some of the crown that all roads have, some more then others. A deliberate bias would be giving it +2 caster and +4 caster not +1.7 and +1.9. Your statement shows you do not understand alignment angles and how they effect the cars if you really believe I am giving my car a directional bias with those specs.
How do you think cars are set up from the factory? There angles are set slightly to the left because of the road crown. Do you really think that car alignments are set exactly the same on caster and camber? If they were you would see a lot of warranty alignments at the dealerships. and .5 degrees to the left is very standard in the industry and does not create a directional bias. You are just looking to overcome some of the crown that all roads have, some more then others. A deliberate bias would be giving it +2 caster and +4 caster not +1.7 and +1.9. Your statement shows you do not understand alignment angles and how they effect the cars if you really believe I am giving my car a directional bias with those specs.
I think that Ford Spec for alignment is dead even, that's what I think. I would refer you to any Ford Shop Manual.
Apart from any track time, the roads around here switch angles on the turns so much that it would be pointless to pretend they always roll to the right. And I spend so much time in the LH lane on the highway that a RH bias on alignment would be the opposite of the crown in the road. I challenge you to show any official Ford RH alignment bias on the 64-73 Mustang. I have never seen any evidence that Ford used offset bias "from the factory".
More to the point, if I ever drove a car that drifted left on a level road after an alignment, there would be a warranty claim all right.
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Amateur restorer. (Well, once in a while I have been paid for it)
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I think that Ford Spec for alignment is dead even, that's what I think. I would refer you to any Ford Shop Manual.
Apart from any track time, the roads around here switch angles on the turns so much that it would be pointless to pretend they always roll to the right. And I spend so much time in the LH lane on the highway that a RH bias on alignment would be the opposite of the crown in the road. I challenge you to show any official Ford RH alignment bias on the 64-73 Mustang. I have never seen any evidence that Ford used offset bias "from the factory".
More to the point, if I ever drove a car that drifted left on a level road after an alignment, there would be a warranty claim all right.
To start with there are no level roads they are all crowned. And the factory specs always give you a + or - they were never set with the exact same caster and camber side to side. you are kidding yourself if you really believe that And again caster at 1.7 and 1.9 is not a problem. You have no clue on alignments. And who cares about the factory specs? Those were tossed out a long time ago. There are better angles to use then the useless factory specs you always post up.
This is from DAZE on another forum. I agree with everything he says as i have first hand experience on this subject. I just choose to use a tiny bit of extra caster on the right for a street car. Also note what he says about the crown of the road and that .25 difference side to side is acceptable. These early cars that use shims to align take a little work to really dial in. if your angles are as close together as mine using accurate equiptment you would be lucky. At -.6 and -.7 camber and 1.7 and 1.9 caster that is set up very well for a Daily Driver 65 Falcon. .Please align to these specs €œ1960-1966 Mustang and Falcon Performance Alignment with Shelby drop€.
These specifications are in order of importance.
1. NO more than .25 degrees difference between driver€™s side and passenger€™s side.
2. +2.0 to +3.5 degrees caster. NOTE: for cars with Adjustable strut rods. Please attain as much caster as possible using the shims (at least 1.5 to 2.0 degrees), and then use the adjustable strut rods to increase the caster and make the sides the same. Also, please note that the caster difference between the driver€™s side and passenger€™s side needs to have no more .25 degrees difference prior to the adjustment of the strut rods.
3. -.5 to 0 degrees camber. No positive camber, please. There is no problem having a slight variation from driver€™s side to passenger€™s side to account for the crown in the road.
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Alignment Specs for a 66 GT350 with no Arning drop?
