Tracking Results

[Trojan]

Hi all

Took the 172 to have a 4 wheel alignment check and tracking sorted earlier following uneven tyre wear and a bit too much understeer into sharp corners. I got a print out with the results on, however it means pretty much nothing to me! Therefore I was hoping someone could explain what these results mean, and if they look to be correct for the 172:

Readings before adjustment Front
Nearside Individual Toe -4mm
Offside Individual Toe 0mm
Total Toe Reading -4mm

Readings after adjustment Front
Nearside Individual Toe -3mm
Offside Individual Toe +2mm
Total Toe Reading -1mm

Rear flag reading before adjustment
Nearside 7.5mm
Offside 7.5mm

Rear flag reading after adjustment
Nearside 8.5mm
Offside 8.5mm

Cheers

 

[Trojan]

No-one?

 

[edde]

The toe in is the amount the wheels point inward if you think of looking at the car from above the the wheels can be like this / \ or like this \ / or ¦ ¦ . This is called the tow in basically the front is adjustable via the stearing arms. Your front passengers side was pointing in by 4 mm now points in by 3mm the drivers side pointed straight ahead now points out by 2mm. The total toe readin is the toal difference so -4 + 0 = -4 Now its -3 + 2 = -1

The rear cnnot be adjusted unless you go for shims and you only need them for track racing setups. iIf the backs out you have to fix any bent bits.
The back is measured though as this is what you need to use to work out the fornt allignment.

 

[Trojan]

Ok, so going on from that, does the reading look good/what you'd expect a 172 to be like? I've not had chance to test whether it's still understeering or not yet as I'm on nights

Cheers for the reply by the way

 

[miketheman2k]

It looks to me like thats within tolerances....but why are they not equal on both sides? Take it back and demand that it is!

 

[Day]

^ It could be the information before any corrective action.

I have before and after comparisons from when I had my tracking done.

 

[miketheman2k]

He has before / after specs there? Neither of them are equal.

 

[Trojan]

From what I can gather from Edde's post, the -3, +2 result means that athough the wheels are almost in allignment, rather than being like |---| they are more like /---/ when viewed from above. Surely that isn't how it's supposed to be, and they should both to close to 0?

 

[Friction]

the overall difference is the same

doesnt it mean the steering wheel will sit VERY slightly off to one side, when truely driving straight? which may just account for road camber?

 

[miketheman2k]

Yup, but balls to road camber (which changes all the time), get them zero'd or equal, its the only way.