Alignment Recommendations

[DrumrBoy]

Looking for comments from those who've set up cars for tracks like this one.....its not Daytona or even VIR or RA....lots of rights and lefts with few long straights. I'm going to start from scratch with this alignment.....adjustments to the last set up didn't work at all. Way to darty at speed (too much toe in?) and not enough progressive loss of traction in the back, it would snap around before I even felt it going.....not enough neg camber?

The control arms are stock, it does have custom spindles and Motons but I don't think that matters. I usually run R6s and the car is about 3200lb.

What would you road race folks suggest for setting up a 98 GTS VRL car, or is that impossible to answer without knowing additional info?

 

[DrumrBoy]

Doh, sorry, t was supposed to say Watkins Glen in the title.......

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

-2 degrees front camber and -.9 to -1.2 in the rear
0 toe front and .2 degrees total toe "in" in the rear. (if it pushes for you then add up to .4 degrees of toe out in the front)
Check caster in the rear and make sure they are even within .5 degrees.
Front caster as much as you can get at the -2 degrees camber setting, get both even side to side.

If you are corner weighting at the same time set all this up after and with you in the car to make sure it is right with you inside.


If you want more progressive rear break away I like to run the tire pressures a bit lower, but that's me.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Thanks for the input. I start the rears 2-3 psi below the fronts with the aim of getting them all to about 37-38 psi hot. Should I aim to have the rears 1-2 psi lower when hot? (The car was Rick Shay's 2000 SCCA car in case you know of it)

 

[MTGTS]

Depends on the tire, different tires like different psi's.

 

[DrumrBoy]

They're R6s.

 

[GTS Dean]

-.9 to -1.2 in the rear
0 toe front and .2 degrees total toe "in" in the rear. (if it pushes for you then add up to .4 degrees of toe out in the front)
Check caster in the rear and make sure they are even within .5 degrees.

I agree on rear camber. Vipers just don't need a whole lot of static negative at the back - they need footprint. Ditto on rear caster - but I like to be within 0.2 side-side.

 

[Viper X]

Mark's numbers are good though I too try to stay within .2 degrees of caster from side to side.

Also, I've found 35 or 36 psi max hot works better with R6's. Above that, they seem to get greasy later in the run and will break loose easier. This does depend somewhat on local track conditions, like sun on the track and higher air temps along with session length and starting tire pressures.

Good luck,

Dan