TOE-IN ADJUSTMENT

MARLIN,
SPECS VARY A LITTLE DEPENDING UPON SOURCE.
PEOPLE USE 1/16" TO 1/8" TOE-IN FOR EACH SIDE.

CHUCK

That 'factory spec' was for stock 185-70x 15 belted-bias tires and stock rubber a-arm bushings. If you're running anything else, toe should be 1/16 front & back, total for 2 wheels, as measured at the tire tread surface. Wider tires need less self-aligning from the toe adjustment, and the tread wear will be less as will horsepower losses.

Jack,
what is the conversion between degrees and inches ?

At: http://www.geocities.com/pantera_alignment/Align_1.html
is Greg's recent alignment.
I thought it was ~1/16 (each, not both).
Let me know, as I'm destined for the alignment shop.

Chuck

Chuck, in your red owners manual on pg 69, are specs for degrees, mms and inches for a stock 72-73 car's alignment. They show 1/8" toe-in which with modern radials is twice as much as you need, especially with less-compliant urethane a-arm bushings. I'd also recommend all the front caster you can devise- at least 3 degrees per side- for more high-speed stability. I'm not sure if the numbers shown are linear conversions or not, but at least there are some!

Hi Pantera1252
We are getting a little off from the orginal topic, but since you brought the racing up...
I�d be interested to know what type Porsche this Porche road-racer in Ft. Lauderdale drives. There is much truth in what he/she has told you, but i�m sure that there is some Porsches going with something else than a "0" toe in front axle. Cars setting depend on mass, weight distribution, tyre width, profile and mark(!), engine performance and torgue curve and driving tecnique for example. The "wandering" on the straights means that you can�t keep the power down since you need to steer (tongue in a middle in a mounth)and it�s not very fun in the crowd. There are good books about setting the car up. one should do ones�s homework to understand how everything affects to everything (it�s not simple). Better yet, get to the track, do laps, and feel the car & adjust. To my knowledge, at speeds, the wheels tend to get apart from each other (toeing outwards), so you set some toe-in, so at speeds toe-in is near to zero. Everythig in sunspension gives a little (bends) due the forces it sees. I don�t have rubber , urethane or teflon in my suspension, all are done by using tie-rod ends (uniballs, Hirshmann and Aurora are used makes in racing). Still i�m driving with some toe-in in front and back. I'm not an experienced racer or a front-end technician either, but done some racing.
Please, feel free to correct me, if i�m wrong.
Jami