JoeNova

I'll have to look for the gauges. It seems like the camber keeps changing on me depending on what setting I have the springs on. If I set the front coilovers to a full 16 clicks, the camber is perfect. At 6 clicks I have a lot of camber but the springs bottom out on every bump and I'm afraid something going to break. At 10 clicks I have a few degrees of camber, and the ride is manageable.

I used the tread on the tires to check the toe. Put the tape measure inside of the center tread, 56" line to line. Did this on the back side of the tire, 55 7/8". I know this isn't the most accurate way, but I'm sure I can get the steering wheel wobble to settle down adjusting the toe this way. The front seems to wobble fairly bad at 50 mph.

3 window

iTrader: (1)

A couple things, your measurements need to be from the the middle of the tread. Let me explain, if you were to draw a line level across the center cap past the front and rear of the tire, this is where you need your measurements. Easy to do. Take a plumb bob with a two foot string and lay it in any tread over the top of the tire. Let it touch the ground and make a mark on the floor. Do the same over the rear of the tire and make a mark. Repeat this on the other side. Now measure between your marks on the floor in the front of the tires and in the back. Subtract your front from your back, this is your toe. As you explained now, your car is toed out. It'll be like trying to go 150 on a fork lift! Dangerous! You can't set the front end until you have the suspension where you want it. Any lowering or raising of the car will change the camber. Set the front end at the height where it's at going down the track at higher speeds, usually an inch and a half or so above static ride height.

forcd ind

iTrader: (7)

I have a magnetic caster/camber gauge, I think from Speedway-been doing
my own alighs. for years
as said, set the stance first, then caster, then camber, then toe
Sometimes you have to take some caster out in order to get correct camber, depending on +/- you end up with.
The hardest is getting the steering wheel straight-you need the steering box in the center, neut., rather than just pull the steering wheel and put it back straight.
I see where it sits, then tweak the tie rods even amounts until the wheel is straight-then recheck SW
BUT, the car must be level doing all this

PontiacPOWA

My brother has had the same length strange yoke on his 80e for around 2 years with lots of street miles. Hasn't fallen out yet lol..

also, whats the deal with shops not wanting to align the car? Whats their excuse and whats so different about it?

Car's looking great man nice work. I'll be starting my nova build soon and yours has been a nice reference

JoeNova

Here is the post where I bought the subframe.https://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-in...l#post18455972

Control arms are on Heim joints, and aren't fun to remove. They have to be removed for every little adjustment over and over and over. Very time consuming. The car will have to be raised/lowered for every adjustment as well, which means removing and reinstalling the shocks for every adjustment to the lower control arms.


On another note, I'm still driving the car every day. I haven't driven it in the rain, but other than the fact that the front shocks are insanely harsh, its very nice to drive.

spray280

iTrader: (5)

My buddy came over & aligned my car with the Longacre bubble tool,
then I took it & had the toe set at a shop. Stable at 145+ so far

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ln...dqURoCmUPw_wcB

3 window

iTrader: (1)

Nice. Should be good to go now!

PontiacPOWA

Ah i didnt notice the heim joints on the control arms. No wonder they dont want to mess with it haha. If it drives well for now, i guess its always something you can mess with later

ryanleiker

iTrader: (2)

I talked to a few speed shops around town and found out many of them used this one place. So I took it there. It was close to $150 and I have fully adjustable suspension. So your price doesn't seem too steep for custom specs.

JoeNova

So I raised the coilovers. Somehow raising them decompressed the springs a little. The ride is now much much smoother.

I'm still trying to track down a ton of squeaks and ticks, but she is much more driveable now.

JoeNova

Tossed her on the scales.

Full tank of gas, heavy *** ET Street Radials and steel wheels, full interior, all steel body except hood, 4L80e, and loads of sound deadener, its 3110 lbs. 1610 lbs over the front axle, 1500 over the rear. Thats a 51.8/48.2% weight distribution.

I weighed the passenger and rear seats, the weight of 15 gallons of gas, and the weight difference in the wheels and tires as well. So with 3 gallons in the tank, passenger and rear seats removed, and aluminum eagle mags and ET street drags on the car, it weighs 2940. I'm thinking if I replace the front and rear bumpers with fiberglass, the trunk lid, lexan rear window (mine desperately needs replaced), I can completely offset the weight of a cage and keep the car under 3000 lbs race weight before I climb in it.

3 window

iTrader: (1)

It'll move at under 3000. It'll move at the weight it's at now! Personally, I'd leave the seats and the interior alone. If you go glass bumpers, try an find a place that can chrome em. Yes there are places that can chrome fiberglass. It'd keep the sleeper factor. Looking forward to your progress.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

On 4 corner race scales, w/o me mine weighs 3200.
Full cage, one race seat, lexan Windows except drivers door, glass hood, glass bumpers, TH400, 12 bolt.
Of course it's an L33.

I trust these scales to be very accurate.

JoeNova

The scale here where I work is very accurate. Is certified by the state on a very regular basis.

You have the one race seat, lexan, glass bumpers and TH400 in your favor over my setup. On the opposite you also have the cage. They're both L33s.

I'm guessing the Checkered Racing subframe and suspension on mine is cutting me down by 150 lbs or so. I'll likely regain most of that back with the subframe connectors, driveshaft loop and cage.

JoeNova

So I put it on the dyno. Kinda disappointed. It's a dyno dynamics so it's reads about 10% low.

First pull off of the street. 2nd gear unlocked at 12 PSI she made 441whp. The next dozen pulls were 350-390. Finally got it to stay in third. Lots of 400whp pulls. Locked converter and turned it up to 15 lbs. Spun the tires hard, lots of white smoke from the tires. 500whp.

Then the wastegate started acting up. Did a few pulls at 19 lbs. First one, spiked to 600 ft lbs at 3600 and broke the tires loose. Ended up at 500whp again.

The very last pull took 25 seconds. It wouldn't spin the dyno very fast but was making massive torque. I called it quits. All of the dyno pulls above 12 lbs showed me only spinning the rollers to 90 or so mph, but in HPT and my speedo, I was hitting 130-140 every pull. He blamed the drag radials.

BrownMK3Kid

iTrader: (4)

this car is sick!!!!!!

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

Agree. The stock subframe and suspension/brakes are pretty heavy. I thought about that after my post.

RonSSNova

iTrader: (3)

I work for a shop with the DynoTech by Dyno Dynamics dyno. I'm the dyno operator. And tuner. They actually read 12-14% low as compared to a dynojet.
We have poor luck with soft drag radials. ESP after they get hot.
If you have a chance to go again, put your street tires on. Then apply belt dressing to the tires while spinning at idle in low gear. It works!
We saw 825 on a TT SRT Jeep we tuned a couple of weeks ago. That's over 900 on a DJ. Bad *** grand Cherokee!

BTW, I've not put my own cars on there yet.
Ron

JoeNova

He told me his truck makes 650 hp/tq to the wheels and didn't spin like my Nova. I'm talking full white smoke burnout on the dyno. 500whp only spinning the rollers to 95 mph with 145 mph wheel speed. The bad thing is, he is about 45 mins from me through a construction filled highway, so I have to tow the car there.

One of the major speedshops in the area (Cincy Speed) is 20 mins and told me just bring the car and $60 and they would let me do 2-3 dyno pulls on their dynojet. Since I probably won't make it to the track this year, the dyno is my only shot at guessing a trap speed (this winter I may need to re-gear or re-tire since 3rd tops out at 145-ish.)

JoeNova

The trans is making some noise now. Sounds like squeaking brakes when I'm in drive at a stop. Doesn't always do it. If its not one thing it's another.