Spider Alignment

["Wayne Abbott" <wabbott@domain.elided>]

I found some information on spider alignment in an old back up that my son had
made just before one of his constant upgrades to our computer. Some
information was forwarded to me by a couple of digesters. I've summarized the
information and am sending it to the digest at the request of a couple other
digesters.

Here goes,

Regarding Kevin Trent's Spider which has or had at that time stock springs,
Koni shocks and aftermarket "Indianapolis" (ford?) mags with 195/65 Dunlop D60
M2 tires. The feedback I (Kevin) received resulted in the following
recommendations for nonstandard alignment specifications:

Camber = .5 to 1.0 degrees negative

Caster = 1.5 to 2.0 degrees negative (up to a maximum of 2.3 degrees)

Toe-in = .06 each side

In addition, you should give the following procedure to your alignment
technician. Following this procedure for the toe in (steps 3-7) will result in
a proper alignment with a straight steering wheel and correct tracking of BOTH
wheels at the extreme left and right wheel lock (as when parking in tight
spaces).

Procedure for 105/115 alignment:

1. If your car has adjustable upper A arms, set camber on each side. If your
car has the stock ( non-adjustable) upper arms, there is nothing you can do to
adjust camber, go to step 2.

2. Set caster on both sides.

3. Set steering wheel to straight ahead position.

4. Set the front wheel on the steering box side to straight ahead position by
using the track rod. (The track rods are the short rods on either side that
connect the wheel spindle to the steering box or idler.)

5. Measure the length of the track rod on the steering box side, then set the
track rod on the passenger side to same length. This step is essential for the
front wheels to retain proper steering arc in extreme left and right turns.

6. Use the center tie rod to bring the wheel on the side away from the
steering box into the straight ahead position.

7. Finally, turn the track rods by equal amounts on each side to set toe in.

Kevin also stated:

BTW these specs are good for GTVs and Berlinas. My spider went from an ill
steering, pull to one side, sensitive to road crown, wander-all-over-the-road
hard to drive beast to a traight tracking vehicle with much improved turn-in
when hitting the twisties. In addition I feel that the use of adustable upper
A arms is essential to obtaining a good alignment because it allows the camber
to set properly (and exactly matching) on both sides of the car. Using the
slight negative camber (-.7degree) really improved turn in with minimal impact
on tire wear. Using maximum caster helped with high speed straight-line
tracking. Finally, I insist that the alignment shop let me sit in the driver
seat (I'm 230 lbs) and I have 1/2 to 2/3 tank of gas when it is aligned - so
the car is loaded the way it is typically driven.

From March 2000 Godrey DiGiorgi commented:

I went through this with several iterations and changes a year or so back,
particularly since I went from stock springs to the IAP springs which lowered
the car an inch. After finally comming up with a front end setup that felt
right to me, that month an article appeared in Overheard Cams by a noted Alfa
specialist/tuner that relayed just about exactly what I found by the seat of
the pants, trial and error.

1- Replace the upper control arms with ones that have been modified to allow
camber adjustment.

2- Check all ball joints, tie rod ends, pivots and bushings for wear, replace
any which are out of spec.

3- make sure the steering box lash is adjusted properly.

4- For street use, set the front end geometry up at -1 degree camber, as much
positive caster as clearance will allow (depends to some degree on what
tire/rim combination you're using as well as the upper control arms you've
got, I managed to get 2.3 degrees positive caster), and about .5-1mm toe-in.

The result is positive steering with good feedback. Autocrossers seem to dial
in an additional degree negative camber, but I think you'd find this wears the
tires unacceptably on the street.

According to my buddy at the dealership, Alfa's factory spec for the front end
setup on the Spider changed a bit over the years, going to less and less
caster as the cars got heavier and people complained that the steering was too
heavy. When they went to power steering with the last series cars, the caster
went right back up to near max again. I've never found the steering to be
objectionably heavy.

Godfrey



In September, 2001 in response to Robert W. Murphey's question regarding
alignment for his 90 spider which has been lowered with springs from Ereminas
and had 205/60-14 Yokohama A509 tires on it, Russ Neely responded with the
following:


What are you going to do with the car? For standard street driving  and
maximum tire wear, go with the stock alignment specs. Off the top of my head,
the stock specs are about 1 1/2 degrees of positive caster, zero camber and
about 1/16 inch of toe in.  For a street car with a bit of autocrossing tossed
in, use the above with about 1/2 to 1 degree of negative camber. You might
have to get adjustable upper A arms to get the negative camber. Or in some
cases, you might need to get the adjustable A arms just to get back to stock
camber
specifications. I had to have the alignment shop put in kit in my otherwise
good upper A arms. The kits are available from Shankle (Alfa Ricambi).  My
race car with no street use has 3 1/2 degrees of positive caster, 2 degrees of
negative camber and zero toe. Play with your settings to suit  yourself.  Most
any alignment shop should be able to set up your car for you. I like those
with laser beams to make sure everything is nice and square.  I really like
the Yokohama 509. I also have them in the 205 60 14 size on one of my 91
spiders and on my Milano. Too bad they are discontinued. Every time I find a
good street tire, the manufacturer has discontinued it by the time I need more
tires.

Ciao,
Russ Neely
Oklahoma City


In August 2001 Jim Neill responding to Jon Durham inquiry about alignment for
his 74 spider wrote;

Any good alignment shop is capable of performing a quality alignment. The
trick (at least on 105/115 series Alfas) is the procedure on setting the toe.
If the car is stock, the camber angles are not adjustable. If your camber is
not within 0 to +0.5 degrees, adjustable upper control arms are available to
bring the camber back into specs. The castor should be +1 to +2 degrees and is
easily adjustable with the castor strut rods. The procedure for setting the
toe is to first center (and lock) the steering wheel. Then measure the length
of the LEFT tie rod from stud center to stud center. Adjust the rod to a
length of 10.5 - 11 inches (264 - 280mm). Then adjust the RIGHT tie rod to a
length of 3/16" (5mm) LESS than the left. Finally, set the total toe-in to 0
to 3mm with the center track rod. This procedure is to ensure that toe-out on
turns will be to specs otherwise all sorts of understeer will result.

So...

                                          KCT
Godfrey                                         Russ
Russ                                     Jim

                                                                             
                                                            (street)
(Street/autoX)

Camber                     -0.5 to -1.0                                  -1.0
-0.5 -                                         -1.0
n / a

Caster                       -1.5 to -2.0
+2.3                                              +1.5
+ 1.5                                   +1 - +2

Toe in                       0.6 each side                         0.5 - 1.0
1/16th in                                 1/16thin
0-3 mm



From an old Shankle catalog

                                                                             
        Caster, degrees +/- 30'                                      Camber,
degrees +/- 30'                            Toe in, mm +/- 1mm

                                                                             
                                                                             
                                                                     Outside
of tire (outside of wheel)

1300, 101&750 Sprint
50'
0 deg                                                                4 (3)

1300, 101&750 Spider                                                   1deg20'
0 deg                                                                4(3)

1600 101 All
40'
0 deg                                                                4 (3)

1600 105 GTV, GTA, Duetto                                     1deg30'
50'                                                                      4
(3)

1750, 2000 BTV, Spider, Berlina                               1deg30'
20'                                                                      4(3)



That about sums it up, one may be right for you.
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