Can somebody with a Mustang 2 or a hot rod with a M2 front end in it, please take a measurement for me. Can you take a measurement across the front of the wheels. Just go center to center, lets say you get 58" for example. Now turn the wheels hard left and measure again, you might get something like 60". Do the same cranked right, should be close to the other one. The only other thing I need is the height of your tires. Thanks kindly!
1/8 work.. You might try searching with a google search for an better answer.. To measure toe the wheels need to be straight ahead forget the turning shit.. Dave
The best home method I have found for checking toe in on any car or truck is to jack each tire off the ground a few inches and have some one turn the tire slowly while you scribe a line in the middle of the tread with a pencil. I usually brace my hand on a block of wood or something solid. Once you have both tires scribed and setting back on the ground take a tape measure and measure the distance between your marks on the back side of the tires than measure the distance between the lines on the front tires and subtract the front measurement from the back measurement. That is your toe in. As Jusjunk said it should be around 1/8 in. I did wheel alignment for years using several different gages and machines and never took the measurement you are requesting. The only reason you would turn the wheels side to side as mentioned would be if you were using a caster/camber gage to measure the caster and possibly king pin inclination.
Nope, I'm not setting toe in. I'm measuring toe out in turns (ackerman). I need to set my modified steering arms in position. The measurements I'm asking for are not available on the web or an alignment shop. The only way you can get them is from another car thats basically in stock form. Or an M2 front end in a hot rod. The alignment shop can give a printout if the car is on the rack. Would'nt matter anyway as I don't know what they are supposed to be. Thats why I ask. If you really must know, I'm building a space craft. I require your human secrets so I may return and vapourize all the M2 parts in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you take a measurement across the front of the wheels. Just go center to center, lets say you get 58" for example. Now turn the wheels hard left and measure again, you might get something like 60". Do the same cranked right, should be close to the other one. The only other thing I need is the height of your tires. Thanks kindly!
Ok well then your way out in left field for a lot of us.. You shoulda told everyone you were checking akerman and thats a lot different than toe.. Toe is toe ,caster is caster ,camber is camber and akerman well shit if i know but ive never tried to reinvent the wheel while building a hot rod.. Some shit works and a lot doesnt Dave
You mean toe in is toe in & toe out is toe out. Ackerman is toe as well, just in turns though. Maybe I should have mentioned I swapped the spindles from a rear steer car into the M2. Up until a week ago I didn't know what controlled ackerman either. Not until I decided to reinvent the wheel when I took this front end apart. Now I've learned something new, and I thought I already knew it all. This idea may not fly either and I may have learned what NOT to do. Still learning non the less. I'm sure I'll work it out in the end, I'll just be "toeing the line" with it. Back to the top with this & if anybody would.................................take a measurement for me...thanks
Can't give you measurements, but Ackerman is based on lines drawn from the center of the rear axle (that would be actual center between the tires) through the spindle pivots. The outer tie rod ends need to sit on that line for the correct Ackerman (reguardless of being front or rear steer). The only other requirement would be that both outer tie rod ends be the same distance from the spindle (either in the front or in the rear). That would put the outer tie rod ends farther apart then the ball joints/king pins on a front steer car (where the tie rods are in front of the spindles.) For those of you not knowing, when you turn the wheels to the right or the left, the tire on the inside of the turn has to turn sharper then the tire on the outside to follow the same track. The width of the car results in the tires following a different path. If the Ackerman is incorrect, the front tires will scrub off rubber and may even squeel around turns. The tires are actually binding against each other through turns. Wears out tires prematurely and makes for poor handling. Gene
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