need some alignment help quick

[cubracer70]

we have our car ready to go but it still pulls to the left after about 1-2 feet. all wheels are the same distance from the body (shims were used) but we cannot get it to go straight at all. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Stan Pope]

I don't think that you are using my shim method correctly because of your statement "all wheels are the same distance from the body (shims were used)". Those words just don't match the process! So, first review the book and make sure you are doing it right. (My book pages ask a donation, but until I get the graphics straghtened out, please ignore the request. The gif editor that I used to prepare most of the graphics created files that current I.E. thinks are bad. They display okay in Win 98, but not on Win XP!)

Things that can inhibit alignment attempts include:
1. wheel imperfections can prevent convergence.
2. different friction coefficients in wheel-axle interfaces can make the car turn even if axle alignment is true
3. alignment table not level left-to-right can make it turn

[cubracer70]

still confused on this since its our first car. it seems like the front wheel is pulling left before the back. if i leave a wider gap on the right side axle willit help it pull back? sorry for all the questions but didn't know making a PWD car could get so technical, and our race is only a day away

[gpraceman]

Does your car have 4 wheels touching the track or 3? If you are running on 3, with one of the front wheels lifted, is it turning towards the lifted wheel or the wheel that is touching?

[Stan Pope]

The primary purpose of shimming is to control the orientation of the axles so that the wheels roll in the intended direction. Think about pushing the end of the axle up, down, fore or aft with the nail point not moving. So, only about 1/2 of the portion of the nail that is in the body gets shimmed.

Try to maintain consistent axle insertion depth and the same side up each time the nail is reinserted with changed shims.

[cubracer70]

yes all 4 wheels are touching the floor.

[cubracer70]

i also tried moving the axle on the left side with no luck. should i also adjust the axles on the front right side? and do i need to work with the rear wheels or leave them alone?

[FRANKLIN WHALEY]

You should have adjusted the rear wheels first. The goal for the rear is to have them running on the axle in the middle 'so to speek'. When you push the car forward and backwards the wheels should not be moving toward the body or the axle head. To the axle head is better than the car body,but it's not considered aligned until they stay in the middle. If you don't have to run on four wheels, put one of the front axles at the top of the slot so only one front wheel is touching. This will make it much easier to align. If you do have to run four, take one front wheel out and align one, then the other. This way one is not working against the other. I hope this works for you. It sounds like you're running out of time!!

[cubracer70]

I would like to thank everyone for their help. We finally got the car rolling a lot straighter--not totally straight yet but much improved.

[Stan Pope]

Hey, hey, hey! I managed to salvage the gif files in my book by going to my Win 98 machine, extracting the files from the website and converting them to bmp's on that machine. Then back to Win XP to convert them back to gif format, fixing the image sizes and sending them back to the website! Who knows where I saved the hardcopies???

All accessible from www.stanpope.net It asks a donation to my Scout Council for use, but ignore that unless you are totally delighted with your results. Then, its up to you. (I don't know who reads it, and I don't find out who donates!)

I think that one of the recent security fixes in IE or Win XP tightened the code that interpets gif's and no longer allowed those malformed gif files to be rendered!

Wonder if I have some more of those around anywhere??? Guess I'd better hang on to that old Win 98 relic!

[SpinDoctor]

Does anyone have that link to the site that tells you which wheels to shim in what direction. I think it had FLORIDA somewhere in the URL. That site made allignment decisions a lot easier.

[Stan Pope]

Does anyone have that link to the site that tells you which wheels to shim in what direction. I think it had FLORIDA somewhere in the URL. That site made allignment decisions a lot easier.

Look at http://www.florian.org/Kids/Scouting/Pi ... Align.html

Keep in mind that this procedure starts AFTER the car is rolling straight.

[Ricerocket00]

Does anyone have that link to the site that tells you which wheels to shim in what direction. I think it had FLORIDA somewhere in the URL. That site made allignment decisions a lot easier.

Look at http://www.florian.org/Kids/Scouting/Pi ... Align.html

Keep in mind that this procedure starts AFTER the car is rolling straight.

Thanks Stan! This is the first time I have seen this. This should help simplify the alignment process a little bit.

[Pinewood Daddy]

Look at http://www.florian.org/Kids/Scouting/Pi ... Align.html

Does anyone have an "offline" version of this????

I use this every year! I emailed the author with no response. I may have to find a way to do it myself. Excel??

[SpinDoctor]

File--Save AS (Web Complete).