How to perform a simple chassis alignment...
varies by car...a TR4 is a very old vintage racer.....
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By Tim Suddard
Jun 14, 2025 |
Chassis Alignment
A car can’t handle well if its wheels are pointed all over the place, right? That’s where properly aligning the chassis will help. The goal is simple: to maximize the grip of all four tires.
And how do you do that? Ideally with some testing-as we did with our Triumph TR3 vintage racer. A stopwatch and pyrometer will quickly reveal when the tires are happiest.
This kind of testing isn’t just for race cars, though. Autocrossing your classic? Looking to make it behave properly in the twisties? Think of these steps as a dyno session for the chassis.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Before you attempt any testing, first put your car in the garage and inspect it thoroughly. Is the engine running correctly? Are there any cooling issues that need to be addressed? Is the oiling system up for a day of max g-loads? Trust us, the last thing you want to do is spend a test day chasing mechanical gremlins.
While brand-new tires aren’t required for this testing, you do need ones that are fresh enough to provide meaningful data throughout the session. This isn’t the time to finish off those corded, worn-out tires.
Once we had these basics covered, it was time to take our Triumph to the track. We conducted this test on the road course at Florida’s Gainesville Raceway. Though we rented the entire track, we resisted the urge to waste fuel and tear up tires and just focused on the figure eight part of the layout.
CHASSIS SETUP SUPPLY CHECKLIST
- A stopwatch or other suitable timing device.
- At least one other person to help check and record tire pressures and tire temps.
- A place to test the car-ideally a track, autocross course or other legal, controlled environment. A figure 8 that allows the car to reach about 60 mph is perfect.
- Basic hand tools to adjust chassis alignment.
- A pyrometer, camber gauge, toe gauge and caster gauge. (Race shops like Longacre and Summit Racing stock this kind of equipment.)
- Be sure to leave your floor Jack at home....lol
THE PROCESS
1. Before the test day, always change the oil, fill the gas tank, and go over the entire car, checking every fastener along the way. While inspecting our Triumph TR3, for example, we found a broken end link on our front anti-roll bar that came from a go kart at Pep Boys. Look at the width of the mount and you see that it banged until it broke off
2. Thankfully, a quick call to Aurora had fresh, Teflon-lined rod ends heading our way. After comparing the new parts to the ones we installed when first preparing the car many years ago, we were stunned: The Aurora pieces looked and felt so much better. And, yes, we replaced everything on both sides of the car.
3. Although you don't need to test on new tires, you'll never get decent numbers on corded or totally dried-out rubber. If it looks anything like this, throw it out.