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I need an alignment for my '96 NA8. It is unmodified apart from braided brake hoses and QFM pads. Mainly used on the street but does occasional track days, and is entered for one next week. I have been doing some research and want to go with recommendations found on the big site. The recommendations stress the need to do them with the seat weighted and are a bit different from the standard Mazda specs. I suspect that a lot of shops would balk at anything out of the ordinary. Recommendations please.

Hi.
Ken Graham at Accurate suspension Timms crt Woodridge is the man to wheel align your car. Does a lot of competition cars.

For info some very recent discussion ref NA wheel alignment half way down the following page: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=78476&start=30

Hi.
Don't forget the americans sit and drive on opposite sides of the car. So most of their settings should be carefully considered.
Just go and see Ken at accurate.

+1 for Ken. He doesn’t talk much but he’ll ask you what you are using the car for and set it accordingly. Take it with your track tyres fitted if that is the most important thing for you.

Had an alignment done by Ken at accurate suspension on Friday. Took her for a run in the mountains this morning and was happy with how she handled. Doing a track day on next Friday, unfortunately on road tyres because I can't source anything decent in time. Hopefully I will see some improvement in lap times.

adidistyle wrote:+1 for Ken. He doesn’t talk much but he’ll ask you what you are using the car for and set it accordingly. Take it with your track tyres fitted if that is the most important thing for you.

How does having the track tyres fitted change anything with alignment???

I did a track day yesterday at Lakeside, my first for well over a year. I was pretty hopeless to start but got better and more consistent during the day, although still was a fair way away from my previous best. What I found interesting was that when I checked the temperatures (infra red only) of the unknown name road tyres ( I was unable to get anything decent, I have some RS4s on order) at 35 psi the inside temps were a good 10degreesC higher than the outside. This seems strange to me, presumably has to do with extra camber, but I would have expected the opposite after hard cornering. Anybody got any ideas?

Speculation here. Yes the negative camber would cause the inner tyre to be hotter, if the tyres can't generate enough grip then they won't make a full contact patch while cornering, hence limiting the friction between tyre and track surface on the outer. I'm no expert though. Also if you are braking in a straight line then the inner edge will be bearing more of the load increasing temperature.

That does make sense, I'm probably closer to the tyre's limit of adhesion (and occasionally a little beyond it), braking than cornering. Probably should man up a bit in the corners, it might make my times a little more respectable.

If the tyres are low-grip, you are seeing the effect of camber. The low grip prevents the car loading up the suspension and deflecting enough to even the tread contact patch. Put some high-grip tyres on, and you will (should) see a more even temperature distribution.

But if you are serious about temperatures, a probe thermometer is the way to go, and make sure you do a quick in-lap, and have someone standing by with the thermometer as close to pit entry as you can.

But it sounds like you could do with a bit of instruction to build your confidence. That should be the top priority, get someone to sit beside you, then sit beside them (choose carefully who), pay for driver training (it will be worth it), and just get as much track time as you can.

lonesailor wrote:That does make sense, I'm probably closer to the tyre's limit of adhesion (and occasionally a little beyond it), braking than cornering. Probably should man up a bit in the corners, it might make my times a little more respectable.

Lakeside is no place to drive beyond where you feel comfortable.

Another point, I think might contribute to the inside of the tyres being hotter, running 35psi warm is a fair bit more than I would usually run, perhaps too much, not allowing the tyre to flex sufficiently for the whole tread to be in full contact, or possibly the servo's machine was inaccurate, they did seem very hard, and they did show some evidence of marbling. If my new tyres don't turn up before the next trackday I'll try a somewhat lower pressure.

Luke wrote:

adidistyle wrote:+1 for Ken. He doesn’t talk much but he’ll ask you what you are using the car for and set it accordingly. Take it with your track tyres fitted if that is the most important thing for you.

How does having the track tyres fitted change anything with alignment???

Sorry @Luke. Not watching.

He can see what you are using, and how they are currently wearing. Also, your track setup may be a different offset, width or diameter, and almost certainly a different sidewall shape all of which may affect clearances. He may even suggest starting tyre pressures etc. Just ask.

Ken is a very experienced and formidable competitor across a range of motorsport genres. I’ve seen him killin it at hill climbs, track, khanacross and motorkhana many times in the last 10 years. His yellow Datsun 1600 is as good an amateur prepared car as you are likely to see. I have no what his experience prior to that is.