Suggested front steering angles..

Max,

I'm setting up my own front suspension, and I'm at the point where I'm actually building the parts. I've been doing a lot of research but havn't found anyplace that can give me definitive numbers as to what certain characteristics should be. They just say 'a mustang is x

I would not run the arms parallel to each other. I think that the description of how you have it laid out is good. Adjustable suspension needs to be addressed quite differently than static suspension and it seems that you have found the difference.

Don't worry about anti-dive, keep your life simple and run the arms parallel to each other (side view, not front) and run your caster at about 5deg. It may sound like a lot, but it really isn't, it makes for a solid feeling front end.

Thanks for the reply Max. I saw that the Mustang II setup was parallel to each other from the side and had a 3

Originally posted by AVTekk



3

Sorry, from the Heidts website they mentioned that the angle of the upper control arms was 3

Edited: 10/16/2007 2:23:17 PM by AVTekk

Oh btw if you want to learn how to do the degree sign, hold down Alt while typing 0176 then release Alt, I memorized a bunch of those shortcuts so I don't have to look them up on the character map (located under Start > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map)

so when you are reffering to caster you talkin about leaning the spindle backwards (toward the rrear of the vehicle) 5 degrees...basically so that when you draw an imaginary line through the upper and lower ball joint it leans back 5 degrees (when looking at the side)

Exactly.

Caster is what creates the "self centering" effect that most vehicles have (where the vehicle WANTS to drive straight.) What happens is that the point where the steering axis meets the ground is a few inches in front of the tire contact-patch, making the system work like a shopping cart caster. The more caster the more "trail" and the stronger the self centering effect. More can be good to the point where the vehicle starts to fight you to turn away from center, so a ballance needs to be found.

ia m using toyota spindles hubs and what not but a ford rack.....so i think the caster set by toyota is about 2 deg....if i were to mount the upper and lower amrs so theballjoints were in a straight line vertically i could use alignment shims to set my caster, correct? like adding more shims to the rear UCA mount than in the front

You can do it that way, but it will be a compromise. If you can, you should design in your caster. Adding caster to an established design will move the outter tierod up or down depending on if it is a front steer or rear steer front end.