2020+ Shelby GT500 CFTP Track Alignment (video)

[Goose17]

In this video, I start and end with a fun little highway pull and I take you along to see a track alignment performed on my 2020 Shelby GT500 Carbon Fiber Track Pack!

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[Epiphany]

When he started to try to move the struts the first time with the prybar I cringed. He was careful but the pivot point he was using....ehh, not the way I'd do it. I laughed when you mentioned raising the car and he said this is the way we do it, by peening the top of the strut, I cringed again. The way he did it is the fastest way and I understand why a shop would do it that way. One could argue it is fairly accurate because he didn't resettle the car after the change (by rolling it for aft/or compressing the car on its suspension a few times) but I'm not certain exactly what he did after tapping the strut top because maybe you didn't show it. That said, I'm a fan of raising the front end and moving the strut top, then moving, tightening, resettling, etc. The long way.

 

[Goose17]

When he started to try to move the struts the first time with the prybar I cringed. He was careful but the pivot point he was using....ehh, not the way I'd do it. I laughed when you mentioned raising the car and he said this is the way we do it, by peening the top of the strut, I cringed again. The way he did it is the fastest way and I understand why a shop would do it that way. One could argue it is fairly accurate because he didn't resettle the car after the change (by rolling it for aft/or compressing the car on its suspension a few times) but I'm not certain exactly what he did after tapping the strut top because maybe you didn't show it. That said, I'm a fan of raising the front end and moving the strut top, then moving, tightening, resettling, etc. The long way.

He hammered on the strut tops inward while watching the setting on the screen. When they got to the desired angle, he stopped and then tightened down the three nuts on the topside.

He did say that they normally work with aftermarket adjustable strut mounts that move/slide much easier.

 

[Epiphany]

Oh I know he was watching the screen - that's what you do when you have a screen. And I saw his tightening sequence. Of note, he removed the alignment equipment at the wheel and then final torqued. I would not have done that...final torque and THEN get your final reading. Depending on the way you tighten the strut tops they can move and your numbers will as well.

Yes, aftermarket plates are easier for the individual doing the alignment as well as along for easy trackside changes when they have demarcation marks and you are aware of toe changes for a given camber adjustment. I still would not try to beat the top towards a desired setting. Unless I was in a hurry and didn't give a shit. And I'm not saying he didn't give a shit. He knew what he was doing and he was as fast as possible at getting you the desired numbers.

 

[Hack]

It's hard to watch them "make the sausages" I agree. I think he was super careful and conscientious, though. Definitely the pro alignment lasers are more accurate than a do it at home method, but if I were having the alignment changed a lot I might still invest in something for home.

I doubt many alignment shops would be more careful than this guy was.

 

[Epiphany]

"Pro alignment lasers" are only as accurate as the individual using them in conjunction with the individual doing the rest of the work. Stringing up a car is no less accurate when you do it properly and use the right equipment.

And there are plenty of shops that would do things differently. Everyone has their own "way," however similar.

 

[Goose17]

I was talking with the owner afterwards. He said they get their machine checked periodically. He said they often have to fix screwed-up alignments done on other shop’s machines that are out of whack.

To be honest, I was a bit concerned watching the prying and hammering. I’m sure they are used to working on well-used track cars. My car is still new and I like it to remain as pristine as possible. Having said that, I have a track session scheduled for this weekend.

 

[Tomster]

As I said in another one of your threads, those camber plates suck. I had the same issue adjusting mine. As Tob said, taking a hand sledge isn't the optimal way of doing it. They really should adjust easier.

I have a set of vorshlag camber plates I removed from one of my Rs that I am seriously considering installing. It would make the alignment process so much easier.

@Hack, Tob is right. Having the lasers and immediate feedback for the tech is nice, but garbage in = garbage out. If the wheel laser reflectors are off by just a very small amount, then all that means nothing. I don't know how the CR wheels are manufactured, but I dont see how they can be as precise as a well CNC machined aluminum wheel. I think the tolerances for a fully forged wheel are about a thousandth or so. I dont see how a CF wheel could be as accurate. Very small adjustments have a huge impact on the outcome of the result. I use CNC forged wheels, a string setup, and calipers measuring down to a thousandth of an inch. It does become tedious, but by using strings that are properly setup, you are eliminating a huge source of potential error.

Dropping it off at a shop is one of the biggest issues for me when I am about to take a car out on the track. When you have someone else do the work, you really dont know if its right. You have to trust them and the equipment they use. I inderstand that many people don't have the time or want to invest in the basic tools needed to do their own alignment, but people also have to understand that all those bells and whistles of a laser setup doesn't mean that they are getting a super accurate alignment. That alignment rack is there for one purpose, and that is reasonable accuracy (for every day cars) with maximum productivity. (Get em in, and get em out). Any race shop i have ever used goes with a string alignment technique.

 

[Epiphany]

In a perfect world, somebody would design a set of camber plates similar to what Multimatic designed for the GT4 Mustang or what FP includes with the FP350S. They'd probably be around $1,000 for a pair but I'd gladly pay for hardware like that if it fit the factory magride strut tops.

 

[gfcobra04]

In a perfect world, somebody would design a set of camber plates similar to what Multimatic designed for the GT4 Mustang or what FP includes with the FP350S. They'd probably be around $1,000 for a pair but I'd gladly pay for hardware like that if it fit the factory magride strut tops.

When I did an event a Charlotte I saw those caster/camber plates on a FP350s. They are the cats meow.

 

[Hack]

"Pro alignment lasers" are only as accurate as the individual using them in conjunction with the individual doing the rest of the work. Stringing up a car is no less accurate when you do it properly and use the right equipment.

And there are plenty of shops that would do things differently. Everyone has their own "way," however similar.

Oh of course I can't disagree that someone can do a poor job even if they have great equipment. I'm surprised to hear a string is as accurate as a laser, but I'm not an alignment expert.

As I said in another one of your threads, those camber plates suck. I had the same issue adjusting mine. As Tob said, taking a hand sledge isn't the optimal way of doing it. They really should adjust easier.

I have a set of vorshlag camber plates I removed from one of my Rs that I am seriously considering installing. It would make the alignment process so much easier.

@Hack, Tob is right. Having the lasers and immediate feedback for the tech is nice, but garbage in = garbage out. If the wheel laser reflectors are off by just a very small amount, then all that means nothing. I don't know how the CR wheels are manufactured, but I dont see how they can be as precise as a well CNC machined aluminum wheel. I think the tolerances for a fully forged wheel are about a thousandth or so. I dont see how a CF wheel could be as accurate. Very small adjustments have a huge impact on the outcome of the result. I use CNC forged wheels, a string setup, and calipers measuring down to a thousandth of an inch. It does become tedious, but by using strings that are properly setup, you are eliminating a huge source of potential error.

Dropping it off at a shop is one of the biggest issues for me when I am about to take a car out on the track. When you have someone else do the work, you really dont know if its right. You have to trust them and the equipment they use. I inderstand that many people don't have the time or want to invest in the basic tools needed to do their own alignment, but people also have to understand that all those bells and whistles of a laser setup doesn't mean that they are getting a super accurate alignment. That alignment rack is there for one purpose, and that is reasonable accuracy (for every day cars) with maximum productivity. (Get em in, and get em out). Any race shop i have ever used goes with a string alignment technique.

Huh, good information. Sounds like you have invested a lot of time in a good alignment method. Definitely a smart move to get the best track performance. That's why I left my GT350 at a performance street alignment rather than going to a track alignment, though. Trying to keep things simple for myself. I'm sure the car would perform better on track with a different alignment, but I wasn't getting any trophies anyway.

In a perfect world, somebody would design a set of camber plates similar to what Multimatic designed for the GT4 Mustang or what FP includes with the FP350S. They'd probably be around $1,000 for a pair but I'd gladly pay for hardware like that if it fit the factory magride strut tops.

That setup looks simple and bullet proof. It would be awesome to have something like that. I assume you can flop back and forth between a couple settings much more quickly with something like that.

 

[Epiphany]

When I did an event a Charlotte I saw those caster/camber plates on a FP350s. They are the cats meow.

I was at PRI in Indy with George from MGW a few years ago when the FP350S was introduced. I was lucky enough to have run into Bruce Smith, vehicle dynamics guru at Ford Performance and responsible for much of the FP350S. We talked about the entire car at length. When it came to the plates, he kind of acknowledged that Multimatic broke ground here with their version of a strut top that allowed accurate and repeatable, trackside camber adjustments merely by moving and adjusting a shim pack.

I also had the opportunity to speak with Sean Mason of Multimatic at a few IMSA races about them. I wanted them bad and he could see that. Problem is, the ones they designed only work with the Multimatic DSSV struts used on the GT4 cars and won't fit the mag dampers we have. Talk about being disappointed. That is not to say that something couldn't be done.

Multimatic's version...

 

[Warpath]

I was at PRI in Indy with George from MGW a few years ago when the FP350S was introduced. I was lucky enough to have run into Bruce Smith, vehicle dynamics guru at Ford Performance and responsible for much of the FP350S. We talked about the entire car at length. When it came to the plates, he kind of acknowledged that Multimatic broke ground here with their version of a strut top that allowed accurate and repeatable, trackside camber adjustments merely by moving and adjusting a shim pack.

I also had the opportunity to speak with Sean Mason of Multimatic at a few IMSA races about them. I wanted them bad and he could see that. Problem is, the ones they designed only work with the Multimatic DSSV struts used on the GT4 cars and won't fit the mag dampers we have. Talk about being disappointed. That is not to say that something couldn't be done.

Multimatic's version...

Wow! I take it those are shims holding the strut in place? Also i always run track mode for the suspension, I often wonder if switching the struts out for a setup like this would even matter.

 

[Goose17]

Oh of course I can't disagree that someone can do a poor job even if they have great equipment. I'm surprised to hear a string is as accurate as a laser, but I'm not an alignment expert.

The owner of the shop did say they end up fixing other shops’ errors. He said they have their machine checked periodically to make sure it is all good, but not all shops do this. If it isn’t setup properly or checked periodically, your alignment can be off.

 

[Epiphany]

Wow! I take it those are shims holding the strut in place? Also i always run track mode for the suspension, I often wonder if switching the struts out for a setup like this would even matter.

The assembly is locked in, no worries there.

Swapping in a set of optimized DSSV's for guys that are serious about tracking....all win. But ridiculously expensive and not really street friendly. Witness the ZLE's that use them. That said, I would have chosen the DSSV's in a heartbeat if given the choice.

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