Questions on a dlm alignments.

[F22 RAPTOR]

NOT!!!

most all late are built square on a jig.but engine are off set most of the time and you will get a longer reading on one side.do to different fronts and offsets you can not go off wheel base. use the rear bars like they said on the rears the rear has been squared on the jig to those bar lengths.

for example our new car that is on the jig now is set up with the rear squared but has a shorter left bottom rod then the right. and with the lower we are using the left side wheel base is 3/4 inch longer that the right. this is built into the chassis to tighten the car. and do to were the engine is there is no way to tape the left side back you could never get to the tube. so in short call the builder and go by there bar length.

Why the engine being offset would have any bearing on squaring the rear axel makes no sense. You can project a line across the back of the engine plate to square the rear axel to. Secondly I have yet to see a squarely built frame in probably 20 years, almost all builders splay the frame rails to some degree going back to the leaf car days. Now Barry Wright cars are splayed back to the main hoop and the rear clip steps in and squares, but the engine plate idea would still work for the axel. The engine plate idea is the simplest, you simply drop a plum bob off back of engine plate at both ends, project a line thru both points the width of the car. Do the same with the axel and now you can square the rear to the engine plate, easy.

[dirty white boy]

according to joe garrison a GRT chassis 4 link mount brackets are square with front cross member

[zeroracing]

I agree with this statement. I heard this many years ago and have measured all cars from this point since and found it gives the most consistant measurements of all suspension pick up points and chassis attachment points.
Measuring a car chassis from a part mounted in a chassis by 4 welded tabs and in most all cases AFTER the entire chassis has been completed makes no sense at all if you just take a minute to think about it.
As for lead on the RF I have played with for it for over 5 years and using too much lead on the RF, .5 inches or more can make a car turn well but hurts drive off traction, why I am not really sure of.

Why does it not make sense? It is not mounted by 4 tabs, there are also to major front engine mounts, so up to 6 points. If all 6 points mount up, chances are it is not bent in that area. This area is centrally located, so not as prone to routine damage. As far as being completed after the chassis, why again would this be bad, so they places them post welding, so the heat warping has already been completed. Final note if the motor is out of skew typically the driveshaft will bind, or tail of trans hit the x brace, often when this area becomes unsquare you have signals. Using a bar across the front infront of the radiator makes little sense to me, since the front end can easily be hit out of square with much more hard to see signs. For example a rear facing strut rod car, the front maybe unsquare but you would never know or care(infront of radiator).

[ALF401]

Thanks for the help!

I got some great ideas and advice from this thread. I appreciate the input. Check out this link from Longacre on squaring the rear end. I believe the process is for a pavement car mostly, but you will get a great idea on how they recommend to square the rear end.

http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=29

Thanks