Rear Suspension IRS Alignment and Sensitivity of Shimming

Technical advice Q&A
User avatar

Topic author
rfs1957
Posts: 1585
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 2:52 pm
Location: Languedoc - France
France

#1 Rear Suspension IRS Alignment and Sensitivity of Shimming

Post by rfs1957 » Wed Sep 25, 2024 11:19 am

I was wondering what the influence of the shimming on the IRS-to-Body alignment was, and looked to see if there was anything about this on the Forum, but aside from being touched-on obliquely in a discussion here

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20795&p=168777&hili ... RS#p168777

that's actually titled Front Suspension, there doesn't seem to be much, so FWIIW here's a sketch showing - I think - what's going on at the back, and what scope there is for tweaking a car that's mis-aligned.

You can't do anything about the individual toes at the back (some dispute this, see the above string) but you can balance the overall alignment if need be.

And perhaps above all, you can get the back end surprisingly wrong if the shims are not in the right place.

On my car the difference between the widths inside the rubber-mounting claws and the frame rails of the car is roughly in the range of 4.3 to 5.6mm.

That's approximately three C17228 shims, which seem to be in the 1.45 to 1.60 range, which would make 12 in all rather than the 8-off listed in the parts diagrams, tho' given what a bitch they can be to get in maybe 8 is more realistic :hammerdrill:

So if I were to crab the IRS by shimming a max - say - towards the RHS on the front mountings, and a max towards the LHS at the rear mountings, you're looking at a potential 9mm or so of mis-alignment, which - over the relatively short 250mm that separates the two mountings - equates to a full 2° of crabbing.

Image

And if you only distort it by one shim just on both - say - front mounts, then you're looking at one sixth of that, or 20' of arc.

The manual states "note carefully the number and location of the packing shims" which suggests to me that the factory did indeed sometimes have to tweak the alignment upon assembly, and that you can't just assume symmetry, even tho' that's obviously where you would start.
Rory
3.8 OTS S1 Opalescent Silver Grey - built May 28th 1962

Link:
BBcode:
HTML:
Hide post links
Show post links


MarkW
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:56 pm
Location: Dartmouth, Devon
Great Britain

#2 Re: Rear Suspension IRS Alignment and Sensitivity of Shimming

Post by MarkW » Mon Sep 30, 2024 9:17 pm

I guess the leading question has to be how sure are you that the rear chassis rails are 100% in the correct place?

Probably a session with a modern laser rig is the only way to get the alignment spot-on.
Mark
June 1962 FHC Opalescent Dark Green (bodyshell currently with Blackline Classics).

Link:
BBcode:
HTML:
Hide post links
Show post links


collectedspirited
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 3:57 am
United States of America

#3 Re: Rear Suspension IRS Alignment and Sensitivity of Shimming

Post by collectedspirited » Thu Oct 03, 2024 7:13 am

Alignment adjustment is a delicate but important process, as even small misalignments can affect handlingboxing random, tire wear, and overall driving dynamics. Additionally, since it is not always possible to adjust each individual toe angle at the rear (depending on the design of the vehicle), using shims is an alternative way to balance or adjust the alignment across the entire IRS assembly.

Link:
BBcode:
HTML:
Hide post links
Show post links

User avatar

bitsobrits
Posts: 562
Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 2:09 am
Location: Omaha, NE area
United States of America

#4 Re: Rear Suspension IRS Alignment and Sensitivity of Shimming

Post by bitsobrits » Fri Oct 04, 2024 1:44 am

Did ChatGBT help you with that response?
Steve
'65 S1 4.2 FHC (early)

Link:
BBcode:
HTML:
Hide post links
Show post links

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic