Camber / Caster optical alignment

[lyons]

Car has just returned from optical alignment and the results are attached.

Having installed the shims that were in place before suspension strip down, what shims do I need to add / subtract to get the best result.

The original Jaguar manual set up requirements were for 185 tyres what is best for 205/70 radials.

[johnetype]

Front:

The shims behind the upper wishbone mounts adjust camber (the number of shims behind each mount should be the same for that side)
Turning the upper wishbone pivot adjusts castor
The track rod ends adjust toe in/out

Rear:

The shims by the brake disc adjust camber

My interpretation of your results is that with the exception of castor, your readings are within factory tolerances so no shim changes are required.
Ideally the most important thing is to get matching readings for both sides. At the rear, each shim changes camber by 0.25 of a degree and your difference is less than that.
At the front each camber shim behind the upper wishbone also changes camber by 0.25 of a degree. With modern 205/70 tyres, I would be tempted to move to the negative camber end of the factory tolerance which would be 0.25 of a degree negative but it's your choice and there's been debate on here about the best settings which you could search.
Castor does need slight adjustment and each side should match within 0.5 of a degree. Again, there's been discussion on here that the absolute value of castor doesn't make much difference.
All settings and detail taken from the factory service manual (It's also well explained in the Haynes)
I believe someone has posted by how much you need to rotate the upper wishbone pivot to change caster.

John

[Alty Ian]

Hi

Where did you get that done and what equipment did they use?

When I tried the spinners got in the way of the devices fitting on the wheels.

Ian

[lyons]

Ian,
Up North unfortuneatly.

Problem wirh spiners was solved by using the small extensions available on the Hunter rig on each of the three fixing arms with just enough length left to grip the tyre.

Then the laser alignment worked a treat.

Did take quite a bit of time setting up (couple of hours) on the ramp especially at the rear. There is not a lot of room between the outside edge of the tyre and the wheel arch especially with 205's fitted.

[mgcjag]

If it was done on a Hunter machine i think that quite a few Mercedes dealers have them.....when i was looking for tyre wear on my partners SLK the Merc dealer wanted 2hrs on tne machine and £200 +vat