Hi,
I want to make sure my suspension is aligned correctly for best handling.
I have a 1962 3.8 MK2 with uprated, standard height springs and adjustable spax dampers all round and polyurethane bushes too. It is a road car, but I do like to drive spiritedly. It has the burman power steering box, which is in reasonable condition and I am reluctant to change it.
What front camber, caster and toe are you all running and how does it affect the handling, road holding, steering etc.
I don’t agree about the standard settings, which, as I recall are calling for 0-1/2 degree castor. The consensus here and in an article that came out some years ago is for about +2-3 castor, -1 camber, and 1/8" toe in. I believe the problem with standard settings is that they were for bias ply tires, which have more drag than radials, therefore more positive castor is needed with radials to give straight line road holding. I personally have +2.1 castor on my mk2 and feel it needs more.
Jaguar Journal had an article in May-June 2015 titled “Setting up a Small Saloon’s Suspension” which I recommend. If you don’t have access, let me know and I’ll scan it and post.
Well all I can say is I am quite happy with mine , it’s standard .
I have GAZ dampers , poly bushes , uprated springs , close ratio steering box , XJ6 rims with 215 tyres , and I can go around corners at speed with out ending up on the other side of the road
If I was going to use it on the track I would spend the cash and have it set up , but on the road , no point in my case ,
I do drive it like I stole it , !
I have lowered suspension, poly bushes, big sway bars, etc. and modern radials on 6" wide wires. I used the updated settings spelled out above (not the original) and the car handles very well. Very stable on fast highway speeds (even on rough California roads) and holds long sweeping turns. I took it to a specialist alignment shop and it took them over 5 hours to get it to that spec but it seems worth it.
Ok, I’ll get that scanned in. I don’t think you would notice too much problem on two lane roads on the factory settings, but the straight line freeway tracking would really be off with radial tires. The article is pretty straight forward. The guy at my local alignment place only spent about an hour on mine, but it was not too far off - still needs more work as the car doesn’t track as well as I’d like. Like I said, I think castor should be at least +2.5, maybe 3. I do have a custom rack and pinion in mine, but that shouldn’t have anything to do with straight-line performance.
Hi Dave
I run a 3.8 with 205x15 tyres, 6K Dayton wires and power steering
so far covered 55,000 miles with heavier but not longer front springs
and run with 1/2 degree negative camber and Gaz shocks
Haven’t tried adjusting the camber
Wore out quite a few tyres over twenty years and they wore evenly.
A good indication that this set-up is alright
Hope this helps
Brian
