When adjusting the chassis stagger so that the right front has a little more ride height than the left, which way is better?...putting shims under the steering spindle block or using shims between the lower arm and the chassis? Any advantages or disadvantages to either method?

RC

If you just shim the chassis, you only affect the ride height. If you shim under the steering block, you affect ride height and the spring rate too.

I don't see how it will effect spring rate if you shim under the steering block. But you need to make sure you aren't effecting camber gain if your adding shims under the steering block. What I do is cut the steering block down .060 and add 2 .020 washers on top of the steering block and 1 .020 under the steering block. Then I get the spacers under the A-arms to give me what I want for left and right front chassis hieghts. Then as the tires were I can just move spacers around from on top of the steering block to under the steering block to keep or to adjust chassis heights. I find that moving small .020 or even .010 washers much easier then trueing tires or messing with the spacers under the A-arms.

What I've done with the spacers under the arms is slot the 2 holes and therefore just loosen the 2 screws and slide them in or out from under the arm. that way you don't have to take the screws all the way out. Works great and quick.

Mike, so you are saying that you intially start out with different shim spacing under the left and right arms and then just use the .020 or .010 shims under the spindle block to basically adjust for tire wear? Is that correct?

Thanks

RC

Roadsplat, YUP

I don't see how it will effect spring rate if you shim under the steering block.

If he's using the set screws to ancor to the kingpin, It'll put preload on the spring :thumbsup: .

Jet, I just assumed the person was moving shims not just adding shims to the asssembly. Of course if you have zero preload, and you decided to add a .020 washer any where on the kingpin you will add .020 preload, preloading the spring .020. But non of that changes the spring rate. You would be changing the wheel rate, if your preloading the spring.

OK "pre load" was a better phrase. LOL But your right, any time you add shims anywhere on the king pin you add pre load. I guess that I could argue that a tighter spring has a different rate but it's too small a deal to get excited about LOL.

Jet, I just assumed the person was moving shims not just adding shims to the asssembly. Of course if you have zero preload, and you decided to add a .020 washer any where on the kingpin you will add .020 preload, preloading the spring .020. But non of that changes the spring rate. You would be changing the wheel rate, if your preloading the spring.

Could you please explain "wheel rate" vs "spring rate" in laymans terms

Pepe - try this for spring rate: http://www.engineersedge.com/spring_comp_calc.htm

Now, if you REALLY want to get into it. Wheel rate is: wheel rate=(motion ratio)^2 x spring rate

Could you please explain "wheel rate" vs "spring rate" in laymans terms

Spring rate is the exact amount of weight required to compress
a spring an inch.
If you place a weight directly on top of the spring and measure it.

Wheel rate, is what the car "thinks" is on it, because of the leverage
factor of the suspension componants.

Like a teeter totter. if you have two equal weight people on
the teeter board, the board "thinks" the weights are equal.
If one person moves a foot up on the board, the board "thinks"
that one side is heavier than the other... even though they are
really equal...

On the car....
If your spring is 1/2" from the center of the tire, and you move the tire
another 1/2" out, the spring is the same rate, but the wheel rate
is 1/2 of what it was... (for explanation purposes..)
the car "thinks" it has a softer spring on it...
So the spring rate can be 8, and the wheel rate 4... ;)

Thanks dan, I got it now.