It's not the tie rods you need to adjust, assuming the toe is set correctly w/ about 1/8" toe in. You need more caster so the steering wheel returns to center after a turn on its own.

Thanks.

Front 1/8" shorter than the back is 1/8" toe-in. When they run down the road or track they'll open up to perfectly straight.

That should get me going in the right direction.

I found out first hand why race cars like a little bit of toe-out. It really makes the car lean into a turn, but just doesn't quite feel right on a flat straight away.

I'll check out the caster once I see how it feels with a little toe-in.

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SCOOP

2.26 60'S
14.9 @ 90.86MPH

65 coupe,351w,C4,Big Boss 429 hood scoop,8" 3.40 TracLoc.

Thanks for the help.

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1966 Mustang Coupe: Custom glass hood and BIG scoop sits atop a 289 stroked to 331 c.i., Steel crank and girdle, 5.4 H-beams, Forged slugs, TFS alum. heads, ported Stealth 8020 intake, Xtreme 274 Solid Roller, Holley 750 HP, long tubes, 4speed, 9" 3.50 posi.
11.86 @ 116 mph (7.62 @ 93 mph)full street trim!
DanH

Hope you find this useful, I sure did.
JS

Do It Yourself Alignments
Aligning the front end of your car can easily be done in your garage. Sure, you could just take it to a local shop that does front end alignments, but they probably will not have the proper equipment to align a racecar. Using the information in this article, you will be able to align the front end of your racecar whenever you want and do it cheaper and more accurately than at an alignment shop.

Before You Begin
You will need some specialty tools to align your car but do not let that throw you for a loop. The tools required to align your car using the method discussed here should cost you less than $300. These tools include a digital protractor with alternate reference and hold options, a scribe, a tape measure and a toe gauge.

Many of these tools are used for other things and may already be in your toolbox. They are all fairly straightforward tools to use and once you have aligned a couple of cars, aligning the front end becomes simple enough that you can even make a few bucks helping others align their cars.
Prior to aligning the front end, it is very important that the car be race ready with the driver weight in the driver?s seat. This includes having the weight of all fluids in the car, the car at ride height and the driver?s weight in the driver?s seat. I recommend scaling the car before it is aligned so that all weight ratios are correct.
Caster
Caster is the inclination of the top and bottom ball joints. This is a critical measurement and should be made using a digital protractor.
The top ball joints should always be further toward the rear of the car than the bottom ball joint. This is positive caster. Positive caster places the tire?s center of drag behind the steering pivot for self-alignment at speed. Caster, for most door cars, needs to be a minimum of 5? but, for most strut-type cars, 10? is the preferred setting. If you have a stock front suspension, you might have a hard time getting 5?. Try to get as much as you can.
Adjusting caster is merely a matter of making adjustments that move the top ball joint toward the front or rear of the car. For instance, to add more positive caster, you make adjustments that will move the top ball joint toward the rear of the car. On the front side of the top a-arm, this is accomplished by either lengthening the rod end or removing shims. On the backside of the a-arm, you want to screw the rod end in or add shims. This forces the top ball joint to move back and increases caster. As the ball joint moves back, it will also want to come in. You will have to space the entire a-arm out to keep the camber at the correct setting or adjust the bottom a-arm in if it is adjustable. It is very important that both sides of the car be set exactly the same.
Setting caster on a strut car is definitely easier. Adjusting caster is accomplished by increasing or decreasing the length of the rod end on the front lower control arm. If you need more casters, you need to shorten the rod end. This will bring the bottom of the a-arm forward causing an increase in caster. Lengthening the rod end will push the bottom of the strut backward to give you less caster. At the same time, you need to adjust your main a-arm, which goes straight in toward the frame to get the camber correct.
The angle measurements of caster are easily made using a digital protractor; however, stock-type spindles can make it a little trickier. I have found that on most spindles there is a flat, machined area in the ball joint area. This machined area should be machined true to the centerlines of the ball joints. To get an accurate measurement, it is important that you keep the digital protractor parallel to the side of the wheel at all times when setting the caster. There are some companies that have caster/camber gauges available but most of these are magnetic and are hard to use with the aluminum wheels most drag racers use.
Camber
Camber is the angle of the tire as you are looking from the front of the car. Negative camber is when the top of the tire is leaning in and positive camber is when the top of the tire is leaning out. On most drag cars, try to keep the camber as close to 0? as possible. Camber angle is also critical and requires precise measurement. I suggest using a digital protractor to obtain the measurement. Caster/camber can be checked fairly easily, but if you have front disc brakes, the process is extremely simple. You simply place the protractor against the rotor at 90? to the ground and set your camber to 0?. It is good to check the camber change by jacking the car up until the front suspension is at its limit. Check the camber here and then lower the front suspension all the way down and check the camber there. It is important to check your camber change before the car is complete because the only way to adjust your camber change after it is built is by changing the mounting of your top a-arms or the mounting of the a-arms on the strut.
To adjust camber on an a-arm car, screw both rod ends on the top in or out (or by adding or removing shims on the top) or adjust your lower control arm in or out if it is adjustable once your caster is set. On a strut car, adjust the rod end in or out on the main control arm (goes from the main frame rail to the bottom of the strut).
Now that you know how to align the front end of your racecar, make sure that it is done at the beginning of every race season (if not more often). If you have any questions about the specific settings for your car, make sure you check with the manufacturer of your components. Be sure to watch for my next article on how to set and check toe in!
In my last article, Issue 5, I outlined the methods for aligning the front end of a door car. This week, I am going to walk you through checking and setting toe. The photos and illustrations here should help make everything easier to understand and follow. Before you start setting your toe, make sure that caster and camber are set.