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Side to side wheel base

dansun22

dansun22

Silver Level Sponsor
After a front end collision repair, my series 3 has 86 inch wheel base on passenger side but 87 inch on driver side. This inch diff. creates no apparent problems, it drives straight, doesn't pull in any direction. I'm not complaining, just scratching my head?!? It leads me to believe the front /rear axles are aligned properly., not enough miles to see any tire wear, Any comments?
 
Barry

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
Your S-3 tracking straight indicates that the rear axle is "square" with the unibody centerline.

A S-3 does not have a front axle, but the side-to-side difference in wheel base indicates that one (or possibly both) of the front stub axle carriers (aka, spindles or uprights) is not in the correct front / back location. The front / back location is mostly determined by the lower control arm and there is no provision for adjustment. Could be a bent LCA, a bent lower fulcrum pin, a bent front suspension crossmember, a damaged or worn out LCA bushing or an improperly repaired front "frame rail". Or maybe everything is OK and you simply have one of many "dimensionally variable" Series Alpines.

If nothing is bent / broken / worn / etc. and the camber and caster numbers are similar from side-to-side, I would suspect that the front suspension crossmember is "out of square" with the unibody. With the four mounting bolts loosened, the factory front suspension crossmember on my S-V can be moved a surprising amount.

A careful inspection is appropriate, but if nothing is clearly wrong, I would call it good and hit the road.
 
dansun22

dansun22

Silver Level Sponsor
Barry said:
Your S-3 tracking straight indicates that the rear axle is "square" with the unibody centerline.

A S-3 does not have a front axle, but the side-to-side difference in wheel base indicates that one (or possibly both) of the front stub axle carriers (aka, spindles or uprights) is not in the correct front / back location. The front / back location is mostly determined by the lower control arm and there is no provision for adjustment. Could be a bent LCA, a bent lower fulcrum pin, a bent front suspension crossmember, a damaged or worn out LCA bushing or an improperly repaired front "frame rail". Or maybe everything is OK and you simply have one of many "dimensionally variable" Series Alpines.

If nothing is bent / broken / worn / etc. and the camber and caster numbers are similar from side-to-side, I would suspect that the front suspension crossmember is "out of square" with the unibody. With the four mounting bolts loosened, the factory front suspension crossmember on my S-V can be moved a surprising amount.

A careful inspection is appropriate, but if nothing is clearly wrong, I would call it good and hit the road.
Click to expand...
Great response, thank you very much. Just what I was looking for.
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
If you are looking for a cheap, good time, the next time you see a group of Alpines, compare the distance from the front of the front wheels to the lower edge of the fender. Do this and compare distance, side to side. Then compare vehicles. To make it doubly interesting, have an fellow Alpiner join in the fun. I did this, I believe at the Cincinnatti United with, as I recall, Jim Stone. For some reason, about 75% of the time the distance was less on the right side. Why? Alpines.
Bill
 
Toyanvil

Toyanvil

Gold Level Sponsor
How did you set up your car to check this? If the steering wheel is just a little off center, side to side will be off.
 
Warren

Warren

Bronze Level Sponsor
I had a Tiger that was close to 3/4 off on the 86 " wheelbase. As fate would have it that was the side that didn't have an SV front corner. I put 2 different front suspensions on the car and had the nearly same result. I do know that guys have elongated the mount holes in the cross member to correct the issue. More so with the awkward Tiger stance though.
 
dansun22

dansun22

Silver Level Sponsor
Bill Blue said:
If you are looking for a cheap, good time, the next time you see a group of Alpines, compare the distance from the front of the front wheels to the lower edge of the fender. Do this and compare distance, side to side. Then compare vehicles. To make it doubly interesting, have an fellow Alpiner join in the fun. I did this, I believe at the Cincinnatti United with, as I recall, Jim Stone. For some reason, about 75% of the time the distance was less on the right side. Why? Alpines.
Bill
Click to expand...
Too funny
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Toyanvil said:
How did you set up your car to check this? If the steering wheel is just a little off center, side to side will be off.
Click to expand...
Didn't setup the car, same as the drivers at the United, who never had a clue what were doing. By and large, the wheels were pointed straight ahead. My car was off so different, the wheels had to be pointing way off center in order to be even with the fender. When I moved up to 15" wheels, the right side fender had to be trimmed, the left side, no problem.
Bill
 
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