Re: [Chrysler300] 1957 300C shocks & front alignment specs

["Thomas Miller" <tfm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy Folks,

Here's the info I originally posted in March of 2000 on KYB partnums:


Front - KG4507 (trim lower mounting sleeve to 1.25"
long)
Rear - KG5511 (no modification req.)

Plus, a good posting on alignment from this listserver in 1998:

 Hi Gary, and Mike

Gary: from '57 service manual, page 207: for power steering cars, specs
for
caster are +3/4 degree, +or- 3/4 degree. I would also like to refer you
to
Mike Laiserin's well-circulated article on alignement, which basically
says
to dial in as much caster as possible while keeping camber within
specs. Let
me know if you want a copy of this article, I can e-mail it to you.


Hi to all,

This following articles from Mike Laiserin, as well as the next one
from
David Grove, have been the most requested piece of information that
ever
came through the listserver. These were also printed in a past Club
news or
newsflite issue, by the way. I re-post to the list, as there are many
new
members since last posted, and urge you to save it for further
reference !

300'ly

John

FIRST ARTICLE,  BY MIKE LAISERIN
----- Original Message -----
From: <Mwl1967@xxxxxxx>
To: <Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 1998 10:12 PM
Subject: wheel alignments & sway bars





 Hi All...
                  Just thought i'd put my 2 cents worth in regarding
the
caster etc...  years ago, when i used to autocross my dodge charger i
learned
a lot about alignments..   for straight line stability you want as
much
positive caster as the car can take while still giving you camber
readings
that are acceptable.  The only disadvantage to all the positive caster
( i
had
almost 5 degress on the charger ) is that the steering effort
increases...
and, based on how much assist they built into our power steering units
we
can
easily see why they wouldnt want to do anything to increase  steering
effort.
trust me... its not that bad and the car will handle so much better
that
you'll think you are driving a different car.   Just look at old
alignment
specs on cars...  cars which came with manual steering had less caster
specified than cars with power steering.. they wanted to make steering
effort
light.

someone esle suggested that the front wheels will look tilted heavily
when
the wheels are turned lock to lock.. this is due to the high positive
caster
but  you wont see this on our  300's as we can never get that much
caster...
an example of cars which had very high factory positive caster was old
mercedes benz, or damilers, or .. oh anyway,,  those cars had extremely
high
caster settings and the wheels tilted on turns but take another look at
the
mercedes.. the older ones anyway.. look at the steering wheels, they
are
huge.. again to offset the added steering effort due to the caster but
then
again,,, noone ever complained that these cars couldnt handle the high
speeds
of the european autobahn

caster is the angle created when you draw an imaginary line runnng from
the
upper ball joint to the lower, positive caster is when the upper ball
joint
is
set rearward from the lower.
caster does not affect tire wear
camber is viewed if you are looking at the front of your car, its the
angle
of the top of the tires in relation to the center of the car... of the
top
of
the tires appear to tip in towards the center of the car camber is
negative
(
great for cornering, bad for tire wear ) , if the camber is positive
the top
of the tires appear o tip outward, or away from the center of the car.
you want zero, or slightly negative camber for spitited driving.

now..  here's a trick...   have your alignment shop rotate the upper
control
arm cams at the rear all the way in to give you the most positive
caster..
now
he will tell you that he cant get camber within specs however....
camber is
changed when vehicle height changes ( as the car bounces down the road
) if
camber is too positive with the high caster ( cams turned in all the
way )
you can adjust the torsion bars either high or lower to bring the
camber
into
specs.. usually lowering the front increased negative camber while
raising
the
front height increases positive camber.

i could probablt write a book here but i'll quit while there are a few
of
you
still with me. One more thing... a change that made more a diference in
how
my
300K handles    ( even more than when i changed from 14" bias plys to
15"
radials !  )
 is having a custom front anti-sway bar made for the car..  basically,
i
replaced the original 7/8" bar mounted in rubber bushings with a made
to
order
1-1/4" bar with urethane bushings ... BINGO !  a totally different
car..
corners almost completely flat, it was astounding.  i had a company
called
addco build it for me.. i dealt with john in their research and
development
dept who made the bar and seemed quite interested in making a big old
chrysler
handle !     He even made a custom rear bar for the car which i havent
had
time to install as of yet.  All i can tell you is that the fatter front
bar
is
inexpensive, and almost indistinguishable compared to an original bar
but it
will make your car much more pleasurable to drive...
just think.. if you can take freeway exits at 50 when it used to have
to be
25 mph, think how much better the car will handle under "normal" exit
speeds
,
or just cruisng along at 75 or 80mph
Hope this helps you out
Michael

AND THE NEXT ONE, FROM DAVID GROVE:

In response to Amtonello's problem - outside of the obvious things
(steering box loose at the frame, steering box worn out or out of
adjustment), and assuming the suspension is "ship shape":  Something no
one
has mentioned is the "caster".  I find nowadays that front end
alignment
shops do not believe in a lot of positive caster - this is what makes
the
car track straight down the road, as well as let the steering wheel
return
to center after a turn.  I don't know why more + caster is not put in,
and
I'm not a "front end man" per se, but the last time I had a rear-drive
car
aligned, I was surprised at the specs that the alignment shop had to
set
the car.  Something like +1/2 positive caster.  I aligned front ends in
a
Chrysler dealership for a while back around 75 or so, and we always
used at
least +1 1/2 caster - and more if we could get it (not always
possible).
Now I know some cars will tilt the wheels at a weird angle during
sharp
turns with a lot of + caster dialed in - but I don't believe the
Chryslers
were affected this way.  Back to the last alignment - I told the
alignment
dude that I wanted more positive caster than his specs called for,
whereupon he told me that there would be absolutely no "warranty" on
this
alignment.  Whatever the hell a "warranty" is on an alignment - I
don't
know - either you do it right or you don't.  Anyway - he went ahead and
put
2 degrees + caster in the car, and it drove & handled like a dream.  I
can't understand why the specs are listed in this manner.  I would
take
that 300G to a shop where they will do what the customer wants and
align it
thus:  0  camber (or as close as you can get), and 2 1/2 positive
caster on
the right wheel, and 2 1/4 positive caster on the left, toe - 1/8 inch
IN.
If it doesn't do better, I'll be real surprised.   One more thing -
and
this is IMPORTANT::::  when you have radials on you "non-radial" car,
be
VERY careful with your steering box adjustment (for free play) - you
know,
the 5/8 nut with the allen head in the middle - if this is the least
bit
too tight - it will wear you out!  In fact, it is better to be a little
too
loose than too tight.  If you are having severe "wandering" problems,
make
sure someone didn't "do you a favor", and tighten this adjustment up
for
you.  Radial tires produced today do not have nearly the adverse effect
on
"non-radial" cars as they did 20 years ago.  You can use them on just
about
anything - and if you still have problems with "handling" - install a
front
sway bar.  We used to do this back when the radials first came out, and
it
would "straighten them right up"!.  I guess that's all I have to say on
the
subject, so I won't take up any more of your time.  DaveG.


 
Best Regards,

Thomas F. Miller
tfm@xxxxxxxxxxxx 

'57 300C, '57 NewYorker T&C Wagon(s)







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