wheel tracking

[nige]

So my local tyre and exhaust place reckon they cant do the tracking on my BX. They say it needs to be weighted and don't have the specialist kit to do this - anyone heard of this before???

[Caffiend]

Yes, but not since I was working for a Citroen specialist 22 years ago - what kind of tracking gear have they got?!

[nige]

wouldnt know - though am sure have had the car tracked before - am wandering now was it tracked properly / not all / .. does the weight thing really matter??

[Tim Leech]

If your talking about the front wheels thats rubbish, ive had mine done in the normal way! what difference does the suspension make!

[ghaddon1701]

When I have had the tracking done before on the BX tyre places have complained a little bit at how difficult the adjustment nuts are to get at. But other than that normal tracking equipment will suffice. Most tyre bays these days use the laser system?

[BX Bandit]

Are you a smidgen mechanically minded? With a 19mm and 13mm spanner you can do it yourself.

Is the tracking towing in or out?
What is the tyre wear like?
Make sure your calipers aren't sticking in any way.
If you reverse on full lock, if the wheels tend to 'lock' at full lock, then you are probably towing in.



The recommended setting for a BX is 0 degrees (i.e. front wheels parallel) to 3 degrees tow out.

If you wind ONE outer track rod end in/out one complete turn, that is near as damn it 3 degrees.

I did mine and have no uneven tyre wear!

[MULLEY]

They usually struggle with the rears & you have to put the car on high so that they can fit the stuff for the digital system that my local tyre place uses.

[Gary]

Only Citroens with conventional suspension (springs) need to be weighted for tracking according to the manufacturer
Weighting a BX will make no difference as it will self level to the same height , with or without weight.

[electrokid]

Weighting a BX will make no difference as it will self level to the same height , with or without weight.

I've not had to track the BX but that ^ makes a bucketload of sense.

It depends what kit the garage uses to do the tracking. By far the most reliable is the swash plate type - that's a steel plate that is free to move sideways when a wheel is driven over it. When placed under one front wheel it will move sideways if the tracking is anything except zero and it is calibrated in degrees toe in / out for a defined amount of the wheel's forward travel across the plate.

Having been screwed about with tracking on Granadas by tyre centre jockeys who jack up the front of the car (which changes the tracking anyway ) before fitting the laser kit which they believe in without any real technical know-how I had to find another way.

You should be able to set up the tracking by squatting down and looking along the sides of the car to see if the wheels are in a straight line - I kid you not - light only bends around corners around planets in outer space - as long as it's not going through a lens then light travels in absolutely straight lines.

You need to make sure that the tyres are not at an angle to the wheels - which is possible because of the very flexible sidewalls of radial ply tyres - so before looking to see whether the tyres are in line, move the car by pushing backwards and forwards - NOT under its own power - that should settle the position of the tyres on the rims. Do it on smooth level ground.

Then get down and have a look - it may take a while before you 'get your eye in' but I assure you it's possible to do. 3 degrees is 3 times more than the Granada spec - so it should be easy failing that find a tyre centre or garage that uses a swash plate to check tracking - they are around because there are folks who are familiar with the limitations of the laser system.

[Way2go]

There's always this advice to try on the Technical FAQ:

http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5161" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Defender110]

I'm not sure if this would work on a BX (perhaps set on high) but a very simple way used to check Land Rovers which often get knocked about off road is to simply tie a length of nylon string all the way round the centre of all 4 wheels/tyres, i.e. in a big square around the vehicle half way up each wheel. You then simply measure/compare the distance between the string and the wheel rim front and back of each wheel. With zero toe in the distance will be equal. You can adjust your track rods with the string in situ watching and measuring as you adjust.

[electrokid]

My method using simple eyesight is based on the front and rear track being the same but according to http://www.bxclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5161 they are not. However a little bit of math shows that the error is very small - aligning the front wheels to the rear edge of the rear tyres will result in toe out of 1.2 degrees (0.6 degrees each side) which is still in spec.

Lining up the front wheels to a point 28mm outside the rear edge of the rear tyres will produce zero toe (so 28mm spacers on the rear tyres could be used).

Like the string method Kevan

[citsncycles]

My local place just stick the car on the ramp with the front wheels on a couple of curved plates, stick the laser kit on the wheels and get on with it. They prefer the GS to the BX though as the adjustment nuts are easy to get at on the GS, while they usually end up sending someone up on the ramp with the car to turn the steering wheel as it's the only way they can get to the lock nuts properly.