Printable Version | Subscribe | Add to Favourites
New Topic New Reply
Author: Subject: Arrghh! Chassis not completely flat! disaster or manageable?
novicebuilder

posted on 30/6/13 at 09:47 PM Reply With Quote
Arrghh! Chassis not completely flat! disaster or manageable?

I have completed my Haynes roadster chassis and fitted all the plates, just about ready to spray it. I have now laid it on the garage floor on 25mm RHS tubes to measure the engine mounts and now I find that it is not completely flat!!!!!

The base rail at the front one one side is 4mm higher so it doesn't lie completely flat. I checked and checked the table I built it on and it was flat and even, but either the table warped during the build or the floor it was on was not completely even. AARRGGHH!

The question is...... is this a manageable error or not. All the wishbones are made and have been dry fitted without problems and all their measurements in relation to frame are exact.

Grateful for advice. Thanks

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
austin man

posted on 30/6/13 at 09:51 PM Reply With Quote
personally OI thing you will get away with 4mm you could always weld the supension mounts slightly off to recover the difference





Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Mr Whippy

posted on 30/6/13 at 09:57 PM Reply With Quote
Maybe not for racing competitivly but for road use I'd not have an issue with that, tbh my Landrover is at least 10mm out across the chassis, some times the doors open by themselves spooky. Other cars you jack up a wheel and the doors don't shut, most flex a lot on the road. I'd say you 4mm is trivial, you'd most likely never feel the difference.
View User's Profile E-Mail User Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
PSpirine

posted on 30/6/13 at 10:01 PM Reply With Quote
Get the suspension set up properly (4 wheel full-on alignment jobbie if you've got adjustable suspension) when you're finished, and you'll be fine. This will make far more difference than the 4mm in the chassis.

4mm across the car is not catastrophic. Production cars don't tend to get much better than 2mm out to give you an idea.

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
designer

posted on 1/7/13 at 07:14 AM Reply With Quote
4mm warp on a home built chassis is good, and as long as the suspension brackets are in the right place it will be OK.
View User's Profile E-Mail User Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
Bluemoon

posted on 1/7/13 at 10:03 AM Reply With Quote
Are you sure it's real, measurement is probably not that easy, you need some flat reference?

4mm does not sound so bad, never checked the MK chassis, would not be surprised if it was similar..

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
blakep82

posted on 1/7/13 at 10:39 AM Reply With Quote
Is the garage floor completely flat?





________________________

IVA manual link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1081997083

don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
loggyboy

posted on 1/7/13 at 10:43 AM Reply With Quote
Do some diagonal check dimensions, will give a better idea of how 'square' it is.





Mistral Motorsport

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
bi22le

posted on 1/7/13 at 11:08 AM Reply With Quote
After many years of driving and hooning I would be supprised if my chassis was less than 4mm out. Thats what a geo set up can dial out.





Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!

Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1

Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Angel Acevedo

posted on 7/7/13 at 02:30 AM Reply With Quote
Mine is 6 mm off.
I Split the difference and welded the brackets level.
I think 3 mm each side will be very difficult to see for the undiscerning eye, let alone at high speed spirited driving.





Beware of what you wish.. for it may come true....

View User's Profile E-Mail User Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
Slimy38

posted on 7/7/13 at 08:01 AM Reply With Quote
You mention that you put it on the garage floor on top of 25mm tubes? I have noticed that even a tube of that thickness will curve slightly over the length of a car (especially with a bit of weight on top of it), and if your garage floor isn't flat the tube will end up lifting at one end. I tried doing the same, and I was getting different measurements depending on where they were laid in the garage.

As a general question, what is the best way of checking a table is flat?

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
40inches

posted on 7/7/13 at 10:34 AM Reply With Quote
Flat and level are different things. You can check for level using a simple water gauge, on the four outside corners of the table.
Flat is a little bit more difficult, possibly using a laser level from one corner and measuring the beam height along the table.
Of course if you can find a spirit level as long as the table, you can solve both problems






View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
907

posted on 7/7/13 at 11:37 AM Reply With Quote
Or as the FIA would put it:-




You need to check the vertical variation of the horizontal diagonals.




Paul G

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
40inches

posted on 7/7/13 at 04:23 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by 907
Or as the FIA would put it:-




You need to check the vertical variation of the horizontal diagonals.




Paul G


Get you! Coming over all technical






View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Mark Allanson

posted on 7/7/13 at 04:56 PM Reply With Quote
3mm is standard acceptable tollerance on production cars, why do you think cars have adjustable suspension?





If you can keep you head, whilst all others around you are losing theirs, you are not fully aware of the situation

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member

New Topic New Reply


go to top






Website design and SEO by Studio Montage

All content © 2001-16 LocostBuilders. Reproduction prohibited
Opinions expressed in public posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of other users or any member of the LocostBuilders team.
Running XMB 1.8 Partagium [© 2002 XMB Group] on Apache under CentOS Linux
Founded, built and operated by ChrisW.