Doing a track day alignment in my home garage 

I've been working on Corvettes since I was 15, I'm now 63. I'm sure that I've aligned at least 3000 of them as I used to average over 300 per year. There is so much to learn and I give you a lot of credit. Credit for doing it yourself and credit for being bold enough and humble enough to record and publish it all. Good job! For those of you ready to embark on this same journey, let me offer a few pro tips: 1) if you are going to bump steer your car, record the distance axle/hub centerline to a point on the fender lip before you jack the car up the first time at ride height. That will be your staring point for measuring bump steer (and you only need to cycle the suspension 2 inches in each direction (compression and droop) from ride height. 2) Think of the car as a huge bench vice. Let the car hold the parts while you break the nuts and bolt loose. Unfortunately you needed to work twice as hard breaking the ball joints and tie rods loose because you had disconnected the control arms from the chassis first. If you were to remove the sway bar end links, lower shock mounting bolts, tie rods ends and ball joints before removing the control arms, you would have been faster and not had to work nearly as hard. 3) you can remove or install the transverse leaf springs, by undoing the lower shock mounting bolts on both sides, one sway bar end link and lower ball joint on one side of the car. 4) you will never get all of the air and old fluid out of the brake hydraulic system without cycling the abs pump with a scan tool. 5) Any bump steer washer change will require a toe readjustment as you have changed the outboard location of the tie rod. Think of it this way, in stock form, the tie rod slopes down as it projects outboard. By raising the outboard of the tie rod (because the outer tie rod end travels in an arc) you will need to shorten the tie rod length to maintain toe. That is why you were toed out up front and toed in out back. And the biggest time saver for you in the future is that you can adjust toe without taking the wheels off. Just jack it up, slide under the bumper, break the inner jamb nut loose and turn the inner tie rod with a wrench (the inner tie rods have flats, I think that they are 13mm, and the threads are right hand). Mark your staring point on the inner tie rod with a sharpie or chalk. If you are adjusting front toe and you need more toe in, just shorten the front tie rods The same number of flats on both sides. 5)if you want to make some really cheap and compact slip plates for doing an alignment, get 8 pieces of 1/8" aluminum roughly 16"x16", squirt a bit of grease between a pair of plates and place each pair under the tires. as you raise and lower the car, they will allow the suspension to settle so you will not need to drive the car in and out of the garage in order for the suspension to settle between each adjustment. When you are done with the plates, a quick clean up with brake kleen and paper towels and you can tuck them behind your tool box for the next use. I hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at the shop.

I'm a Japanese Corvette fan.I found your work process videos to be quite captivating, thanks to the remarkably clear video quality that showcases your work. Your well-organized, clean, and spacious workspace in the garage is truly envy-inducing.I'm also looking forward to your future video updates.

The sound from that LS7 never gets old ... something a GT3 can't do !

Finally! Another video 😂 DO NOT QUIT! 👍🏼

I sat down thinking I would only watch 20 min or so and then get to work on my own car.... ended up watching it all the way through lol. Love the content. Watching the progression of the car and you learning the car both from a mechanic stand point and from a driver stand point is pretty cool. Quality videography and audio too by the way! Keep 'em coming!

Thank you for helping the dogs

Thanks for the really well made video presentation, Josh. You cover all the points clearly.

Man!!! What a great video Josh! Thanks for letting us tag along

Great job, I love the car and you and your wife are so great for helping those rescue dogs. Keep up the good work!

Great Video - love watching your progression. I have a 2009 Goldie and I May follow your mods. Great Car !

Outstanding work thanks for posting this. Much appreciated .

I must say I love your videos. Its the exact stuff I like doing (working on my car in my garage) trying to figure stuff out myself. Trial and error. Trying new parts ect. Good enjoyable content here :)

Great video, just subscribed. I'm strongly considering a C6 ZO6 in a year or so. Keep up the good work!!

You know what I absolutely love about this channel? It shows the good the bad and the ugly of having project cars which a lot of channels don't show! Keep up all the great work! Cant wait for more videos!

Hats off to you, Josh! Massive amount of work!!! I felt your pain with the up and down with the Quickjacks. Congrats on winning the battle! Kudos to you all for fostering those dogs. Tore my heart out with the pit mix with no teeth. Unbelievable the stuff that goes on out there in the world.

I love listening to you talk to yourself; we all do it when working on these cars. Great content, keep it coming!

Congratulations! You make taking apart the suspension look easy now. Wow. I can’t imagine taking all that on. I need to rethink my own suspension. I haven’t done a bump steer kit or the Felton bushings. Seems like both of those would really improved the car. Looking forward to seeing what you take on next.

Love this vid, JV. Excellent.

I've been wanting to tackle diy alignment lately but it looks so intimidating. Good on you for going for it this vid is made it so much more tempting to try.

Yes. We have been patiently waiting.

First video of your I've watched. Very impressed with your attention to detail and work ethic. Was gonna sub anyway but even more inclined because you foster those lovely dogs. Keep up the great content and looking forward to watching others featuring the C6.

Doing a suspension rebuild and adjusting alignment is a real education for most of us. There is a lot of engineering that goes into that system and there are some sharp people out there in the aftermarket that make upgrade kits and measuring tools as well. Like you said, doing a project like you did helps you grow in appreciation for your vehicle.

I feel your pain, been there with my C5 and all the rabbit holes you went through. I just pick up 2007 ZO6 ? There is a lot satisfaction when it pays off on the track. KEEP IT a up Josh.

Good on you for wearing your safety glasses!

Your content is freaking amazing. To top it off you’re working on my all time favorite car. I really hope you get her back up and running with a new 427.

Keeps getting better and better. Love the channel and following the build. I have a 07 yellow Z06 as well. Track focused but also use it for canyon roads/day trips. Have the same size apex wheels and nankang tires. I look forward to every video and what I might want to try on my car. Or at least what to expect when I buy parts and take it to the performance shop.

Wow such an underrated channel. I just watched this entire video and was actively engaged the entire time without realizing it was an hour long haha. Great job filming and showing the ups and downs of this entire install! Looking at getting a c5 z or c6 z in the next 6 months or so!

What a HUGE Job, Kudos brother for undertaking this with limited mech experience, The way to learn is just dive right in, And brother, you did a high dive in a shallow pool LoL, Good Luck !

Recently stumbled across your channel. As others have stated, love the real 1st person approach that resembles what so much of us endure and enjoy with this hobby. Really replying in response to the cameo for Ruthy; God bless you for doing what you’re doing to help animals in need. There are sick people in this world.

This is Gene. I have been working on Corvettes and other vehicles since I was15 years old and I am now 68 years old. I love it and I work on my cars and trucks every chance I get.

Holy shit it sounds wonderful

I can relate to doing the bushings on a suspension system. I did a bushing swap on my 78 Firebird Formula from factory rubber to Energy Suspension polyurethane and WOW what a difference that made. Love the content bud. And btw.....the Z06 was born to make Hooligans out of drivers, why do you think sooooo many of us still want one. 😉 Trust me, we're all enjoying watching what you've been able to accomplish with Goldie. Keep at it bud, can't wait to see what you have planned next. LG coil overs perhaps?

Love videos like this

7K shifts? Cylinder heads should be a lot higher on your priority list! Ha! Awesome to see someone doing their own work in their own modest garage. Keep it up!! PS, can we see a video on the Indian some day? I'm a Ducati Monster kind of guy but that bike looks intriguing. Thanks!

Thank you for this I kept hearing noises and I want to do full overhaul of suspension.

The magic of the c6 z06 is when u drive it on the limit at the race track. Its very brute to point and shoot. Rear steering with throttle very very different to other cars. It does it so well too. When you turn in and give gas it steers to that direction.

Alignments are one of those things where each adjustment has an effect on the others.

You have a lot of patience to go through the repeated toe measurements and adjustments, good job. These kind of challenges of modifications is why I have stopped doing that. I used to ask myself why do you do this to yourself when these "bolt on" modifications required additional modifications, tools, and time to get to work properly. Yes, they may have proven to add the performance advertised and desired but "bolt on" is a very broad term that one has to take with a grain of salt. I hope this all pays off for you with the feel you seek when tracking the car. Again, good job and thanks for sharing.

You have the patience of a Saint.....

Your way better skilled mechanic than you let on. Helps the content I’m sure. A little above average I’d say.

Well done.

Wow that must be so hard to foster dogs. We would have such a hard time not keeping them all. Ruthy breaks my heart. I hope she's OK.

C6 generation is the best driver's cars. Although I have C7 and look forward to what C8 ZR1 can do, C6Z and ZR1 would be a dream to drive. Row those gears.

"Blakes are bred" "flipping fricker" great one liners 😂

When I see a man break out a bench made to cut a piece of paper towel,, that is an instant sub

I just got to the alignment phase on my suspension rebuild. I took a short drive without checking the alignment and the car was all over the place even before leaving my neighborhood. The toe is visibly far away from 0 at all four corners. I'll need to try and dial that in before I can get it to an alignment rack. Looking forward to seeing you back on track.

I felt everyone of those swears. Especially when you punched yourself in the face. Love the videos! Love the car.

Love the video brother! What lug nuts are you using to work with the oem wheels and skf wheel bearings. I'm currently doing a complete and total suspension upgrade but can find the right lugs

Can you share your torque setting sheet for all the suspension components? Thank you! Great video!

There are Corvette-specialist factory dealerships that will laser align your suspension and give you the full chart of every measurement. If you've never had it done, it's beautiful. They give you an actual motorsports spec sheet. Mine even corner balanced it for me. That way you know you have a perfectly spec'd setup with all the measurements you need for the future. I've had my 08 since new, so I'm watching some of the same flubs and "learning experiences" I made too. (I'm currently on engine #4. Lol! ) *Corvette Wave

thank you

To properly align your toe the suspension needs to have the weight of the vehicle on it. Or else you'll be chasing your tail like you did. They sell wheel stands from intercomp or raceramps that will let you set the car down on an elevated surface and give you enough space to make your adjustments. Your supposed to use them with turn plates (if you want to be super pro), but they work without it. I think that will help you in the future a bunch.

Boedeker and others make PTFE impregnated delrin. Just an FYI.. not that you're interested in manufacturing them. But that aside, you can always use a PTFE based grease (SuperLube etc) for assembly.. not that it's necessary but it does help things stick together and stay in place, which is certainly helpful for assembly. Nice video though, cheers.

Suspension geometry changes once u have the car on the quick jack. Everything goes down. U have to adjust it when the car is on the ground if u know what i mean.

Absolutely loving the content and your methodical approach to things. Been considering the Delrin bushings for awhile now and after watching this I'll definitely be adding it to my winter projects along with the bump steer kit. By chance do you have a link to the camber bolts you went with?

Question: As you were doing those alignments up and down did you ever get a feel for the total suspension travel front and rear on the Vette. I ask because I mountain bike a lot and suspension travel is a huge thing in bikes and I can find almost no information with cars. It will also help me as I figure out where in it's travel to set my Vette Ride height wise. Anyway if you have that information I will be grateful. I tried to read it off the scales as you jacked the suspension up and down but I can not and I don't know if the scale is metric or imperial.

Very nice build. I saw you torqued down the bushings before setting the car down on its wheels. On rubber bushings it causes them to rip or tear, does this also apply to delrin?

The fact that those new bushings just slide right in makes me think they're definitely going to be sloppier than the factory ones.

Great work. I've been watching all of your work with Goldi. But even the best performance shops know when to outsource certain aspects of the work. In your case, alignment. It took you two days and tons of work - and it looks analog, which is not the most accurate. A decent alignment shop would have this done digitally in about an hour. You may still want to go that route. Good luck!

Good video, it really encompasses the difficulties working on these cars. I like your approach to go after suspension initially. I’ve wondered about that bushing kit, it’s quite pricey and my c6z is really just a freeway/street toy but currently I’m battling traction while making 640rwhp, Im curious if that kit may add some traction. I’m all stock on suspension and haven’t quite figured out the direction to go there yet, although the engine is sbe but everything else built. Fun video to watch, you’ve motivated me to go fight with my stuck x pipe now.

Caster has a big influence on toe curve

new suspensions need to settled too, before final dial in

I love this channel. And the real takeaway I've had from watching the videos is that the E36 M3 is a Corvette killer at the track (at least in the hands of Josh)... and Corvettes aren't that reliable.

you can put the fluid in the bleeder saves time and less chance of introducing air

1. What are you using as a brake hose stopper? 2. Are the front swaybar bolts anything special given the mag cradle?

You may have been asked this already but can you add details regarding the rims and tires that you used? I'm taking my C6 Z06 to LS Fest East this year and need a good tire and rim set up for the road course...

Any chance of posting links to the parts? You would save me a ton of time as I have to do the exact same change.

Yessssss, but the alignment is going to get is straight

Monster update. Now I know why it's been a couple week. I like that camber kit. Losing those transverse leaf springs make working on the car so much nicer. It's almost as nice a benefit as the ride improvement. (going to coil overs) How do you feel about Delrin compared to spherical, now that you've driven it?

How much was all the parts for this video?

Does you car have any lifter noise? I also have a ‘07 stock with some slight lifter tick and I’m trying to figure out how common it is.

I got a 2011 GS and been thinking of doing coilovers...so you think this 'ruins' the natural feel/ride of the C6?

Josh, first off, great video, thanks! Couple of questions/comments. Did you leave off the washers on the upper control arms when you reinstalled them? If so, you should validate that. I have stock bushing, so I'm not sure if that is what your instructions called for or not. Leaving them off would certainly explain your drastic toe and camber changes (sounded like you used a AMT street setting, so should not have that much camber on a street setting). Each washer is about 0.5 degrees camber from what I've found (roughly), so removing a washer will make your camber go negative by 0.5 degrees. I had 3 washers stacked on my front, so that would account for 1.5 degrees negative camber if you left them off. Also keep in mind if you remove only the front or rear pair on any given a-arm, you will change camber AND caster. When you change camber, your toe will change alot, so you need to recheck toe every time you change the camber lock-plate position and/or add remove washers. This means it's not so easy to go from a street to a track setting (i.e. your toe will change so much you need to re-do the alignment). You may know all of this already, so sorry if that's the case. I just say all this because I was just surprised by your camber numbers after the install, and I also noticed when you installed the upper a-arms I couldn't see washers. Cheers! P.S. Next time you adjust toe, just do so without removing the wheels, you will have plenty of room with that lift. You are going to kick yourself once you try that, SOOOO much easier. I was cringing every time you removed the wheels to adjust the toe. You can thank me later on that one. :)

I'm curious...on your Apex wheels...did you go with the factory 18/19 or did you go with 18's at all 4 corners? Thanks for the content!

Bilstein front id:24-029773, what is the id number rear stock?

Josh, what ball joint separator tool did you use?

this video has been insanely helpful! I'm doing Delrin CA bushings, AMT camber and stud kit and DRM Bilstein shocks right now. A few tips: - 15mm, 18mm, 21mm and 24mm ratcheting box wrenches will help A LOT - PB Blaster and/or WD40 the stock lower control arm bushing area to help clean any crud out, then use a rubber mallet and pry bar to get out of the cradle. I hit the LCA a few times on each side from the top and sides to loosen. - I had to loosen (not remove) the 4x 13mm leaf spring bracket bolts to slightly lower the leaf spring so I could remove the front lower camber bolts. I have the front suspension completely out now, working on the rears later today/tomorrow and I don't think I'll need to completely remove the axle. Can anyone confirm?

I forgot to torque the lugs once . When I realized it it scared the living daylights out of me thinking what if the worst would’ve happened. Lol

When aligning the toe, your tie rod length isn't going to change as much as the total measurement needs to change. Your tie rods are much closer to the pivot point than the edges of the tires where your measuring tapes are.

Josh, what are you oil temps when spirited driving or track day? I just got my Z06 and wondering if my temps are OK after some spirited driving.

A just got som apex sm10 's for my bmw f80

Hey, what’s your take on the control arm bushings now that you’ve had them for a while. Improvements? Negatives? Louder/quieter? Better steering feel/feedback? Curious on your thoughts on them and id they were worth the $. Debating on getting them myself

Regarding bleeding brakes. Furthest from the master is not the way to go on these C6 Z06s. And using the motive power bleeder you can actually put up to two quarts of brake fluid into it so you dont have to keep topping off the res. Brake bleeding sequence as per FSM. Left front - right rear - left rear - right front. Inside bleeders first on the calipers and then outsides.

What quick jack are you using?

Does the delrin make any noise in the street?

I HAVE A GT3 and i had to Mod stuff up so Steering can be better feel. C6 Vettes are cheaper to MOD to become Stiffer and better...

Is the dog a rescue or sick??

Wow, Corvette suspension is so complicated! Seems from Corvette videos I've seen, they're hard to work on for the most part. Suspension is a pain, Transmission is a pain, Driveshaft is a pain and now that I see it's suspension, Damn!

i'm sure you figured this out by now. but camber gets changed before you set the toe.

I had an 06 DTS named Goldie lol

get a creeper, which will make your life a lot easier.

Unless you already have them, better engine & transmission mounts (like Hinsons) make a huge difference

59:03 - coil overs incoming.

Let’s me know how damn good the gt3 is from the factory.

There are special alignment shops go there. 😂 Easyier

Also, my wife would have served me papers if I spend 8 days on my car.... "You spend more time with the Corvette than me!!"

find an raceshop alignment

Hope Ruthy found a forever home she looks like a sweet girl

Dude do yourself a favor and some cordless electric power tools. Life will be so much easier.

IS IT REALLY A GT-3 KILLER??? OR IS THAT RU-vid TITLE HYPE?????????????