Which Hub Stands?

[Scootsmcgreggor]

I’ve done string alignments from time to time in the past and would like to get a setup that makes it as painless as possible.

Never used hub stands but seems conceptually like a great solution. For those who have used hub stands, are they your preferred method?

Anyone with specific hub stand recommendations?

these are two I’ve found that look decent and are not $5k.

HS2 Universal Hub Stand

Universal Hub Stand for standard automotive 4 or 5 lug patterns Set of 4 hub stands. Fits 4x95-4x115 patters with a 12mm-1/2" wheel stud. 5x98-5x155 with a 14mm-9/16 wheel stud. These adapters fit most consumer automobiles. Center bore of adapter is 3" (76mm) Includes toe plates, 2 tape...

www.motiveeng.com

DIY Alignment Hub Stands – Paco Motorsports

pacomotorsports.com

 

[flyhalf]

I’ve done string alignments from time to time in the past and would like to get a setup that makes it as painless as possible.

Never used hub stands but seems conceptually like a great solution. For those who have used hub stands, are they your preferred method?

Anyone with specific hub stand recommendations?

these are two I’ve found that look decent and are not $5k.

HS2 Universal Hub Stand

Universal Hub Stand for standard automotive 4 or 5 lug patterns Set of 4 hub stands. Fits 4x95-4x115 patters with a 12mm-1/2" wheel stud. 5x98-5x155 with a 14mm-9/16 wheel stud. These adapters fit most consumer automobiles. Center bore of adapter is 3" (76mm) Includes toe plates, 2 tape...

www.motiveeng.com

DIY Alignment Hub Stands – Paco Motorsports

pacomotorsports.com

U in the bay? If you need allignment...i can suggest 2 spots

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

U in the bay? If you need allignment...i can suggest 2 spots

yes more or less, Santa Cruz. Please share, good to have options/backup.

 

[67GTA]

I’ve done string alignments from time to time in the past and would like to get a setup that makes it as painless as possible.

Never used hub stands but seems conceptually like a great solution. For those who have used hub stands, are they your preferred method?

Anyone with specific hub stand recommendations?

these are two I’ve found that look decent and are not $5k.

HS2 Universal Hub Stand

Universal Hub Stand for standard automotive 4 or 5 lug patterns Set of 4 hub stands. Fits 4x95-4x115 patters with a 12mm-1/2" wheel stud. 5x98-5x155 with a 14mm-9/16 wheel stud. These adapters fit most consumer automobiles. Center bore of adapter is 3" (76mm) Includes toe plates, 2 tape...

www.motiveeng.com

DIY Alignment Hub Stands – Paco Motorsports

pacomotorsports.com

The Paco setup has the rollers on the bottom to allow the suspension to settle without binding. I’ve been very tempted to give it a try, but the only hold back is our front corner weights exceed their published 1000# capacity. Not by much - I’m at 1056 LF and 1013 RF.

 

[flyhalf]

yes more or less, Santa Cruz. Please share, good to have options/backup.

Fremont allignment. I do it there.
Very cool guys. Tell him alessandro with italian mustang sent u

 

[JAJ]

I’ve done string alignments from time to time in the past and would like to get a setup that makes it as painless as possible.

Never used hub stands but seems conceptually like a great solution. For those who have used hub stands, are they your preferred method?

Anyone with specific hub stand recommendations?

these are two I’ve found that look decent and are not $5k.

HS2 Universal Hub Stand

Universal Hub Stand for standard automotive 4 or 5 lug patterns Set of 4 hub stands. Fits 4x95-4x115 patters with a 12mm-1/2" wheel stud. 5x98-5x155 with a 14mm-9/16 wheel stud. These adapters fit most consumer automobiles. Center bore of adapter is 3" (76mm) Includes toe plates, 2 tape...

www.motiveeng.com

DIY Alignment Hub Stands – Paco Motorsports

pacomotorsports.com

This thread talks about alignment options and this particular post shows an approach that accomplishes the effect of hub stands but without the actual hub stands.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/track-alignment-setting.162531/post-3484610

I have a set of those RaceRamp stands exactly like the above and I used them this year to redo my rear suspension setup and alignment. For the rear, I added an extra wrinkle - a pair of cheap motorcycle jacks (https://www.amazon.com/1100Lbs-Moto...076CSCLBY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8) that allowed me to lift the rear of the car from the bottom of the spring perch. My goal was to duplicate what you see at 1:20 into this video:

It got it up on the stands, bounced it to settle the suspension, the lifted it off the stands by an inch or so and took the stands away and removed the wheels to get full access to all the bolts you need to loosen and tighten. The two jacks are independent so you can level the car precisely. With that, the hubs are at the same position in space as they would be with the vehicle weight on them, but with the weight off the hub, alignment is really simple and accurate because you're not fighting the load. Camber and toe were shockingly easy. I didn't need to do anything at the front, so I don't have a solution there, but for the rear, I'd never do it any other way.

UPDATE: It occurred to me that some might think that I was talking specifically about the SPC camber links. They are a great product, by the way, but that wasn't my point. With the rear suspension at static ride height and with the vehicle weight off the rear hubs, you can adjust the OEM rear camber arms fairly easily. The only weight on the hubs is the weight of the hubs and links, and it's only a few pounds. I used an old tire-changer screw jack with a short stick on top to prop up the hub and hold it in position. With the inner link bolt loosened, a few turns on the screw jack adjusts the camber with considerable precision.

 

[Motive Engineering]

Hey guys. I noticed someone was referred to my website from this forum so I thought I would come say hi. If you have any questions about using hub stands for DIY alignment I would be happy to answer them.
Hub stands have several advantages over doing a standard string alignment. First is the rollers that allow the suspension to settle to its natural ride height. Basically built in slip plates. This is critical to prevent measuring in the wrong spot in the camber curve and bump steer if you have any. I believe its important to have hubstands of a calibrated height so that ride height can also be set without the friction of the tires. Some companies build their hub stands with adjustable height. You can also use a fix height hub stand to do this with a little math comparing the hub stand height to your tire height.
Second, depending on the type of hub stand it is not necessary to find the vehicle center line or construct parallel string lines around the car. These systems use an isosceles trapezoid method where string lines are attached to specific points on the hub stand. This can greatly simplify and speed up the process. Other systems still require the parallel lines and are usually attached to bars on the front and rear of the car.
Third, depending on the hub stand system, you may be able to measure more than just Caster, Camber, and Toe. For instance with my system you can accurately measure wheel base, thrust angle (is the car square and not crab walking), Steer ahead (setting toe while considering if the steering wheel is centered) and even bump steer.
Lastly, they add a lot of accessibility without having the tire in the way during adjustments.

Hub stands are like any other tool. You can use a wrench as a hammer but using the correct tool make the job that much easier. Go give @racingfortomorrow a follow on Instagram and ask him about how he using our hub stands for his motorsports therapy program. He'll probably give you a discount code that will give his charity a kickback if you decide to use it too.

 

[67GTA]

Hey guys. I noticed someone was referred to my website from this forum so I thought I would come say hi. If you have any questions about using hub stands for DIY alignment I would be happy to answer them.
Hub stands have several advantages over doing a standard string alignment. First is the rollers that allow the suspension to settle to its natural ride height. Basically built in slip plates. This is critical to prevent measuring in the wrong spot in the camber curve and bump steer if you have any. I believe its important to have hubstands of a calibrated height so that ride height can also be set without the friction of the tires. Some companies build their hub stands with adjustable height. You can also use a fix height hub stand to do this with a little math comparing the hub stand height to your tire height.
Second, depending on the type of hub stand it is not necessary to find the vehicle center line or construct parallel string lines around the car. These systems use an isosceles trapezoid method where string lines are attached to specific points on the hub stand. This can greatly simplify and speed up the process. Other systems still require the parallel lines and are usually attached to bars on the front and rear of the car.
Third, depending on the hub stand system, you may be able to measure more than just Caster, Camber, and Toe. For instance with my system you can accurately measure wheel base, thrust angle (is the car square and not crab walking), Steer ahead (setting toe while considering if the steering wheel is centered) and even bump steer.
Lastly, they add a lot of accessibility without having the tire in the way during adjustments.

Hub stands are like any other tool. You can use a wrench as a hammer but using the correct tool make the job that much easier. Go give @racingfortomorrow a follow on Instagram and ask him about how he using our hub stands for his motorsports therapy program. He'll probably give you a discount code that will give his charity a kickback if you decide to use it too.

Thanks for joining on to the forum and offering to answer questions! This is something that I’m very interested in learning, and I know there are several others on here that will be tuning in.

What’s the weight capacity for your stands? Most of the later model Mustangs are just over 1000# on the front corners with driver ballast.

Tips/tricks to make sure the stands are level to each other when aligning on a standard garage floor? Or is it even required to have them level? I see a lot of your pics on the website are in driveways and paddocks that perhaps wouldn’t be perfectly level.

Thanks again, and hoping that you will become a TMO regular!

 

[Motive Engineering]

While it is ideal to have a perfectly level floor there are some tricks to doing an alignment without one. With a digital angle gauge you can Zero it off something on the chassis that is level to the car. Lower suspension bulkhead, crossmember, radiator support often work fine for this. As long as you keep the face of the angle gauge facing the same direction it was when you zeroed it off the car, your measurements will work. If you flip it around it will double the error of the floor. This technique does not work for measuring Caster however as you need need to turn the wheels and sweep the gauge through two planes. If you aren't concerned about hitting a specific number but just want adjust caster a certain number from where it already is you can use this technique to measure the difference an adjustment to caster makes.

My system comes with a bubble level that can hang from the stringline to check level from each corner. If you want to go the route of leveling the car you can read the level off the stringline and put plywood or sheetmetal pads under the low corners to level your car. I have found using a long framing level a pain if you have a bump in a floor. If you have corner scales you can get leveling pads that they sit in. Just a word of caution if you use hub stands on corner scales- use something like the "ground plates" I have on my website to both protect the surface of the scales and to prevent the car from rolling off! It will roll very easy on hub stands.

I do not have a maximum capacity rating but they are plenty strong for a mustang. They are constructed out of 3/16" steel. Compare that to the thin metal of a jack stand! But please, if you are working under a car, be careful and use jack stands as a failsafe.

 

[PatientZero]

Did any of you guys end up buying hub stands? I've been looking at these too and came across this thread whilst doing my own research. I'm also considering designing and building my own.

 

[navseng]

Did any of you guys end up buying hub stands? I've been looking at these too and came across this thread whilst doing my own research. I'm also considering designing and building my own.

I am in the same boat as you... Looking at making my own Id like more info on the motive stands?

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

I just made cribs so much cheaper and they are fine for what I’m doing.