You might want to look at Bob Bolles suspension article in the Feb 2010 Circle Track. He, and most others, now recommend zero or very near zero Ackerman. If you employ Ackermann at all, it will be in fractions of a degree, not whole degrees. The article briefly describes how to check the Ackermann. The old Woodward catalog used to have a good tech section on how to adjust Ackermann. It was related to rack placement, but the principle is the same for drag link suspensions. Moving the inboard tie rod static mounting positions (i.e. moving the rack or the drag link) forward will induce more Ackermann -- moving it aft will have the opposite effect. This movement can be done by moving both the steering box and idler arm mounts fore or aft, as required; using a differently shaped drag link that moves the tie rod mounting points fore or aft; or using different length steering arms (longer steering arms have the same effect on Ackermann as moving the rack or drag length aft). I assume that your Howe drag link was made for your chassis using the steering arm lengths you have, so you should already be in the ball park. Your car looks great -- best of luck with the build.
|