>Having recently purchased my first Tiger (67 Mark II), I have a very basic
>question. While turning the car at low speeds it feels like my 4 WD truck.
>The inner tire seems to scuff and slide. I just had the front end aligned.
>I have LAT 70 wheels with Goodyear Eagle 185/70 R13 tires. Is this scuffing
>normal or is something else wrong that I should be checking? Please Help!
> Thanks, Jerry Scavezze
"Normal"? No. What we're posed with on Tigers, yes. There is an
"Ackerman angle" issue with the Tigers. Read your shop manual for all the
details, but basically there is approximately a 4.5 degree difference in
the direction of the inner and outer front wheels when your steering is at
lock, with the outside wheel being turned in more. This toe-in effect is
what causes the funny scrubbing sound you hear and your tires are
experiencing. It is also why Tigers do not like to turn as well as some
other cars. Some people try to compensate for this wonderful engineering
feat by putting a little toe-out into their FE alignment. The trick is to
not have enough so the car will wander when you are going down the road.
My car seems to work well with 1/8" toe out but I know of another car that
wanders with the same amount of toe. Some time back there was someone who
came out with an "Ackerman Kit". It was supposed to "correct" the Ackerman
problems on Tigers, but I also heard that unless it was "tits on" it
created more problems than it solved.
Also it would be a GOOD idea to check out all the suspension components/settings
to rule out other factors as contributory to the circumstances you are
experiencing.
Darrell
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