HUBSTANDS -- Tool Review

[Ernesto Roco]

Measuring toe with strings:

 

Measuring toe just like having "toe plates":

 

I bought this tool a couple of months ago and I must say I'm glad I made the investment. I have done 3 alignments\setup on 3 different cars since then including my own and I feel that I have 1) shortened the amount of time to do the job right and 2) increased the accuracy and precision of my measurements.

 

I have looked at other tools that is similar to Hubstand but I thought the Hubstand tool was the most versatile of them all. I do this work on the side to fund my racing so it made sense for me to increase my Productivity and improve the quality of my work.

 

The Hubstand setup I have for checking toe still uses the Smartstring's and it also comes with these bars which attaches to the tool that takes the place of "toe plates" so you can measure total toe to validate your string measurements. I also like how you can locate those toe bars up and down the tool to lineup with your strings perfectly, which to me seems very well thought out.

 

Camber and Caster is still done in the same way and the sliding mechanism underneath ensures there is no bind in the suspension after each adjustment, just make sure you shake the car a little bit to settle things.

 

Corner Weighing is a breeze with easy access to the springs to make your adjustments, so much easier without the wheel and tire in the way. It really cuts down the amount of time it used to do this job and I can't say enough about it.

 

You can also adjust the tool to match the diameter of your tires for proper ride height measurements but for me I adjust the tool to be a couple of inchers higher to raise the car of the scales even higher so I have more room under the car and I compensate the ride height measurements and done.

 

Also, measuring the wheelbase and thrust angle is now possible to do in just minutes. I used to have to use a plumb bob to get the thrust angle measured which can take an hour and is nowhere near as accurate as having the car sit on a level platform while measuring.

 

The only thing that might be an issue is when you have a locking diff in the rear, somehow the axle must be lined up in such a way that both Hubstands are perfectly perpendicular to the ground but other than that I am glad I have this in my toolbox.

 

 

More info here:

 

WARNING: there are a lot sponsor plugs in this video, if you don't care to see them then don't watch it.

[DanSTi]

Thanks for the review, I was just looking at these and deciding whether they were worth the asking price. I may have to invest in a set next season, the ability to do alignments at home and at the track would be great.

[944-Spec#94]

I saw that F1 has "set-up" wheels. Same concept, but they used round wheels probably matching tire diameter. For them wheel clearnance is not an impediment to alignment, but precision is.

 

Anyway got me thinking about somethng similar for fender cars. Nice...

[ninekrpm]

Measuring toe with strings:

 

Measuring toe just like having "toe plates":

 

I bought this tool a couple of months ago and I must say I'm glad I made the investment. I have done 3 alignments\setup on 3 different cars since then including my own and I feel that I have 1) shortened the amount of time to do the job right and 2) increased the accuracy and precision of my measurements.

 

I have looked at other tools that is similar to Hubstand but I thought the Hubstand tool was the most versatile of them all. I do this work on the side to fund my racing so it made sense for me to increase my Productivity and improve the quality of my work.

 

The Hubstand setup I have for checking toe still uses the Smartstring's and it also comes with these bars which attaches to the tool that takes the place of "toe plates" so you can measure total toe to validate your string measurements. I also like how you can locate those toe bars up and down the tool to lineup with your strings perfectly, which to me seems very well thought out.

 

Camber and Caster is still done in the same way and the sliding mechanism underneath ensures there is no bind in the suspension after each adjustment, just make sure you shake the car a little bit to settle things.

 

Corner Weighing is a breeze with easy access to the springs to make your adjustments, so much easier without the wheel and tire in the way. It really cuts down the amount of time it used to do this job and I can't say enough about it.

 

You can also adjust the tool to match the diameter of your tires for proper ride height measurements but for me I adjust the tool to be a couple of inchers higher to raise the car of the scales even higher so I have more room under the car and I compensate the ride height measurements and done.

 

Also, measuring the wheelbase and thrust angle is now possible to do in just minutes. I used to have to use a plumb bob to get the thrust angle measured which can take an hour and is nowhere near as accurate as having the car sit on a level platform while measuring.

 

The only thing that might be an issue is when you have a locking diff in the rear, somehow the axle must be lined up in such a way that both Hubstands are perfectly perpendicular to the ground but other than that I am glad I have this in my toolbox.

 

 

More info here:

 

WARNING: there are a lot sponsor plugs in this video, if you don't care to see them then don't watch it.

 

 

That's a great write-up. I am looking into these right now. Do you have any more feedback since your initial write-up?

 

FK