Need to get the suspension dialed in on my grocery getter and looking for some input on scales. I was hoping to borrow some but I don't think it will pan out, so I'll be taking one of the following paths:
What have you guys had good luck with? Better to drop the coin and pickup something decent, or?
Thanks, Stan
Im kinda curious about this as well. Surely someone will chime in.
If you were in Fairfax County instead of Bucks, I'd offer to go half-sies on set with you.
In reply to Jamey_from_Legal:
Wish you were closer. Having someone to share them with would make this a much easier decision.
If you want quality scales that will last a long time---- check out Intercomp:
www.Intercompracing.com
Good people with quality products, and yes---- they support GRM / CMS! 
What do you need to "dial in"?
I'd sooner find a local place that had them and can corner balance. Much cheaper than buying the scales yourself.
Any race car shops near you ?
Split the difference on the distance between the 2 of you, have a set in Baltimore and go 1/3rd on a set
Use bathroom scales. two of them with a board across and sum the two readings. Just make sure that the other 3 wheels are on something as tall as the scales so that the readings are correct.
550 lb capacity for 40 bucks. And they talk to you, cause like really big people cant see the numbers.
http://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-XL-550-Talking-Bathroom/dp/B0014ZQH84
You can do it with one scale and a long board that can scale down the reading by whatever ratio you want.
NOHOME wrote: Use bathroom scales. two of them with a board across and sum the two readings. Just make sure that the other 3 wheels are on something as tall as the scales so that the readings are correct.
You = genius. I'd previously looked into buying 4 bathroom scales plus special levers to halve the load on them, but your idea is way better and cheaper. Guess I'm looking at bathroom scales tomorrow...hmm or I'll see if I can find another like the one I already have at home!
amg_rx7 wrote: What do you need to "dial in"? I'd sooner find a local place that had them and can corner balance. Much cheaper than buying the scales yourself.
The car is now ~500lbs lighter than stock. So spring rates, cross weights, etc. are all out of whack from where it was. I need corner weights to determine my new spring rates, plus I would like to find the optimal place to put ballast. Not just a simple corner balance, it will most likely take multiple iterations to get where I want to be. So by the time I run back and for to my closest knowledgable shop, I'd already be more than half way to a set of blemished longacre scales.
I can't be the only one who wants to do this themselves?
NOHOME wrote: Use bathroom scales. two of them with a board across and sum the two readings. Just make sure that the other 3 wheels are on something as tall as the scales so that the readings are correct. 550 lb capacity for 40 bucks. And they talk to you, cause like really big people cant see the numbers. http://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-XL-550-Talking-Bathroom/dp/B0014ZQH84 You can do it with one scale and a long board that can scale down the reading by whatever ratio you want.
Now this, this is what I was looking for. 
Anyone else using fat people bathroom scales?
My local race shop will rent them out. I think it cost me about $125 for the weekend.
Hold_Fast wrote:NOHOME wrote: Use bathroom scales. two of them with a board across and sum the two readings. Just make sure that the other 3 wheels are on something as tall as the scales so that the readings are correct. 550 lb capacity for 40 bucks. And they talk to you, cause like really big people cant see the numbers. http://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-XL-550-Talking-Bathroom/dp/B0014ZQH84 You can do it with one scale and a long board that can scale down the reading by whatever ratio you want.Now this, this is what I was looking for.
I've done it, but I used 2-3$ old dial scales from thrift shops. Don't expect to be repeatable within about 25 lbs if you go that route. New scales might be much better. Also, test first by weighing yourself on one scale, then the other, then on the board across them both. If you are looking for absolute this is a good way to find errors.
Also, if you want to get really snazzy, check to make sure the bathroom scales don't move down too much when you load them (or at least measure level when the car is sitting on the scales). IDK what the actual error is, but when corner weighting, you are looking at adjusting the spring collars by even one turn. Seems like a bathroom scale might displace down that much between loaded and unloaded. Old spring type bathroom scales are really measuring vertical displacement against a 'known' spring rate (Force on the spring = spring constant x displacement or whatever). This vertical displacement is not important if all the weight is on one scale. Might mess with your corner balancing since you are only measuring the corner of the car.
Unless you buy 8-12 scales... haha (at 2-3 bucks each I bought 4)
How do you get a reading on those electric scales with a car?
The way they work, you have to "tap" them to wake the scale up, wait a sec until it displays zero, and then get on the scale before it times out.
I can manage that in my bathroom weighing myself, but I'm stuck trying to figure out how to do it with a car.
I believe you have two options, the cheapest being roll off ramps. You could run around the car turning the scales on, then push the car onto the scales. Only problem with the talking scale is they will all be yelling at you (assuming you aren't trying to do one corner at a time).
If you have a lift you can come up with a slide plate and lower the car directly onto the scale after you've turned it on.
I used to use some home fabricated Ruggles scales and cheap bathroom scales from Walmart. Then I bought an old set of broken ones and fixed them but they were not terribly reliable. Two seasons ago I sold/traded for cash some engine bits - part of that deal was a brand new set of scales with a single readout that did all the math for me and some drive-thru ramps. It is approx. $750 cash value and used maybe 3x a year but it was still worth every penny to be able to KNOW the car was balanced and EXACTLY how close to being disqualified I was with all my gear and fuel load in the car.
I credit scales, hub stands, and religious zealotry to the GPS lap timer for my first win. The ability to easily experiment with setups and have real numbers for weight, alignment and time is not to be underestimated. (so says Capt. Obvious) The key is EASILY. If a weight/alignment change takes 3hrs in your home garage you won't do it. If it takes 10 minutes in the paddock you will spend a whole day looking for 3/10s of a second because it's fun.
Well, it looks like I need to talk to my financial advisor. 
In reply to Hold_Fast:
The roll on ramp idea is good. The lift doesn't work so well
The suspension droop will cause enough variation in camber to make accurate weighing difficult, and careful dial in of suspension and corner weights nearly impossible.
I have a set of Intercomps. Bought them lightly used. Worth every penny.
My car parks on them continuously when in the shop. I weigh every change I make, as I make them.
As an added bonus, they help save my back. The 2 1/2" in heght is enough to make a big difference when leaning over the engine bay, climbing in and out, etc.
I have a lift, but the car usually sits on the scales.
In reply to SVreX:
Even if I make some kind of slide plate contraption to allow the car to settle while I lower it onto the scales?
About settling the car... here is the setup I use (although just imagine a different race car 
). I have the FM hub stands with 5 lug pattern for my E36 and they sit right on top of the scales with enough clearance for me to reach all the adjustable bits. You can do an alignment and corner balance without ever moving the car. I only use my roll-on ramps when I check final weight before loading the trailer for the weekend. It costs less than a lift and for what I need most often it's better. Until I need to replace the trans... then I wish I bought a lift.
^^FYI Those FM hub stands are NLA
Hold_Fast wrote: In reply to SVreX: Even if I make some kind of slide plate contraption to allow the car to settle while I lower it onto the scales?
Car won't settle just by the wheels having the capability of sliding to the outside.
They also need to roll to do good suspension alignment. You need the roll off ramps whether or not you have a lift.
(The voice of experience- I've got a lift, race scales, roll on/off ramps, AND slide plates).
My "roll off ramps" are actually blocks of wood cut the same height as the scale pads. You can't properly weigh without the ability to roll on and off the scales.
I'm gonna build something a little different soon... plywood boxes, about 1' tall and 3' long with recesses in the center the exact size of the pads. That way, I can roll on/off, forward or backward, turn the wheels (with the slide plates), and still work under the car on a creeper.
BTW- my "slide plates" are a poor man's version...
(2) 12" square pieces of commercial vinyl floor tile well slathered in-between with axle grease. They work every bit as well as expensive roller bearing style lazy susans.
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