Getting your car’s corner weight setup right is key to doing well on the racetrack. But there’s one thing that often gets missed: making sure the scales are completely level when you’re setting it up. Sometimes, people skip this step because they’re short on time, don’t have fancy laser levelling tools, or they just don’t know it’s important.
This article is about a really smart, simple, and cheap way to make sure your scales are always perfectly level for your corner weight setup. It’s a trick that works well, even if your garage floor or paddock area isn’t flat.
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Getting Corner Weight Setup Right Can Be Tough
When setting up the corner weight of a car, teams are often in a rush. They might not check if the scales are all at the same height, or if everything is centered just right. It’s all too easy to lift the car, slide the scales under, and start tweaking before everything is set up correctly.
But if the scales aren’t exactly level, or the steering wheel isn’t straight, this can mess up your settings. You might think your corner weights are set one way, but the reality could be very different.
This can mean a car that’s hard to control, and that doesn’t behave like you expect. It can also lead to lots of confusion as you try to figure out why the car feels off, even though you spent so much time on the corner weight setup.
Confidence in Your Setup
Picture this: your car that handling like a dream, responding exactly as you want it to every little change you make to the corner weight setup. That’s what you’re aiming for. You want to feel sure that the changes you make will improve the car’s performance, every time.
Once you know how important it is to have your scales level, the next question is how to get them that way, no matter what kind of garage you’re in.
The usual answers are either expensive laser systems or unreliable manual methods, which aren’t ideal. But thanks to a tip from a reader of ‘Ahead of the Curve’ reader David Arken, we’ve got a new solution to share with you.
A Cheap, Simple Fix
Meet the water level method for corner weight setup. It’s a straightforward, wallet-friendly, yet accurate way to make sure your scales are all on the same level.
The idea here is that water in a tube will always level out:
So you can use this to make sure your scales are all at the same height. It’ll cost you less than two bacon rolls with coffee (probably!)
This picture below shows the setup. You just need water, a couple of tubes, and some wooden blocks. All stuff you can find at a hardware store, and it doesn’t take long to put together.
In this next picture, you can see a close-up of the blocks and the tube. You want the tube to be vertical, like the one on the left.
If you want to level up (haha) even more, you can even by these pre-calibrated ones off Amazon:
Here are the steps to follow if you want to try this out:
- Fill the tube with water, leaving a little air at each end.
- Set up your corner weight scales and put a wooden block on each one.
- Use the built-in screws or thin bits of wood or card to adjust the height of your scales until the water in the tube is level.
That’s it!
Here are a couple of extra tips:
- Start with the diagonals, like in the picture above, before checking front to back.
- Go through the process a couple of times to make sure all the scales are level.
Corner Weight Setup with the Water Level Method
I think the water level method is a stroke of genius, even though it’s really simple.
David tells me some of the teams that have tried it, even ones that have access to fancy laser systems, are switching over to this method for their corner weight setup. They find it quicker, simpler, and more accurate.
So don’t be fooled by its DIY look; the water level method could be a real game-changer for you.
Here’s the basic idea: use the water level to set up the scales, centre the steering rack, adjust your corner weights, and you’re done.
For a final check, turn the steering wheel a bit in each direction. If the corner weights change evenly, you’re good to go. This is a great way to make sure your caster, camber, and toe are all good.
Born out of a need for a better solution, the water level method could be just what you need to make setting up your scales for corner weight adjustments easier and more accurate. This clever, simple solution could give you more control over your car’s setup.
Be sure to sign up below and let me know if you give this method a try!
Good luck and have fun with it!
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