New Alignment and toe settings.

sgtiger · 08-23-2007, 08:30 PM

So I got a four wheel alignment today, after I installed new springs (agx), shocks (hyperco), and the whiteline brace.

I specified my toe settings as: "Zero in the front and a hair out in the rear". It was set to L/R:

Front: 0 / 0

Rear: -.06' / -.10'

so... that's about 1/6th" total toe out in the rear. Camber is at -0.6' in the rear and -1.0 in the front. I have 15x195's on my car.

Ya'll think I'll have excessive rear treadwear? I wanted to be able to induce a little oversteer, and read that with FWD cars a tiny bit of toe out in the rear does that. Not sure why he gave the R twice as much toeout.

98sr20ve · 08-24-2007, 09:08 AM

Thats a lot of toe out for most people. The reason you have a uneven amount is because toe is not easily adjusted in very small increments most cars. They get it close and then they are done. I would not want that much toe out on my cars. It will likely cause some extra tire wear. Most people who run that much toe out autocross the cars and expect extra tire wear.

sgtiger · 08-26-2007, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98sr20ve

Thats a lot of toe out for most people. The reason you have a uneven amount is because toe is not easily adjusted in very small increments most cars. They get it close and then they are done. I would not want that much toe out on my cars. It will likely cause some extra tire wear. Most people who run that much toe out autocross the cars and expect extra tire wear.

So I took it back to a different shop of the same chain to get them to adjust the rear toe to 0. What happens? I get the car back and look at their new settings:

Front toe adjusted FROM 0 to .10 degrees on both sides IN (total .20).
Rear toe adjusted to .8 degrees IN on both sides (total .16).

I also lost 1/2 degree of negative camber up front on the right (from -1.0 to -0.5). I guess my only option is to do it myself? Not to mention my steering wheel is cocked to the left now slightly. Do I take it back again? What's most weird, is this new shops printout showed that my ORIGINAL toe was .08 on the left and -.12 on the right????

The car definitely is sluggish and plows through turns now, feels much less responsive. We measured the wheels front and back when we got it home, and it's definitely toed in front and back.

-Ryan

bobbyisking · 08-26-2007, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtiger

So I took it back to a different shop of the same chain to get them to adjust the rear toe to 0. What happens? I get the car back and look at their new settings:

Front toe adjusted FROM 0 to .10 degrees on both sides IN (total .20).
Rear toe adjusted to .8 degrees IN on both sides (total .16).

I also lost 1/2 degree of negative camber up front on the right (from -1.0 to -0.5). I guess my only option is to do it myself? Not to mention my steering wheel is cocked to the left now slightly. Do I take it back again? What's most weird, is this new shops printout showed that my ORIGINAL toe was .08 on the left and -.12 on the right????

The car definitely is sluggish and plows through turns now, feels much less responsive. We measured the wheels front and back when we got it home, and it's definitely toed in front and back.

-Ryan

i think that there is always a slight amount of play when u align ur vehicle. did they touch your fronts? and did u tell them not to? i still don't get it how u wanted the rear to be 0 toe and it came out with .16? when i did mine, i asked for the fronts for 0, but they said that they can't an exact number because the fsm calls for X.X to X.X. i didnt care at first because i really needed my car aligned, but now, if they can't put it to my specs, then i'm headed somewhere else.

totaled200ser · 08-26-2007, 07:19 PM

if the wheel is cocked you have every right to bring it back. you said you brought it to a chain, which chain is that??? most tire stores just let anyone work for them. trust me, i have re-done alot of alignments that were done at tire stores. usually just toe and go shops. find a shop that specializes in performance alignments if you want to request your specs.

reverm · 08-26-2007, 08:50 PM

It sounds like the second shop aligned the car with the wheel off-center. Pretty easy to do with the amount of play available in the stock suspension and steering systems.

If you have access to a flat, level surface, I would definitely recommend that you start doing your own alignments. Even with toe plates and a bubble level camber gauge, you can achieve a very respectable level of accuracy. Not to mention that you'll save yourself a lot of money in the long run.

98sr20ve · 08-26-2007, 08:53 PM

What are your toe plates saying you have? What is the machine saying your thrust is like (F/R)? Which way is the steering wheel pointed?