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Car Forum / Honda Cars / November 2004Tweaking 04 CR-V alignment
Just had an alignment done. Rear toe is .07/.09 which is fine. Dealer set left front toe to 0 which is what it should be and the right front toe -0.01 for some reason. As minor as this may seem, I can feel it. A little too loose for me and a it's little twitchy on the highway...not horrible, but it's there. Dealer has refused to tweak the right in to 0, saying -0.01 is in spec (which it is). I am considering just tweaking it in a little myself, but I want an idea of how much, say, one complete 360 degree rotation of a tie rod will affect the alignment. Any techs out there who can give me an idea? If not, I can just tweak it a 1/4 turn at a time until it feels right. Worst case, I'll just have to pay for another alignment. The spec on the CR-V is a mile wide anyway. As an addendum, I had an 03 CR-V which another dealer did an alignment on where they set both front wheels to +0.04. That one handled excellent...super tight. Unfortunately, they set the rear to .13/.06 which resulted (I presume since it never happened before) in the rear occasionally squirming on the highway. I use this dealer for all my service, but their alignments generally stink, so I won't go there for that. A full turn would be pretty large. Maybe an expert can give you better info. Of course, there is more than driving feel to consider. Increasing toe-in will reduce the twitchiness but will affect tire wear if overdone. (Got the t-shirt for that one!) If you are going to adjust it yourself, keep notes so you can set it exactly where it was and check the wear pattern after each adjustment. Some people like to use chalk, but I prefer masking tape across the full width of the tread. Apply it (whichever or both) while parked alongside a lightly travelled and well paved road and drive straight for a mile or so. Look to see the outer edges are wearing at the same rate as the inner edges. Since your alignment is known to be basically correct to start with, you should not deviate from the starting point very much. Mike > Just had an alignment done. Rear toe is .07/.09 which is fine. Dealer > set [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > service, but their alignments generally stink, so I won't go there for > that. > A full turn would be pretty large. Maybe an expert can give you better > info. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Mike Hi MIke, Thanks for the tip on the chalk/tape. Not going to move it much! -0.01 what? Inches, mm, degrees..? If it's negative, it won't feel "twicthy". The more positive you go, the quicker it steers. The more negative you go, the more stable the steering is. You also have to remember the the steering will center itself, meaning your actual toe will be -0.005 per side which can no way be felt while driving. check something a little more obvious like tire pressures. The higher the pressure, the looser the steering will feel. > Just had an alignment done. Rear toe is .07/.09 which is fine. Dealer set > left front toe to 0 which is what it should be and the right front toe [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > service, but their alignments generally stink, so I won't go there for > that. > -0.01 what? Inches, mm, degrees..? If it's negative, it won't feel > "twicthy". The more positive you go, the quicker it steers. The more [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > something a little more obvious like tire pressures. The higher the > pressure, the looser the steering will feel. Degrees. My experience with negative toe doesn't coincide with your statements. I had an RSX which was -0.01 (degrees) on both front wheels and it wouldn't hold a straight line...wandered all over the place. Once zeroed up, it was perfect. The tech that did the alignment also said I shouldn't have been able to notice it. Now, on that vehicle, -0.01 is out of spec...whereas on the CR-V +0.08 to - 0.08 is allowed per the spec. Tire pressure is fine and checked regularly. It's not that the vehicle isn't driveable. You can even take your hands off the wheel and it will track straight. It just has an annoying quirk, most obvious when changing lanes, where the steering isn't precise. >> -0.01 what? Inches, mm, degrees..? If it's negative, it won't feel >> "twicthy". The more positive you go, the quicker it steers. The more [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > annoying quirk, most obvious when changing lanes, where the steering > isn't precise. Sorry, I rechecked my documents...while there is a 'degree' symbol next to the values, it's clearly inches. I use a tape measure to do toe adjustment. 1/32 is plenty accurate. I won't worry about 0.01. Adjustment for 0.01 is beyond repeatable because of the play in the wheel bearings. If you want more stability, you need to reduce toe in the - direction, not zeroing it. -0.05 & -0.05 would help a bit. > Just had an alignment done. Rear toe is .07/.09 which is fine. Dealer set > left front toe to 0 which is what it should be and the right front toe [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > service, but their alignments generally stink, so I won't go there for > that. |
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