[ilusnforc]

Here is the printout from my recent alignment after new tires. I am concerned about the rear measurements but the mechanic told me "there is nothing I can do about it because it cannot be adjusted". I think he is just lazy and doesn't want to fix it but there has to be a way that it can be fixed...
How significant and how far off is it?
What kind of effects is it having?
http://hometown.aol.com/ilusnforc/images/alignment.jpg

 

[Dougie]

Rear toe is not adjustable--short of bending the parts. Your total is 0.39 degrees, which I think converts roughly to 5/32", which is a bit more than the specified amount, but with the acceptable range.

However, I'm not an expert on this and am not completely sure how to do the conversion. I'm looking at
http://www.smartracingproducts.com/pdfd ... manual.pdf

 

[Rick]

First please refer to our posting rules:
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42
Per #7 your picture has been changed to a url.

The rear is not adjustable, to my understanding the way to fix it is there is a shim that would have to be carefully machined to the right portions to put the rear back in allignment.

When I had mine alligned at 20K the front was out enough that I had a noticeable difference in mpg, plus one of the tires was wearing ever so noticeably different. My rear was slightly off, but not nearly enough to warrant any work. Speaking of which I'm nearing 40K now so I guess it's time to bring it back in.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Since toe is self "centering" your total rear toe is 0.41 deg. (add both values). This closely calculates to the 1/8" specification for the Insight's rear toe. The one wheel "contributing" to most of the toe is not desirable and causes the _slightly_ high thrust angle you show (0.18 deg.) This thrust angle can be adequately compensated for when doing a 4 wheel alignment.

A good alignment shop will be able to mix and match an off-the-shelf solution and shim the spindle for a more precise alignment. I'd guesstimate an hour or so additional labor above another required alignment session. (Can't get there from here without it )

So will this much "mis-alignment" cause premature tire wear :?: IMO little or none. Will it reduce MPG :?: :twisted: ABSOLUTELY (but again IMO little or none).


HTH!

 

[Rex Bradley]

I'm currently in a similar situation with my 2001 5 speed insight. I've got 70,000 miles on the car and just replaced my tires. The rear driver side tire had prominent diagonal scuffing wear pattern that I'm looking to prevent on the new set. I took it to a local alignment and was told it couldn't be aligned due to 0.63 degree of toe on the rear left tire with a total rear toe of 0.58 degree. I asked about shimming it back to 0 degrees and he said couldn't and sent me to a local body shop. They told me I needed to replace the rear axle beam and spindle. Looking at the shop manual it seems easy enough to swap the two out myself. Is common to replace both parts in a situation like this or do I only need one or other?