I had to swap out one of my front hubs today and figured I'd better check the toe setting on my car. I don't see any special bushings on the front suspension, and nothing looks bent, so I assume camber and caster are at stock factory settings and I don't plan on checking them right now. As for toe, I'd like to try the method where I scribe a line on the face of the front tires, drop a plumb line from the front and back of the tires to the ground, then measure the distances between each. Does the car need to be on the ground, or the front suspension loaded when I drop my plumb line, or can I leave the front on jackstands while I adjust the tire rod?

 

Anyone?

 

I AM ASSUMING...(see end of post as to what this means):

that when the car is on jackstands, the suspension will be in full droop, so anything you set (i.e. camber, caster, or toe in) will only be the same when you are in full droop while driving. Usually, full droop means that tire is almost entirely, if not completely, unloaded, so suspension settings aren't as important (watch it, flamers...) as when under full compression, when the tire is fully loaded, and gripping the most. Eyeball your camber when the car is on the ground, vs. when it's on the jackstands, and the geometry of how the suspension dynamic changes should give you an idea of why you want to make your toe settings while the car is on the ground. Obviously, because rubber is flexible, and the contact patch will probably not move when you make an adjustment, you will need to lift the front end just off the ground to reset your contact patch after each adjustment to check your setting.

I've never set toe on a car before, this is just a logical assumption...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Edit: Precise answer to your question after I went back and read it: Yes, you can leave the front end on jackstands to ajust the tie rod, but you'll need to drop it back to the ground to check where it is set at.

 

Yes, the car needs to be on the ground, and it's a good idea to roll it back and forth a couple times before taking a measurement.

 

Thanks!

 

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What he said.

Car is very sensitive to toe. Do it right. You need to be very accurate. For eample 1/16" total toe is a very samll amount, only 1/32" per wheel.Drive the car and then check it again.