2010 Accord EX - Wheel Alignment Question
First, Honda's specs, from the Service manual for 2008-10 models:
Front Toe: 0", +-0.08" (Honda specs angles in inches - most machines use degrees)
Last May, my local shop fulfilled my request for a hair of toe-in on the fronts: L +0.04" and R +0.04".
This positive toe(in) transformed my Accord from a "nervous hunter" of corners to a rock steady cruiser at 30mph on roads and at 60mph on interstates. I no longer had to provide minor corrections every few seconds of travel time. The steering wheel had a strong centered feel, and exhibited strong self-centering from turns.
Since then, a few nasty pot holes later, it lately felt like the car was (literally) drifting back into old habits.
So earlier this week, I had the shop align again, but this time, it felt like no change from before. After giving it a few days, I pulled out last year's alignment sheet and the one from last Monday, and I noticed a difference:
On the more recent sheet, they toed in the front left 0.5°(most modern align machines are in degrees) and toed OUT the front right, -0.5°.
When I talked to the shop today about it, the supervisor explained that the technician was "just trying to achieve the total toe I wrote down that I wanted", and that when going down the road, the toed-out side doesn't stay like that, and that the front wheels are centered by the other alignment angles(caster, etc).
What I wrote: "Front L & R toe in +0.04"
What I wanted: The front Left and front Right each toed in 0.04"(or degrees).
So maybe the tech thought I wanted TOTAL front toe of 0.04". (Which amounts to 0.02" of toe in per side.)
The supervisor said he would oversee a redo next week, at no charge. I apologized to him for my note being unclear, and he said, not a problem, "we know you were satisfied last year", so we want to make good.
What do you guys make of the tech aligning it they way they did, toe in on one side and *almost* as much toe out on the other?
Front Toe: 0", +-0.08" (Honda specs angles in inches - most machines use degrees)
Last May, my local shop fulfilled my request for a hair of toe-in on the fronts: L +0.04" and R +0.04".
This positive toe(in) transformed my Accord from a "nervous hunter" of corners to a rock steady cruiser at 30mph on roads and at 60mph on interstates. I no longer had to provide minor corrections every few seconds of travel time. The steering wheel had a strong centered feel, and exhibited strong self-centering from turns.
Since then, a few nasty pot holes later, it lately felt like the car was (literally) drifting back into old habits.
So earlier this week, I had the shop align again, but this time, it felt like no change from before. After giving it a few days, I pulled out last year's alignment sheet and the one from last Monday, and I noticed a difference:
On the more recent sheet, they toed in the front left 0.5°(most modern align machines are in degrees) and toed OUT the front right, -0.5°.
When I talked to the shop today about it, the supervisor explained that the technician was "just trying to achieve the total toe I wrote down that I wanted", and that when going down the road, the toed-out side doesn't stay like that, and that the front wheels are centered by the other alignment angles(caster, etc).
What I wrote: "Front L & R toe in +0.04"
What I wanted: The front Left and front Right each toed in 0.04"(or degrees).
So maybe the tech thought I wanted TOTAL front toe of 0.04". (Which amounts to 0.02" of toe in per side.)
The supervisor said he would oversee a redo next week, at no charge. I apologized to him for my note being unclear, and he said, not a problem, "we know you were satisfied last year", so we want to make good.
What do you guys make of the tech aligning it they way they did, toe in on one side and *almost* as much toe out on the other?