Alignment question. (toe)

[Monzaveo]

Are Aveo's set for toe-in, toe-out or neutral from the factory?

Anyone know the specs?

[petrified.rabbit]

i will be able to give you all the specs in about 2 hours.

[ontarian_frog]

The specifications are:

Toe-in - unloaded : -0.10 to +0.24 degrees

Toe-in - 2 person load : -0.14 to +0.20 degrees

Toe-in - 5 person load : -0.17 to +0.17 degrees

Front Toe adjustment method in the GM Manual:

Loosen the right and the left rod lock bolts.

Important
In this adjustment, the right and left tie rods must be equal in length.


Turn the right and the left tie rod adjusters to align the toe to 0 degrees ±10 minutes.
Tighten the tie rod lock bolts. Tighten
Tighten the tie rod lock bolts to 64 N·m (47 lb ft).

[petrified.rabbit]

he beat me to it, i got busy last night to go get the print out from my last alignment.

[Monzaveo]

So that tells me, in laymans terms...

Unloaded the car could be very slightly toed out (-.10) all the way to slightly toed in (+.24)

When the dealership last fkd up my Aveo's alignment, The printout showed that the drivers front wheel was moved out a bit ( apparantly the machine showed that wheel ever so slightly out of spec. and the mechanic thought he could get it better)

( the car didnt need an alignment , but had to get one to qualify for this bogus 'tires for life' program).

Since the alignment, the car drifts left on the highway, or wanders around like crazy.

(someone mentioned to me one time that it sounds like it was set for "road crown" compensation.)

Since the dealership wouldnt work with me to correct the issue (f/u bob johnson in rochester ny!)

I've been wanting to tackle it myself, since I'm too broke for another trip to the alignment machine.

I set up a little thing on my garage floor with fishing line to check the toe setting ( I'll get into the setup if someone asks, just trying to keep this reply brief)

From the looks of it, with the wheel positioned straight on, like when I bought the car.

The rim is toed out on the drivers side by 6mm on my ruler.

I loosened the jam nut, and tried to get the steering arm to adjust but it would not budge.

I didnt have any penetrating oil to try.

I figure, it cant hurt to try to bring the wheel back in a smidge and see if the steering returns to how it was, or if I totally **** everything up.

I figure in the end If It goes crazy I can just set it back to where it was, since Im just messing with one side not both.

And if that dosent help i'll just get it to an alignment pro, as soon as money allows.

Thanks for the toe specs.

[petrified.rabbit]

from those spec i would think you would want to get it as straight as possible. i would measure with a fried and use a tape measure. measure from rim to rim edge as high as you can on the front and rear and compare the difference. from those specs sounds like you what to be within a mm.

[07_aveo]

I would think an alignment shop would be a little more precise than a measuring tape, they invented alignment machines for a reason. And for the amount it cost, you might as well have it done right.

[Monzaveo]

Yeah, well the thing is with those 40k dollar machines, there only as good as the operator, and last time around the operator did a worse job than a tape measure.

Petri... I went over all the possible ways of getting an accurate toe measurement on the garage floor.

You just can't get a good reading with a tape measure from wheel to wheel.

You need the tires on and the car resting on the ground. you also need to measure as close to the center of the rim as possible, making a tape measure underneath the car ( ie;through the body) is impossible.

I used this method:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh ... ?t=1091836

Its not going to be as acurate as a laser guided machine, and I dont get the measure ment in degree's....but you can get a decent idea of where your at in millimeter's.

I'd say this method is accurate to +-2 or 3 millimeters.

And its also just the Toe setting. For camber and caster adj. I'll get it on a real machine.

I'm just pretty sure its my dealership mis-adjusted toe setting thats causing the pull and wandering.

And If I set the wheel in to where I think it should be and the car goes crazy, I can always then go to a machine.

If I get it better, then I saved another 60 bucks.

[petrified.rabbit]

that method works. that is exactly what the laser machines do.

as for needed laser machines. i have set the alignment in my driveway and then checked them at work.. if you take the time you can get good with just a hand camber /caster tool. and i use a drywall square for toe.