What front toe setting for 80 do you use?

[spartan]

spec is 5 to 15 degrees. Anybody run like 19 degrees to get the truck to track better with larger tires.

I recently changed tires and had my front end aligned. Truck feels like it's wandering all over the road with toe set at 8 degrees. It was at 16 degrees. I think I'm gonna have it reset to at least 15 to see what happens.

Anybody got any thoughts on this one?

 

[jonheld]

Small changes in toe make a big difference in handling, especially if the caster is out of spec. With 33" street tires I set mine at 3/16" to 3/8" toe in. Less than 3/16" and she starts to wander. More than 3/8" and I get increased drag from the front and the tires start to wear improperly.
It's easy to measure and adjust as long as your tie rod ends are not seized to the rod. IMO the correct adjustment is the smallest amount of toe in to feel right on the highway. Always toe in, never toe out.

 

[retrofive]

Small changes in toe make a big difference in handling, especially if the caster is out of spec. With 33" street tires I set mine at 3/16" to 3/8" toe in. Less than 3/16" and she starts to wander. More than 3/8" and I get increased drag from the front and the tires start to wear improperly.
It's easy to measure and adjust as long as your tie rod ends are not seized to the rod. IMO the correct adjustment is the smallest amount of toe in to feel right on the highway. Always toe in, never toe out.

On my phone now, but is there a proper procedure on measuring/how-to in the faq or?

I need to check mine out after replacing some bent goodness. Was just going to go get alignment at a shop but if I can do most from my garage it would be preffered.

 

[spartan]

There's a thread on doing it with angle iron clamped to rotors and tape measure - I had it but lost bunch of bookmarks last week when computer died. It would be nice to equate the degree measurements with inch measurements.

 

[retrofive]

There's a thread on doing it with angle iron clamped to rotors and tape measure - I had it but lost bunch of bookmarks last week when computer died. It would be nice to equate the degree measurements with inch measurements.

Thanks. I will search a little later for it.

 

[landtank]

I set the caster to be within spec and then toe to it's minimum which with a tape measure is less than 1/8" on a 35" tire.

 

[jonheld]

Put the front end on stands.
Stick a pushpin type thumbtack into the tread block of each front tire at center axle height.
Run a tape measure between the tacks in front of the axle.
Rotate tires 180 degrees.
Measure again.

 

[Tools R Us]

The "best" alignment specs for a big tire, lifted rig will change from stock. Springs, Shocks, arm angle, etc, and especially tires make a big difference. Once lifted, I always play with the settings to find the sweet spot, that makes the rig comfortable to drive and fits my preference. I find almost all prefer a little more toe-in for high speed stability at or slightly over max stock spec, most end up ~1/8-3/16" when measured at stock tire size.

 

[Tools R Us]

Measuring tape toe.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/439431-alignment-setting-toe.html

 

[Tools R Us]

... then toe to it's minimum which with a tape measure is less than 1/8" on a 35" tire.

The minimum spec in my FSM is 0, would also be 0" on a tape measure or even with a 35" tire.

 

[retrofive]

Thanks guys.

 

[landtank]

The minimum spec in my FSM is 0, would also be 0" on a tape measure or even with a 35" tire.

You got me, I actually view the tape measure deal as not being all that accurate, at least in my hands, so to insure that I'm in spec I make sure the front measures some toe but less than 1/8".

IMO if the caster is set correctly you don't need gobs of toe especially if you are running radials.

 

[plutonius]

I installed adjustable panhards from Man-a-fre (local enough so no shipping to pay for) this weekend, and finally got the rig on an alignment rack yesterday as I've wanted to know where my caster sits after installing Slee's plates, and to see if my guesswork on the panhard length was close - seems it is. Pre-panhards my axles were pretty far off-center and I was getting some grumbling from the driveshafts. Everything's good now, and all that positive caster really helps out when she's tail-heavy, as in a KX125 on the hitch mount carrier.

She still has an inkling to wander just a bit, it seems like most are running more than 1/16" toe in (.0625), and I'm wondering if 1/16" on my setup with 315's is enough. The real answer is a bit of experimenting is due, but if anyone spots a weird alignment number here, chime in:

 

[bugsnbikes]

Pluto- how much longer did you end up going over stock length on the panhards front and rear? (you have around 3" lift?)

 

[plutonius]

Unladen and with the Airlift bladders at 5psi, hub center to body (flareless) is 24" front and 24.25 rear, so it's around 3.5" of lift. I set both panhards to 3/8" longer than stock,, bolted them up, and measured using a hockey stick against the outside of the tires, measuring distance to the body. The front took one full turn shorter, and the rear took 2 full turns shorter. So a hair under 3/8" on the front, and 2 hairs under 3/8" on the rear. It's startling how better the steering, driveline noise, and stance is with such seemingly minor adjustments.

 

[Tools R Us]

... The real answer is a bit of experimenting is due, ...

This^^^

I play with it, find what works best with the setup and your driving preference. Then measure/note where it is set, so it can be easily reset after any future work. Find that most lifted/big tire setups like somewhere around 1/8-3/16" toe in.

 

[Adam R]

The toe procedure I use involves a piece of plywood with a nail driven through it.

Jack up front of rig so tires are just off the ground.
Lay piece of plywood on the ground so nail is just barely touching tread blocks of tire.
Stand or sit on plywood to keep it from moving around.
Spin tire so the nail scribes a black line on the tread blocks all the way around the tire.
Repeat for other tire.
Set vehicle on the ground and roll vehicle back and forth a few inches to settle everything out.
Find trusty assistant to help measure the distance between the front and back lines on the tires.
I run about 3/16 of toe with 35" tires.

Adam

 

[jvazquez53]

spec is 5 to 15 degrees. Anybody run like 19 degrees to get the truck to track better with larger tires.

I recently changed tires and had my front end aligned. Truck feels like it's wandering all over the road with toe set at 8 degrees. It was at 16 degrees. I think I'm gonna have it reset to at least 15 to see what happens.

Anybody got any thoughts on this one?

My truck wandered but the reason was caster, not toe. Check this link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2pjCebuyDo