Toe adjustment on a lowered wagon

91_wago91_wago Wagonist
in Suspension, Braking & Wheels
i read something where some one said you will need a toe kit when you lower a wagon? ive owned plenty of lowered civics and never needed a toe kit to get it to align right. is the suspension of a wagon different? i know the rear shocks are.

Comments

  • BIOHAZARDBIOHAZARD Wagonist
    no you dont need a "toe kit". the rear compensator arms are your toe adjustment on the rear, and the tie rods on the front are the toe adjustments. when you lower a car you will need a camber kit to get the camber back into spec because the camber is not adjustable without it. ive read about some of the other members here using washers and longer bolts on the rear upper control arm to adjust the rear camber, but this method will not work on the front.

    the rear compensator arms are attached to the rear trailing arms and the chassis. the bolt on the chassis is the one that you loosen up to move the toe in or out.

    hope this helps
  • 91_wago91_wago Wagonist
    ya i know all about all that like i said some one was just saying that on a wagon it gets so out or wack when its lowered it cant be aligned right witout the toe kit. and you really dont need a camber kit i never use them and never have tire wear problems the toe is the most important. thats why i was asking. thanks.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    My wagon is lowered, and when I got it aligned the tech told me my tow is "maxed out" in the rear...so my toe wasn't perfect so he set it the best he could.
    That is where toe adjustment kits come in.

    Just saying that the option is there if you need more adjustment.
  • 91_wago91_wago Wagonist
    so its only needed in the rear? how low is your wagon?
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    91_wago wrote:
    so its only needed in the rear? how low is your wagon?

    Not sure on the drop. it's pretty low.

    The front doesn't need toe adjusters...that's what the tie rods are for.

    The rear may or may not need them. Check with your alignment tech. You may not need them at all.
  • BIOHAZARDBIOHAZARD Wagonist
    i havent lowered my wagon that far so i dont know first hand about how far the toe might go out of spec once lowered.
    i work in a tire shop and do alignments frequently, i just never have come to this problem.
  • udubrx7udubrx7 Senior Wagonist
    JesseCRX wrote:
    the tech told me my tow is "maxed out" in the rear...so my toe wasn't perfect so he set it the best he could.
    That is where toe adjustment kits come in.

    Just saying that the option is there if you need more adjustment.

    You shouldn't need more adjustment unless you have some bent shit in your suspension!!
  • codyJDMcodyJDM Wagonist
    my wagon is all the way down on Function&Forms and my rear toe is maxed all the way in an i am still a half degree positive on both sides. all you need to do is widen the hole on the subframe for the compensator arm to be pulled in a couple thousandths of an inch more. no big deal.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    udubrx7 wrote:
    JesseCRX wrote:
    the tech told me my tow is "maxed out" in the rear...so my toe wasn't perfect so he set it the best he could.
    That is where toe adjustment kits come in.

    Just saying that the option is there if you need more adjustment.

    You shouldn't need more adjustment unless you have some bent shit in your suspension!!

    LOL! You're funny.

    Nothing's bent. It's quite minty as a matter of fact. I am just stating what the computer and the alignment tech said. But nonetheless, I'll be sure to go back there and tell him that you said I shouldn't need anymore adjustment and that I obviously have some bent shit in my suspension. Either that or he's not qualified to do his job and his equipment is in need of calibration. /sarcasm :roll: :lol:
  • udubrx7udubrx7 Senior Wagonist
    Just like biohazard said, I've never heard of an alignment shop not being able to adjust the toe to spec. But I don't know how toe is affected by slamming the car, mine didn't need to be reset in the back after lowering it 2".
  • ogwagonogwagon Wagonist
    91_wago wrote:
    i read something where some one said you will need a toe kit when you lower a wagon? ive owned plenty of lowered civics and never needed a toe kit to get it to align right. is the suspension of a wagon different? i know the rear shocks are.
    One of my wagons and my EF hatch are both dumped on Function/Form Type1 coilovers. I know exactly what you are talking about in regards to the rear toe adjustment. I never really thought their would be an issue with the rear toe since I have had plenty of lowered Hondas with no problems in the past. I noticed that after I installed the camber kit, the rear toe went more positive and therefore required more negative adjustment to bring it in to spec. On my wagon, the rear toe adjustment is maxed out towards the negative side and the car is barely within spec. On my hatchback the rear toe adjustment is also maxed out toward the negative side however the car is out of spec by about .4 degrees too positive. In this particular circumstance I would need to get some adjustable rear toe links or modify the existing links by shortening them a bit. I hope this sheds some light on your question.
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