metroplex

Doing some searching on the Internet, it seems the consensus for the front wheels is a bit of toe-in on RWD cars, and a bit of toe-out for FWD cars. However, in reality, the OEM specifications for almost every car I've looked up (RWD Mustang, FWD Cobalt SS TC FE5 with QPA, Taurus SHO AWD), the front wheels are specified for 0.20* toe-in +/- 0.20* including the Cobalt SS Turbo.

How are you setting up your Cobalt SS's ?

cluelessk

Slight toe in means straight line stability.

From what I've seen most people try to zero out toe for fwd street cars.

Ever drive a fwd car with toe out on the rear? It's terrifying on gravel.

exninja

iTrader: (1)

As said above, toe-in means your steering wheel will want to stay neutral in a straight line. The best alignment settings depend on what you're using it for. For the street, the manufacturer's setting are best for straight-line stability and tire wear.

metroplex

I have 0.125" (1/8") toe-in at the front. Is that too much?

The car is really driven only on the street, but may see some drag racing at the strip. Not ruling out auto-crossing or the local road courses (M1 Concourse) but not a dedicated road racer/auto-x car.

exninja

iTrader: (1)

If that's total toe that's not bad.

metroplex

Yes, it's total toe (I measured 64.75" rear, and 64.625" front). Using some of the charts and the arcsin, it's like around 0.30* toe-in. I just checked the notes for my Mustang GT (about 0.13* toe-in, dealership measured 0.008* toe-in) and my SHO AWD EcoBoost (0* toe).

metroplex

I tried my best to zero out total toe for the front, and I think I'm there. Worst case scenario is that I'm 1/32" toe-out but I can't be sure because the equipment I have isn't precise beyond that. I took it on a road test up to normal freeway speeds and it's glass smooth as long as the road is smooth.

I used the string method and noticed the rear wheels aren't aligned with the front wheels. I'm not implying that they should, but I noticed the left rear sticks out more than the right rear, like the entire rear axle set is shifted towards the driver side just a tad. The car was ordered from the factory brand new and was never in an accident. I've seen some posts online about rear Cobalt alignment settings being out of whack. I wonder if it is just a build quality issue?

cluelessk

All vehicles are so far out of square it's not even funny.

Have you ever looked to see how sloppy and different each front rail of a Cobalt is?

Source - Work in a body shop and measure frames.

exninja

iTrader: (1)

My suggestion is to do what I did and give up on trying to do it yourself and have a Hunter machine do it. I spent hours trying to use strings, upset the toe, then kept figuring out reasons why I just screwed everything up. In the end I got close but I was still toed-in a little that got fixed. In hindsight I should have just taken it in. Would've saved lots of time and best case they wouldn't have charged me cuz it was in spec the whole time. Yes the axles come slightly shifted, and the axle width is not consistent front to rear, so you can't use the rear wheels to base your front wheels off of.

For info, I got my fronts within 1/32" of the rears. Turns out my rears are toed-in 1/32 each, so my fronts ended up 1/32" out of spec. It was already on the frame so I just had them fix it.

metroplex

I hate taking it into one of those places. They never get the steering wheel centered correctly, and I know they are supposed to do this - but it's like pulling teeth every time. And the really good shops are always back logged for some reason.

cluelessk

That's why you build a good relationship with a local mechanic. It'll do wonders for service.