Do rear alignment go bad?

[jimmyparky]

I own 07 milano sport. Got 41k our of the original tires.

I just had my tires that I ordered from Tirerack installed by local tire shop. I noticed after the install they put it on the alignment rack. So I asked and they responded, just wanted to check if it was aligned correctly. I thought that was little strange. So I said 'ok', I had it aligned 4months ago after my wife decided to go over the curb.

I noticed they were looking at the rear right for some reason. Anyway the alignment result was that rear right was off by .27. I think that was a %. They said rear cannot be aligned because there's no adjustment that can be made. The factory spec allows for 0-.20 so it was little over and they said it should be alright.

So I drive off and I notice my steering wheel is tiny bit off. So I'm thinking, am I being too paranoid. Maybe it's the new tire. Or maybe something happened during the install that they needed to make sure alignment was correct... I don't know. All these things are going inside my head.

What do you guys think? Is it normal for them to put the car up for alignment just to check when customer didn't even ask for it?

I'm thinking I need to take a look at the rear and make sure there's no significant mark of any sort.

[743 Stunna]

they are correct that the rears are not adjustable on the fit. as far as your steering wheel being slightly off. you should take it to where you had the alignment doen and have them straighten it by adjusting the tie rods.

[gd3vbp]

Its usually recommended that you have an allignment done when you replace tires, maybe the shop was running a special for a free allignment? Your steering wheel should be straighter after an allignment than before, I would have them correct that.

[kenchan]

yah, they probably over torqued one of the lugs and the whole car flipped over so needed to check to make sure everything was back in line.

i think you're just being too sensitive. check the tire pressure
when it's cold.

[E = Mc2]

Originally Posted by 743 Stunna

they are correct that the rears are not adjustable on the fit.

I must beg to differ. Specialty Products (SPC) has a rear camber/toe set which works with the Fit. It's part #75800 and retails for only $11 at O'Reilly. The adjuster for the front is part #81260I. I can't post the results page where it shows what works with the Fit, but if you go to their alignment home page, there is a drop down search for all models on the right.

I've used their parts before on my Ford Ranger, and they are well made and actually work. Usually available (overnight from the warehouse) at your local parts store, too.




Which, of course, reminds me of a story: I'd taken the Ranger in to Sears for rotation, balance, and alignment because I'd bought the tires there and they give free balance and rotation for life. It turned out that the front needed to be aligned. Here's where it gets ugly: The caster/camber alignment bushing installed at the factory can be any size, is not marked, and is not adjustable. The tech wanted to install a 1.5° bushing that they had on hand and "see if it works". They wanted to charge $30 for the bushing and $70 to install it (and then another $70 if that one didn't work and they had to install another one, and then another $70 if...). I called SPC and spoke with someone there who recommended the 0° bushings to establish a baseline and then laid out exactly what I needed to do to get the correct bushings for the alignment. I went to O'Reilly and bought the 0° bushings for both sides for $40, installed them in the parking lot at Sears and had them re-check the alignment. The tech was pissed because they don't charge for checking alignment, only doing the alignment. More below. Taking the results, I again called SPC and spoke with another very helpful tech there to confirm the sizes. I returned the 0° bushings and got the correct sized ones the next day. Took the truck to a different Sears to have it aligned, and the caster and camber were actually within spec before he started working. Cross caster/camber and toe were off, but I had it almost exactly where it needed to be otherwise.

What's funny about this is the tech at the first store was ranting to his manager that "He don't know whut tha F*** he's talkin bout! Thur ain't no math-a-matical formulas thet you kin use ta git tha raight adjustment. You gotta jus traa it and see whut works". I could hear him from inside the store. After getting my printout, I reamed his manager a new ass and left. Brought the printout from the second Sears (showing where I'd gotten it right the first time) back and showed it to them a couple of days later. "Yes, there is a mathematical formula you can use. It's called SIMPLE F**KING ADDITION, moron."

[explosivpotato]

^^
Good story!

I was worried my rear alignment had gone out when I spun out into a stop sign like 2 years ago. It was fine, but I was nervous there for awhile. If your rears go out you're SOL and you gotta get a new rear swaybar.

[Daemione]

Originally Posted by E = Mc2

I must beg to differ. Specialty Products (SPC) has a rear camber/toe set which works with the Fit. It's part #75800 and retails for only $11 at O'Reilly. The adjuster for the front is part #81260I. I can't post the results page where it shows what works with the Fit, but if you go to their alignment home page, there is a drop down search for all models on the right.

Thank you for your post and the links . . . I'm shopping around for some coilovers, and after realizing that factory toe is non-adjustable in the rear of our cars, I was really wondering what the heck everyone was doing (or not doing) to avoid some vicious tire wear. Even on a mild drop, I've seen bad toe really tear up tires.

[mike2100]

Originally Posted by E = Mc2

I must beg to differ. Specialty Products (SPC) has a rear camber/toe set which works with the Fit. It's part #75800 and retails for only $11 at O'Reilly. The adjuster for the front is part #81260I. I can't post the results page where it shows what works with the Fit, but if you go to their alignment home page, there is a drop down search for all models on the right.

I've used their parts before on my Ford Ranger, and they are well made and actually work. Usually available (overnight from the warehouse) at your local parts store, too.


Which, of course, reminds me of a story: I'd taken the Ranger in to Sears for rotation, balance, and alignment because I'd bought the tires there and they give free balance and rotation for life. It turned out that the front needed to be aligned. Here's where it gets ugly: The caster/camber alignment bushing installed at the factory can be any size, is not marked, and is not adjustable. The tech wanted to install a 1.5° bushing that they had on hand and "see if it works". They wanted to charge $30 for the bushing and $70 to install it (and then another $70 if that one didn't work and they had to install another one, and then another $70 if...). I called SPC and spoke with someone there who recommended the 0° bushings to establish a baseline and then laid out exactly what I needed to do to get the correct bushings for the alignment. I went to O'Reilly and bought the 0° bushings for both sides for $40, installed them in the parking lot at Sears and had them re-check the alignment. The tech was pissed because they don't charge for checking alignment, only doing the alignment. More below. Taking the results, I again called SPC and spoke with another very helpful tech there to confirm the sizes. I returned the 0° bushings and got the correct sized ones the next day. Took the truck to a different Sears to have it aligned, and the caster and camber were actually within spec before he started working. Cross caster/camber and toe were off, but I had it almost exactly where it needed to be otherwise.

What's funny about this is the tech at the first store was ranting to his manager that "He don't know whut tha F*** he's talkin bout! Thur ain't no math-a-matical formulas thet you kin use ta git tha raight adjustment. You gotta jus traa it and see whut works". I could hear him from inside the store. After getting my printout, I reamed his manager a new ass and left. Brought the printout from the second Sears (showing where I'd gotten it right the first time) back and showed it to them a couple of days later. "Yes, there is a mathematical formula you can use. It's called SIMPLE F**KING ADDITION, moron."

Great post! I was about to order that part on ebay: SPC REAR CAMBER KIT & TOE KIT 07-08 HONDA FIT:eBay Motors (item 360168641463 end time Jul-14-09 15:57:35 PDT)

It looks like the eBay store is selling a full kit?

Anyway, just bought my wife the lifetime alignment at Firestone a couple of weeks ago and her right rear is a few hundredths out of spec (toe). It looks like this might do the trick!

[Fit4Trav]

The rear camber kit is made of plastic.

[Daemione]

Originally Posted by Fit4Trav

The rear camber kit is made of plastic.

So is a large percentage of our car.

[Fit4Trav]

Not the suspension.

[Daemione]

Plastic hub rings, plastic abs sensors, rubber bushings, rubber piston boots, plastic spring mounts . . . all found on any car on the road.

SPC isn't some fly-by-night operation - they've been making performance alignment parts like this for a LONG time. It's safe to say that any part that's gotten TUV approval is plenty reliable. Just because a part is "plastic", that doesn't mean it came out of the same mold as Barbie's dream car.

[Fit4Trav]

The main suspension parts are not plastic. alot of the electrical connectors and things used to cushion/keep from metal on metal grinding are plastic or rubber. When was the last time you saw a strut/shock/spring/tie rod made of plastic

I have SPC camber bolts on the front struts. So i know they make quality items, but i personally feel that a piece of plastic sandwiched between two metal pieces is not a safe thing, I'd be worried that it would break under stress.

Now dont get me wrong I am no mechanic, but it is my personal opinion. No need to blast away. I would just rather use my machined camber hub rather than two pieces of flimsy plastic that can be easily folded in half with one hand.

[Daemione]

Originally Posted by Fit4Trav

When was the last time you saw a strut/shock/spring/tie rod made of plastic

Never . . . but this isn't one of those pieces. It's a shim that goes between the axle and spindle - it doesn't require any amount of lateral strength at all. All that's required is a fair amount of high temperature resistance, and a very high amount of compression resistance. High density plastics fit the bill perfectly.

i personally feel that a piece of plastic sandwiched between two metal pieces is not a safe thing, I'd be worried that it would break under stress.

In order for it to break, the metal pieces surrounding it would have to break first.

Now dont get me wrong I am no mechanic, but it is my personal opinion. No need to blast away. I would just rather use my machined camber hub rather than two pieces of flimsy plastic that can be easily folded in half with one hand.

How strong is a piece of metal only a few millimeter's thick? Not very . . . in this application, the part needs almost zero resistance to lateral and/or twisting forces.

I'm no mechanic either . . . but I wouldn't trust a mechanic with choosing parts for my car. A lot of them are pretty good at swapping parts, a few are good at actual diagnosis, but in general, mechanics are the reason I started doing all my own maintenance and upgrades about 8 years ago.

[mike2100]

Originally Posted by Fit4Trav

The main suspension parts are not plastic. alot of the electrical connectors and things used to cushion/keep from metal on metal grinding are plastic or rubber. When was the last time you saw a strut/shock/spring/tie rod made of plastic

I have SPC camber bolts on the front struts. So i know they make quality items, but i personally feel that a piece of plastic sandwiched between two metal pieces is not a safe thing, I'd be worried that it would break under stress.

Now dont get me wrong I am no mechanic, but it is my personal opinion. No need to blast away. I would just rather use my machined camber hub rather than two pieces of flimsy plastic that can be easily folded in half with one hand.

Do you have a link to an alternative camber/toe kit?