way off...

just mounted new tire/wheels and had it measured... this was how the rear L toe looked... now what?

 

Have it checked at another facility first. I had a similar check at one place, after checking on a brand new properly operated rack found the rear to be nearly perfect.

If it truly is off, the only remedy is to replace the rear beam. The 09-up USDM FIts have no adjustability at the rear. If your Fit was ever hit in the rear wheel area you may have recourse through an insurance supplement.

Ben

 

Sorry to bring this thread back up from the dead, but I have almost the exact same alignment issues and was wondering if there was a solution. Or at least an update on how the tires are wearing.

Thanks!

 

afaik, no easy quick fix on this issue. As for my tread wear, nothing really unusual... yet. Might look into this toe when I'm decided on coilovers.

 

IMO shops recommending & performing a rear-wheel alignment on cars with beam-axle or torsion-beam rear suspensions are ripping you off. Nothing short of removal of the axle or a collision is going to change whatever alignment was set by the factory.

I had a place try to do that to me after the rear shocks were replaced on my 1987 Civic (beam-axle rear). I questioned it, the actual service tech took a quick look underneath and told the service writer not to bother. Sheesh!

 

So basically its 'lower the car and you get what you get'?

 

Torsion-beam and beam-axle rear ends don't (or shouldn't if they're properly engineered in the first place) change camber as the wheels travel up & down, as long as the car's traveling in a straight line. Torsion-beam/trailing-arm setups (like the Fit) WILL momentarily change camber when the car leans in a corner -- the wheels basically stay parallel/perpendicular (depends on your frame of reference) to the lean angle of the car, so the outside rear will lean out at the top. IMO this is a good thing for an FWD car, as it can help reduce understeer. Once the car straightens out, the wheels go back to being vertical again.

Original MK1 VW Rabbits have a similar rear suspension, and really show off this geometry when stock as they have a lot of body lean.

 

Pretty typical values for rear. But in your case all that needs to be done is square the axle to the chassis. The left toe can be brought to .2 toe out and the right to .2 toe out and thats quite good for a Fit. Putting a trifle toe out at the rear counters the enormous understeer.
Get an alignment expert to show how to shim the axle to even the toe.
but thats for perfectionists; most Fits won't see the difference in tire wear or handling.
good luck.

 

i work for firestone and i measured my girlfriend fit when it was new and the left rear was out just about the same spec as youre.

 

can anyone confirm this???

 

Yes, seems a little odd that all three cars are out by similar parameters. Thanks.

 

Someone mentioned in another thread, to take the alignment with you sitting in the car.

Does that affect the toe at all?

 

i don't man but i put girls car in the alignment and it was off so i took back to honda, they said thats the way a came from the main line i thought that it was bullshit i think that was a reason for them to do the aligment for free all thought i showed them the print out that i printed out from my shop and we have a brand new alignment machine f.y.i is the hunter egale eye!!!!

 

^^^ you serious? now I'm very intrigued... a "factory toe-off" on the rear driver side only??? bullshit! someone should really confirm this...

 

I wouldn't be surprised.

Honda Japan poor quality control on the fit surprised me on other things, like poor panel alignment and the loose driver seat bolt issue. I have no doubt there are other manufacturing issues with the car.

 

You need to understand the Fit is not intended to be an Acura or even an Accord. It is intended for assembly lines far from Japan where minimum assembly skills are involved. The rear axle is a single welded unit and only in shape different from the Detroit cars of the sixties. And if you think the Fit is bad some of those visually crabbed down the road.
With a rigid axle welded up in a fixture there will be variances in the angle of the hub mounting due mostly to welding and then in the assembly into the chasis. Same for the pivot bracket 'ears'.
For some reason we have observed most Fits on our alignment rack have a bias toward the axle not quite square with the chassis centerline The passenger side is a trifle forward and the driver side a trifle backward so the passenger sive has a tad more toe-in and the drivers side toe-out. In most cases but not all we have evened the toe on both sides by 'shimming' the mounting of the axle. The axle is located by two pivot brackets. one at each 'corner'. It requires considerable work to 'straighten' the axle square with the chassis centerline and unfortunately sometimes thats not enough. Then you have to shim the hub plate to the hub backplate, One oster said his Fit has the hubplate and axle plate weded togetjher. Haven't seen that but it would sure complicate toe and camber adjustment and thats complicated enough with them separate.
The saving grace is that the rear toe is not critical and unless it were really out of spec there would be no real effect on tire wear or cornering. Its not a Civic either.
Its not a quality control issue; I suspect it meets design criteria very well. OK so the deign is cheap; yes I would not have approved a solid axle without lateral adjustment. Ah but that adds to the manufacturing cost and means some more labor to adjust it. And really not so necessary.
Remember its an economy vehicle.

 

well i have a question do the shims from the gd fit on the ge

 

I think every GE alignment sheet I have seen has this problem. Personally I have 22k miles on my car and no problems with tire wear, so it's not an issue.

 

so we are all in agreement that the toe problem is not from lowering the fit or anything that involves aftermarket wheel/tire/suspension?

 

When I first purchased my fit the rear alignment was out, and again after dropping it. The technician at Honda told me not to worry about it unless the tires started to wear abnormal.