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Alignment tweak
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Zero419
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:59 am    Post subject: Alignment tweak Reply with quote

Last year I changed out a lot of parts in the front end, added ball joint spacers, GW lift spring, new wheels and tires.
I had an alignment done, supplying the specs out of the Bently.

I have a few thousand miles on since. I am noticing excessive wear on the outside edge of the passenger tire. Is there an adjustment I can make to solve this?
Thanks
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If both tires are wearing too much on the outside edge it is probably caused by having too much toe in. Toe in can be measured and corrected with a tape measure and a minimum of tools right in your driveway.

Search for old post here on Samba on how to do this. You can also just search "DIY toe in" on the internet. If measuring the toe in at the tire tread, you need to double the numbers in the book as they give the toe at the rim. The toe in range at the tread is 0 - 1/4" IIRC.
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MarkWard
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you really want to know what is going on, Read Chris's/ Loogy's DIY alignment. You might have to reread it a couple times, but I can tell you it will get you pretty close. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=396113&highlight=diy+alignment
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BillM
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Edit double post
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Bill M
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Last edited by BillM on Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:13 am; edited 1 time in total
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BillM
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was under the impression that after installing lift springs and ball joint adapters that GoWesty had a custom set of alignment specs to follow. I need to replace my front end and dont know of a decent alignment shop around me. All the local just seem to only adjust the toe. When I mention adding weight before alignment they say that's not needed that it's supposed to be aligned empty! I'd be happy to pay a few hours labor for a proper job.
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MarkWard
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 7:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know about a custom set of specs, but an alignment is an alignment. As mentioned the easiest measurement to make is toe, but actually when you do an alignment, toe is the last measurement/adjustment you make.

When I redid my front end, I followed the above link just to get it straight enough to drive to my friends alignment shop. They have the latest computerized equipment. When the van was on the rack, the alignment was in spec and requried only a little adjustment in the rear, which I had not touched. The specs from VW are pretty generous. Ideally, you want the tire straight up and down and both tires pointed straight down the road. All vehicles are like this. When you don't know the specific specs you can adjust the camber and toe to zero and be pretty close.

If the vanagon was a race car, you'd want the driver in it when doing the alignment. The vanagon sees different loads. I would personally have the alignment done with the average load. But I doubt it really makes that much difference in tire wear. I can't recommend enough spending a day following Chris's DIY steps. It is an interesting exercise even if you don't tackle making any adjustments.

When you change the ride height on any vehicle from stock, you can easily run out of factory adjustment and will wear tires. The spacers, spindles, and control arms are an effort to change the ride height, but maintain the factory suspension geometry.
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