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MG MGB Technical - Toe-in or not?

I have searched the archives, but there is some divergence of opinion on the correct toe-in setting. The factory setting is 3/32" to 1/16", whereas John Twist recommends 0 (parallel) for radial tires.
My tires were wearing on the inside edges, which I hadnt noticed until I put it away last fall. I replaced the A-arm bushings w/ the V-8 bushings. The king pins are in fine shape otherwise. Last week I had the car aligned by a local shop, who set it to the factory specs above ( I told them 1/8" toe-in). The car now will wander to the right at speed, which it didnt do before, and they claim its due to the tire wear. Otherwise it handles fine. I am going to rotate the rear tires to the front to check their claim, but I also want to re-check the toe-in myself.
Any opinions?
Thanks!
Andy
Andy Blackley

Believe it or not, a minivan we owned pulled to the right due to tire wear. I didn't believe it myself until I had the tires replaced and the pull disappeared.
Matt Kulka

Andy,

My preference is for 0.

Paul
Paul

Andy,

My preference is for the factory setting of 1/8" toe in. Both my cars have v8 bushes and new king pins and are fine at this setting.

Remember rear wheel drive cars usually have a toe in because this diminishes when the car is moving, whilst front wheel drive cars would need to be parallel so that they start to toe in when driving.
Iain MacKintosh

Andy, A quick test is to switch the front wheels, if the pull changes to the opposite direction the tires are causing the problem. Your toe in is close enough that should not be a problem. My Nissan pickup had a right pull when new with Firestone tires. I had the front end aligned and it still had the pull so Keven at the shop switched the front tires and the pull changed to the left. Out of four tires I had a left pull with any combination but one and it was to the right with that combination. So yes it can be the tires. Was your camber ok at thealignment shop? Camber is not adjustable but it may have changed when you replaced the inner bushes.
Clifton Gordon

Andy
Picture a coin rolling in a circle and you will get the picture. A tyre will always try to roll in the direction of wear. If the inside edge is worn, that implies too much toe out, or too much negative camber.
Regular full lock manoevering will also have a wear effect due to scrub.
Make sure the track rods are even. Tyre sellers often only adjust one side. Measure from tight up against the inner rack ball joint to the centre of the track rod end. Do as you suggest - swap front to rear, but before that try a side to side front swap. See if the pull changes sides or disappears. And make sure the pressures are equal. Go for about 1/16 toe in.
Dave
Dave Wellings

PS - Forgot to mention - I've done my own wheel alignment for 30 years with a simple wooden U Frame. The vertical posts are drilled for 12inch to 14inch rims. and two 6 inch nails (heads inwards)provide the datum. Measurements taken at 3 and 9 oclock. I use a steel measure for that final adjustment and it works perfectly.
Dave
Dave Wellings

Thanks for the good advice gentlemen, just what I was hoping for.
Andy Blackley

I use a gunson's Trakrite. The toe in setting at stationary is to allow for flex to be taken up when the car's moving. The Trakrite shows deflection as the car runs over it and so you can always adjust so that the wheels are parallel when in motion. I've used it on both rwd and fwd cars and if I do it right then I never get any uneven tyre wear.
Miles Banister

This thread was discussed between 06/04/2004 and 07/04/2004

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.