Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
When measuring and setting toe, the measurement is taken horizontal or parallel to the ground, at a height about the center of the spindle or wheel bearing. Caster and camber are already adjusted when you check and adjust toe. The 6°, do not sweat it as it makes no difference to toe. If this concept is too difficult to grasp, take it to an alignment shop.Shouldn't toe be taken at 90* to the kingpin, thus +6(?)* Off horizontal, - up in the fenderwell front, - down on the ground behind the wheel ?
My good gosh, your ship sailed about half an hour before you got there. To measure toe the old way, you jack up each front wheel and rotate the tire as you put a chalk mark around the circumference for each wheel about the center of the tread. This gives a true straight center to measure from. When you let the wheels down again you roll the car back and forth a few inches to settle the suspension. The final roll should be forward as you drive. Then toe is measured between the two marks and compared between the from of the tires and the rear, at the center of the hub height.Historically toe is measured at the contact patch. And that makes sense, because it's a tire wearing angle. And the tires wear at the contact patch don't they?
The other thing is, it is a difference. So as long as you measure at the same place on each side, the camber angle is taken out of it completely (if they're the same side to side).
Realistically, the camber should be very similar from one side to the other. As in within a degree. So, even if there was a slight difference in camber from one side to the other, the effect on the toe would be VERY minor.
Modern alignment equipement does this by laser and computer.
The contact patch has nothing to do with toe other than being a source of excess wear if the toe is wrong.
Camber has a slightly different settling spec left to right to compensate for road crown. Caster can be used that way also. This is taken into account in the factory setting specs.