Alignment: Car wanders slightly with zero toe up front.

[swarb]

So I got an alignment.
camber 2.9 front 2.7 rear
.08 toe rear
0 toe front
everything was the same on both sides except for caster.
caster left 5.5 caster right 6.3
Car seems to wander slightly and mostly right.
I am thinking it could be the 0 toe or the cap on the road that makes rain water pool to the outside of the road. Or possibly the caster?

Normal?
How much toe is .08(degrees?) equal to? 1/32? 1/16?
does front toe out during compression? (because i was toe'd out before alignment)
does rear toe in during compression? (because i was toe'd in before alignment)
factory stock height measurement? from fender to center of wheel or from fender to ground?

[bfrank1972]

Originally Posted by swarb

So I got an alignment.
camber 2.9 front 2.7 rear
.08 toe rear
0 toe front
everything was the same on both sides except for caster.
caster left 5.5 caster right 6.3
Car seems to wander slightly and mostly right.
I am thinking it could be the 0 toe or the cap on the road that makes rain water pool to the outside of the road. Or possibly the caster?

Normal?
How much toe is .08(degrees?) equal to? 1/32? 1/16?
does front toe out during compression? (because i was toe'd out before alignment)w
does rear toe in during compression? (because i was toe'd in before alignment)
factory stock height measurement? from fender to center of wheel or from fender to ground?

Possibly, uneven caster can cause the car to wander in one direction or the other. Also might be exacerbated by the significant front camber.

[7thgear]

are your tire pressures equal?

[mrk1]

Crown in the road, pretty typical to see a wonder to the right If your looking for it.

[swarb]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

are your tire pressures equal?

Yes pressures are equal. I checked before alignment and the alignment guy checked also. They are a little high at 40psi cold. Slightly stretched 225/40-18 federal 595ss which run wide, on a 9.5 wheel. I will try 36-38psi and see how that works.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by swarb

federal 595ss

Your tires are contributing to the "wandering", and your camber is exaggerating any crown in the road.

-alex

[swarb]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Your tires are contributing to the "wandering", and your camber is exaggerating any crown in the road.

-alex

because they are stretched? or because they are low quality/budget tires?

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by swarb

because they are stretched? or because they are low quality/budget tires?

Because of the tread design. I used to have the same tires on a completely stock S13 (205/55-15) and with no other changes, the car was more prone to track/wander on road surfaces.

If you want to be truly scientific about it, you have to replicate the same driving on the same roads with different tires.

-alex

[Hyper4mance2k]

Both. The stretch exacerbates camber, plus directional tire tread designs are notorious for wonder on the road crown.

[WRKHARD]

rear toe on these cars can result in pull. snag some rear toe arms and have the alignment shop straighten the rear out

[swarb]

Originally Posted by WRKHARD

rear toe on these cars can result in pull. snag some rear toe arms and have the alignment shop straighten the rear out

It has positive toe in the rear. Aka toe in. Which is would not cause this slight problem. Negative toe aka toe out would though, which I don't have.

It is probably from the tires, So I am going to rotate wheels front for rears and double check the pressures and drop a couple pounds to 36-38 from 40, and see how that works.