Cheapest way to get easy toe adjustability in the rear?

[Ohio Enthusiast]

I've been fiddling with DIY alignment on my BRZ and am pretty happy with it so far. The biggest pain is adjusting rear toe - the OEM eccentric washer is horrible to adjust. It changes toe by a lot with the tiniest turn, and it's almost impossible to tighten the nut without affecting the toe.

What's the cheapest way of getting easy adjustments? I'm looking for a threaded toe arm like in the front, ideally with a fixed washer to lock the OEM adjustable slot. Is the RockAuto MOOG arm at $70 a piece the cheapest way?

[RedReplicant]

Yep, RockAuto Moogs (same thing as SPC) with some lockout plates. GKTech had the cheapest lockout plates I could find without resorting to cutting metal myself when I was last looking.

Only annoying part about the Moog/SPC is that you pretty much need to cut down a 22mm wrench to easily adjust them.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by RedReplicant

Only annoying part about the Moog/SPC is that you pretty much need to cut down a 22mm wrench to easily adjust them.

Why is that? Is the jam nut too thin for a regular 22mm wrench to fit?

[RedReplicant]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Why is that? Is the jam nut too thin for a regular 22mm wrench to fit?

Nah, as in a full size 22mm wrench is too long to adjust without being frustratingly slow. I cut mine down to be like fist length so I can more or less do a half turn at once instead of like a sixteenth of a turn before having to reposition the wrench due to hitting other links/ground/etc.

[RToyo86]

MOOG/SPC LCA
SPC toe arms for additional range of adjustment.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Resurrecting this. I got the Moog RK100124 for my BRZ to go with RCE Tarmac 2 coilovers (so that toe adjustment is actually bearable).
The Moog arms come with a threaded hole at the bottom of the ball joint and a Zerk grease fitting to go into it. Once installed, the Zerk fitting is rubbing on the handbrake cable. I don't remember how much clearance the stock toe arm had, but I do remember it being pretty close and having to push the cable out of the way to remove the toe arm from the knuckle.

Anyone had this issue? I'm thinking greasing the arm, then removing the Zerk and either plugging it with a threaded plug (if I can find one that doesn't stick out and still rubs) or taping over the hole with some aluminum duct tape (hoping it will hold to the road grime and the grease creeping from the hole).

In contrast, the SPC toe arms appear to be sealed and do not have a grease fitting hole. The stock toe arms are also sealed.

And another "rant" - both Moog and SPC toe arms come with a castle nut and split/cotter pin, while the stock toe arm uses a flanged nut and a b-type cotter pin. Trying to reuse the flanged nut on the Moog arm doesn't expose the hole enough to push the pin through, so I used the provided castle nut. A little annoying.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I'm thinking greasing the arm, then removing the Zerk and taping over the hole with some aluminum duct tape

Did just this today. I'll report back how it's holding up. I'll look for plugs as well.

[Muskoka800]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I'll look for plugs as well.

Perhaps an Allen screw providing it doesn’t go to deep???

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Muskoka800

Perhaps an Allen screw providing it doesn’t go to deep???

Based on what I read, the Zerk fittings are 1/4-28 tapered thread that goes into a regular 1/4-28 hole (i.e. not tapered). The Zerk fitting does thread perfectly fine into a 1/4-28 nut at the hardware store. I got two 1/4-28 machine screws and shortened them to be the same length as the Zerks, but haven't had the chance to try and put them in the arms to confirm.

Honestly Zerk plugs are cheap, the problem is finding them locally or online without paying 100x for shipping (or buying a bag of 50 or 100 plugs that I don't need).

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I got two 1/4-28 machine screws and shortened them to be the same length as the Zerks

I installed the machine screws into the Zerk holes, they fit just fine. I left the aluminum tape over them to help smooth it out, but at full suspension droop the handbrake cable touches the outside of the toe arm ball joint housing anyway, not the machine screw head. I'll keep an eye on that during maintenance to make sure the handbrake cable is not compromised, but otherwise it's a decent workaround.