Without serious modifications, my 91 Civic (among other Honda models) permits only one alignment angle to be adjusted: Toe.
Has anyone here set the toe themselves? If so, what tools did you use or devise? Was your effort successful as indicated by tire wear and steering feel?
I have googled and there are some reports on this, but they are a bit vague. Also, I see tools like the toe gage plates advertised at
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and Ebay Motors. Is it a big deal to find my own very flat plates, apply them to the tire sides, devise a way to take measurements, etc.? I am sure tempted to do so. On rear toe -- Having just replaced the trailing arm bushings in my 91 Civic, I know there are little "compensator arms" attaching to the front of the trailing arm. At one end, the compensator arm is bolted to the car. The bolt, when loosened, can move in a slot so that some adjustment is possible. Hash marks are etched prominently into the body of the car at this point to facilitate adjustment. The factory service manual describes this under "Rear Toe Inspection/Adjustment." See for example
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The other end of the compensator arm is free-floating. That is, it rides on air. It seems a rather flimsy arrangement for adjusting toe with any precision. The design seems to explain the following three comments:
"... usually only the front suspension [wheel alignment] is adjustable." Chilton's 1984-1995 Honda Civic/CRX/del Sol manual, page 8-12
"A unique feature of [the 1984-1995 models'] suspension system is the compensator arm. This component allows a certain amount of side-to-side movement of the trailing arm. This helps to maintain a better toe angle of the wheel throughout the suspension travel." Chiltons, page 8-16
"The [new at the time 1993 Integra] trailing arm's front end is located by a short transverse compensating arm which cancels unwanted toe changes."
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ISTM the free end of that compensator arm will move in a radius around its other (adjusting bolted) end. So it moves in and out somewhat, changing toe according to driving conditions and wear on the car. As a result of all this commentary, I get the feeling that rear toe need not be sweated too much. Thoughts?