Tire feathering?

[Hokiefyd]

If those pictures are of the passenger side, I imagine the front of the car is to the RIGHT? If so, that correlates very well with a toe issue.

Positive toe is toe in. You have very slight negative toe (out) on the front, which is typical and fine on a FWD car. You have what I would call a moderate amount of positive toe (in) on the rears, which again is somewhat typical, though the amount you have is more than most. Your total toe at the rear is apparently out of spec (printed in red), which very likely accounts for your tire feathering.

Bending a beam axle can change toe as well. It would depend on how it was bent. If it were lifted in the center and for some reason, the control arms didn't want it to bend vertically (changing camber), perhaps it bent longitudinally instead (changing toe). In fact, if it bent vertically (bowed), it would have likely changed camber in a positive direction. Positive as in less negative, not "better". So if it has indeed bowed some, you likely had even more negative camber prior to the event; you still have a healthy amount of negative camber in the rear. Not that it's a bad thing... Your toe here is more influential on your rear tire wear than is your camber.

 

[supton]

Yes, in that pic the front of the car was to the right.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: supton
Yes, in that pic the front of the car was to the right.


Very classic example (in my experience at least) of too much positive toe (toe in). I wish I could give you guidance on the fix, being a solid rear axle design.

 

[CapriRacer]

A couple of thoughts:

What were the target values? I'm sure everyone is aware that because of the forces involved, the toe will change when the vehicle is under power - and it is THAT value that is important. Unfortunately, it takes some serious instrumentation to determine that value - something an alignment rack can't do.

Which is why the target value is important. The vehicle manufacturer set up the target value to account for this change.

When it comes to toe, my experience is that the published tolerances are too wide by half. The toe has to be within the inner half of the tolerance to prevent tire wear issues.

And camber? My experience says that anything over a degree causes irregular wear - and the photo shows the beginning stages of that.

Adjustability? I find it hard to believe that no one produces a kit to fix toe in on the Jetta. - Opps! A quick google search found a Moog shim plate!

- and the rear camber? A google search showed some of those as well.

 

[supton]

I don't know what the target values are. I'd have to see if I could find more printouts. I just ask for an alignment when I go it, never figured I'd have to "know" what numbers to ask for.

As for shimming, since I have a printout and all, is this something I could just try to install? I mean, I have the printout which says what the numbers are; could I just install the shims and hope for the best?

 

[rslifkin]

Being that both sides are pretty equal, I would think you could DIY the shims. I'd shoot to correct by 0.15 or 0.2 on each side to get it fairly close to 0 toe in the rear.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: supton
I don't know what the target values are. I'd have to see if I could find more printouts. I just ask for an alignment when I go it, never figured I'd have to "know" what numbers to ask for.

As for shimming, since I have a printout and all, is this something I could just try to install? I mean, I have the printout which says what the numbers are; could I just install the shims and hope for the best?


The target value becomes important as to what size shim you need.

Do a bit of searching to see if I am correct, but I have an alignment book that lists the 2004 Jetta with the base suspension as having a toe spec of Zero for the front and 0.33 degrees for the rear. So that ought to tell you what shims you need.