Toe-In

The Steering System:

Toe-In

The front wheels should roll perfectly straight down the road, or else the tires scuff (slip sideways), wearing the tread rapidly. As the vehicle moves ahead, the wheels resist movement and hold back on the spindles. This force, plus that of the cone effect of camber wheels, causes the wheels to try to pivot outward.

That is, the left wheel tries to pivot to the left and the right wheel to the right. The wheels are able to pivot out to some extent because the steering knuckles and tie rod ends must have a slight amount of clearance to permit easy steering. To offset this, the wheels are aligned with a slight amount of toe-in.

Toed-in wheels are closer together at the front than at the rear. Toe-in is measured in inches. The amount is found by measuring the distance between the front wheels, first at the front outer edges of the tires and then at their rear outer edges. The amount of toe-in is the difference in the two measurements, which is usually about 1/32 inch to 1/8 inch.

If the wheels are closer together in the rear than in the front, they are said to be toed-out.

The amount of toe-in can be adjusted by shortening or lengthening the adjustable tie rod.

Ideally, the toe-in, measured with the vehicle standing still, should exactly equal the amount the wheels pivot outward when the vehicle runs at cruising speed. Then, the wheels will roll perfectly straight ahead at cruising speed with no side slippage.

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Article Pages
1. Steering System
2. Steering Principles And Construction
3. Fifth Wheel Steering
4. Ackerman Steering
5. Steering Linkage
6. Steering Gear
7. Worm And Sector Steering Gear
8. Worm And Roller Steering Gear
9. Cam And Lever Steering Gear
10. Air Bags
11. Worm And Ball Nut Steering Gear
12. Rack And Pinion Type
13. Four Wheel Driving And Steering
14. The Principles Of Wheel Alignment
15. Caster
16. Camber
17. Kingpin Inclination
18. Toe-In
19. Toe-Out
20. Common Steering Problems
21. Steering Gear Inspection
22. General Inspection Procedures
23. Construction And Operation Of Power Steering Systems
24. Typical Power Steering Pump
25. Reservoir
26. Control Valve
27. Power Steering Gearbox
28. Hydraulic Cylinder
29. Power Steering Operation
30. Power Steering Configurations
31. Troubleshooting The Power Steering System
32. Inspecting The Power Steering System
33. Isolating Power Steering Faults

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