Gen 3 prius toe in specs

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by ilovetoracecross, Sep 11, 2019.

  1. ilovetoracecross

    ilovetoracecross Junior Member

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    I'm wondering if someone can give me the specs for toe-in adjustment on a 2011 gen 3 prius.
    I've got a copy of the manual with it's... well.. odd measurement formula and I'm not going to lie, little league fall baseball has me exhausted and I'm not devoting any brainpower to formulaic thought.

    (especially since I have a set of Dunlop toe-in gauges hanging in my shop..) So anyone got a spec in MM or Freedom-units? Thanks!

    myles
     
  2. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    I recall from a long-ago thread that their toe-specs are way to lax, although not the specific numbers. As if to confirm, my rear tires show wear from toe-in.
     
  3. ilovetoracecross

    ilovetoracecross Junior Member

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    But no numbers? It seems like its minimal in, but the tolerance is +/- the actual amount of toe??
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Strange, in the attached Repair Manual excerpt, for Front Toe they say to measure a distance c/c at the rear face of tires (and mark it), then roll the car forward enough to rotate those marks 180 degrees, and measure at the marks again: is it even possible, say to snake a tape measure through?
     

    Attached Files:

  5. Ed Beaty

    Ed Beaty Active Member

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    Thanks for that info, Lendel, but chimney, I hope I never (ever) have to use it....o_O
     
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah, "push the car straight forward 16 feet" for example: I'm pretty sure an alignment shop is not going there. I can't begin to understand it, just make a mental note to stay well clear of curbs.

    And how the heck would you snake a tape, or a taut string or whatever, clear through, once at the rear "equator" of the tire, then again at the front? Is it doable??
     
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Ok, took a look, and the light dawns:

    It's definitely NOT possible to directly measure with a tape or string. You need some sort of surveyor's ruler, laid on the slab, with vertical calipers that are able to be slid along it. Or in a pinch: tape measure taped to the floor plus plumb bobs (or squares).
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Sep 12, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2019
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    You're not kidding: no measurements, just "make all the measurement, then come up with the angles, and see how they compare to the spec angles. I'll try to reverse engineer it. First, from the manual:

    upload_2019-9-12_10-5-57.png
    upload_2019-9-12_10-6-21.png

    The tire has (roughly) an outside diameter of 25", and front wheel "track" of 60" (is that c/c of the front wheels?). Sketching that up (in AutoCad), with the spec'd toe-in angle (12 minutes, each side), I get an overall variation, front versus rear:

    upload_2019-9-12_10-19-3.png
    Long story short: 6/32" overall difference between front and rear, or 3/16". And for the tolerances: zero would minimum, and 3/8" the max. Then you have to fine tune, left side vs right I guess. But just checking the overall would be a start.

    (Editorial: I just noticed I did the 60 dim while still on the slight skew, after measuring the 25 tire diameter. You can see a slight "step" in the 60 dim. Anyway: those two dims are for reference only, don't really matter.)
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Sep 12, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2019
  9. ilovetoracecross

    ilovetoracecross Junior Member

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    Mendel stupid question. Do both tie rods fully adjust? I cant for the life of me loosen the driver side 19mm lock nut, im actually wondering if its "set" from factory and you then adjust the passenger side to spec (ergo the crappy instructions). Im nearly about to bust a snap on wrench trying to get it to move down the threaded portion of the rod.

    I hate modern cars
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I've never touched them, but I see the torque spec is a not insignificant 55 foot pounds. With a few years in the elements, they would get pretty stubborn.

    Did you pre-soak with some penetrating lubricant? Maybe a jarring force would help, but not sure you do that with box wrenches; give it raps with a hammer? Maybe heat would help too.

    Did you manage a measurement btw?
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I tried doing a measurement, using a tape measure and carpenter's square. I did no rolling the wheel forward through 180 degree, and took the measures not at the tread face, but at the edge protectors on the outside face. The diameter there is 19-3/8". I got 68-7/16" at the back, and 68-5/16" at the front.

    IMG_1178.JPG
     
  12. ilovetoracecross

    ilovetoracecross Junior Member

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    I have slightly different tooling. (Pardon the mess) Yes i did, close to what you suggested. These gauges work ok, but i packed it in for the night not wanting to use the hot wrench at this hour. Drove home on the highway life is ok. This week was control arms, drop links, ball joints, drive side cv, next week is passenger and a pcv catch can
    IMG_20190912_224134.jpg
     
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  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That looks pro!
     
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  14. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    It also looks like there is an XK just hanging out in the garage too:).

    Front looks great(y).
     
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  15. ilovetoracecross

    ilovetoracecross Junior Member

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    Yes, predominantly we do vintage race/passenger cars. My Prius is always eyed with unending suspicion
     
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Someone beat on the front end a bit?
     
  17. ilovetoracecross

    ilovetoracecross Junior Member

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    The hoods popped open on the prius but yes. Street parking in nyc
     
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