Toe out?!?!?

[KVF]

These are my alignment specs (actual is obviously after adjustment). I'm totally perplexed by my rear toe figures, as was my tech. My prior alignment (2 years earlier) netted .14L & .21R. Since that time, the only thing I did was swapped from the bavauto eccentric rubber control arm bushings and stock rubber rear subframe bushing to poly AKG rear trailing & powerflex rear subframe... Could those bushing changes destroy my rear toe that much, or is it likely that I have something bent?? What's even more odd is I've put about 4k miles on my tires with this set-up and haven't noticed even the slightest bit of odd wear... Any insight is appreciated; thanks for reading.

[Madhatter]

You crazy americans with their whacky alignment specs, I can never be sure if sheets read as toe in or toe out without the difference being noted. So a negative on this spec sheet denotes toe out? In which case you came in with it toed out and left with the same.

Pretty unusual to see any toe out on the rear, let alone both sides. Have you got any adjustment there? Especially if the vehicle is lowered, you normally expect an increase in toe in on the rear. Wouldn't expect the bushes to have much change on the alignment settings unless it was something like an offset control arm bush. You would have to have something bent on both sides as they both appear to be out of spec. Kind of remote having that happen, so if it's not causing tyre wear I probably wouldn't get too worried about the specs.

[KVF]

Now that you mention it, I just assumed "negative" was toe out... Maybe it is toe in, which may make more sense considering that I removed a pair of eccentric trailing arm bushings. I thought they only offered a slight adjustment to camber, but as I better understand the geometry, they clearly can alter toe as well. Thanks for the input and I will take your advise to try to put this out of my head, considering that it hasn't appeared to alter drivability and tire wear.
Thanks
K

[AndrewBird]

I would assume that negative numbers are toe in, but it is weird the "specified range" is a positive number than. I don't think they should be toed out stock.

[jlevie]

On this report positive numbers are toe in and negative are toe out. When the trailing arm bushings are good, toe errors like this on the rear wheels are from bent trailing arms or a bent subframe. It is surprisingly easy to bend the trailing arms. A minor curb strike that doesn't appear to cause damage is all it takes.

While the trailing arms could be replaced to fix the alignment, camber/toe adjusters will work and have the advantage of adjustment later if required.

That said, have the alignment checked on a different machine, just to make sure that the numbers are good.

[KVF]

Thanks; so I do have toe out... I think I need to swap in new tie rod ends up front, so maybe I'll use another shop for alignment to see if the rear comes up the same. Regardless, I see adjustable plates in my future. Thanks for all the replies.
K

[603Racing]

Ireland Engineering rear toe/camber kit FTW!