[pat]

My friend has a Rubicon that has bad front tire wear with only 800 miles. I read on some other forum about a toe in problem on them but can't find it now. I was going to email it to him. Can anyone help?

 

[Straight8]

I spoke to a guy last weekend and he said the same thing about his Rubicon. Here's what I would do, jack the 4wheeler up in the front by the lower control arms so the caster and camber don't change. Now jack the rear up also, and level it out the same way it would look if it wasn't jacked up. Start it up and put it gear, find the center of the tire and hold a white piece of soap stone in the center of the tire and while the front wheels are turning mark the center of the tire. Now you have a center point, now measure the distance at the very front of the tires at hub height, now do the same thing at the rear of the tires. Honda tows the front wheels out, this means the measurment in the front should be more than the rear of the tires. Now that you have your measurments, let the 4wheeler down off the jacks and keep it on a level surface. Go back and forth a few time to make sure everything is the way it would be if you were riding it. Wrap a string around all the tires at hub high, and make sure the handle bars are straight. Measure the distance between the rear of the front tire, and the string. Lets just say it measures (3/4) three quarters of an inch, now measure the other side. At this point you should have the measurments you got earlier with the white line, now take the difference between the white line measurment and the measurment you just got and deduct it. It should be almost the same as the white line measurment, because the rear tires are wider and it magnifies the difference in measurments. I feel the tow out is too much from the factory and the front tires are scuffing too much, and on top of that you can't take it out of 4wheel drive. Record all your measurments and changes, so if you have to bring it back to factory settings you can do so. Lets just say your white line measurment was a 1/4" more in the front of the tire. That means they are towed out by an 1/8th of an inch. 1/8 and 1/8 equal 1/4, so change each side an equal amount. By making changes of the toe-in, you will notice tha it will handle different, so make sure you write down your settings. If you have any questions I'll try to answer them. I hope I've helped you and your friend.

 

[fomocofan]

Straight sounds good, but I wouldn't scribe the tire while its in-gear... I would turn them by hand..just to be safe, and also you may get some wheel/tire wobble, throwing off the marks..

 

[Straight8]

fomocofan

Yeah that's cool, sounds real good!

 

[jswrods]

the reason honda sets them with a toe out is because they climb out of ruts better and throws more dirt under the quad away from rear tires. it also helps a little with wondering and stability at higher speeds on loose ground. that what i have read and it seems to hold water in my case. i have made adjustments several times and straight8 has the right idea. i have tried toe in, straight, and then out to see the differance. toed out is the best with about a 1/4" to 1/2" gap but no less. the other settings either would wonder or have bad bump steer and that just pissed me off. i ride hard in all types of terrain and have to do it once a year or so. you cant expect to ride off road all the time and have your quad be aligned right for ever. get use to it, besides the kid at the honda shop that put your friends bike together probaly didnt quit get it tight enough or he hit a pot hole or a rut hard.