Alignment Issues and Discussions

[Don]

So, it was indeed set with too much toe-in from the factory

Actually, if your numbers are correct, you went from a good bit of toe OUT (which is never a good thing for a RWD car) to a small amout of toe IN, which is correct for the car - It should drive much differently now, almost night and day different. I cannot believe that Mitsu shipped your car from the factory with any toe out . . . . it must have bumped something which altered the factory alignment . . . . ever had a minor 'off-road' excursion?

BTW- the service manager got a bit indignant and wanted to know where I got my specs from

The same guy who arbitrarily decided to align your car (which is RWD) using the specs for an Eclipse (which is FWD) is getting testy with you for providing him with the correct alignment specs???? What a guy! Remind us where he is so we can make sure he never touches any of our cars

Don

 

[NeilBlanchard]

In one sense, I hope it was off-spec from the factory -- if a random bump or bit of "off road" driving can knock it out, then it is too fragile.

It behooves all i MiEV owners to watch for asymmetrical / feathering wear on the front tires. I've passed this information on to my brother.

 

[acensor]

Recently at 17,000 miles and 3.3 years noticed the front tires wearing unevenly and excessively ...IIRR it was outside edge scrubbing on both but might've been inside edge.

Thought of getting the alignment, then swapping them left to right is to get some more mileage out of them. Alignment fixed, then swapping them left to right just to get some more mileage out of them. But guy at Les Shwab convinced me to get new tires.

Got me quotes on The original Dunlops and Continental.
The continents were significantly cheaper. If I remember right they were about 100 bucks each, maybe chealer The continents were significantly cheaper. If I remember right they were about 100 bucks each, maybe cheaper.

They did a complete four wheel alignment check for about 80 bucks.
Everything was in spec except toe was out the same amount on both left and right front.
I can't imagine why, but I suspect it came from the factory with that set incorrect. Has anybody else experienced a similar issue on the original front Dunlops?
experienced a similar issue on the original front unlocked

 

[PV1]

The alignment on Bear was all messed up, but I didn't notice it until after I replaced the original tires. Both front tires were pointing right, but I still can't figure out how that car went perfectly straight.

 

[JoeS]

We've had alignment discussions in the past but no dedicated Alignment topic, so I moved a few recent posts in here. If anyone has alignment posts hidden in other topics, please send me a PM if you think they're worth moving in here.
EDIT: Note that I have moved the premature tire wear thread from 2012 started by jray3 into this topic. If you'll go back through it you'll see alignment specs.

 

[JoeS]

The alignment on Bear was all messed up, but I didn't notice it until after I replaced the original tires. Both front tires were pointing right, but I still can't figure out how that car went perfectly straight.

Because the two rear tires were (are?) also pointing right? :roll:

Also, note the Edit to my previous post.

 

[acensor]

Recently at 17,000 miles and 3.3 years noticed the front tires wearing unevenly and excessively ...IIRR it was outside edge scrubbing on both but might've been inside edge.

Thought of getting the alignment, then swapping them left to right is to get some more mileage out of them. Alignment fixed, then swapping them left to right just to get some more mileage out of them. But guy at Les Shwab convinced me to get new tires.

Got me quotes on The original Dunlops and Continental.
The continents were significantly cheaper. If I remember right they were about 100 bucks each, maybe chealer The continents were significantly cheaper. If I remember right they were about 100 bucks each, maybe cheaper.

They did a complete four wheel alignment check for about 80 bucks.
Everything was in spec except toe was out the same amount on both left and right front.
I can't imagine why, but I suspect it came from the factory with that set incorrect. Has anybody else experienced a similar issue on the original front Dunlops? .....

Addendum to the above:
The Continental 141/65R-15's "ECO CONTACT EP TL" were $214 for the pair.
No mileage warranty but lifetime road hazard prorated coverage.
$40 for freight (special order)
$27 for spin Balance (lifetime)
$56 fit AL3 thrust alignment all four wheels.
Total $338 No sales tax in Oregon.

And looking at some old posts I see other MiEV owners ran into buying theirs with front alignment being off enough to scrub edges off the tires. One owner spotted the issue at about 6000 miles IIRR. He was lucky enough to get the dealer to do the alignment under warranty.

 

[MalcolmReynolds]

So was in conclusive that the alignment is out of spec from the factory? Does this only affect the 2012 or does it affect other years also? Did this appear to address the tire wear issue?

 

[jray3]

So was in conclusive that the alignment is out of spec from the factory? Does this only affect the 2012 or does it affect other years also? Did this appear to address the tire wear issue?

'twas my first i front tires that showed feathering quite early on the outer tread blocks, and yes- a proper alignment cured the issue. Though I corner aggressively, the front tire wear has been even ever since.

 

[Carsten]

I'm at 75,000mi and have to replace my front tires again. It will be the 4th set and all of them wear out excessively and evenly on the outside. I have a 2012. I had the alignment done at Mitsu every time I got new tires. The car was/is always scary on motorway ramps - It starts sliding and the ABS starts rattling, even when I drive in a pack of other cars.
I will try a different tire shop this time, just to see, if it makes a difference.
Are the alignment values from earlier in this tread different from the factory settings?
Any additional advice?
Regards,

 

[Don]

Even with a correct alignment, the car understeers badly, so if you push it in the corners, you're going to wear front tires much faster than rears. If the tires wear evenly and much of that wear is on the outside edges, that's just the nature of the beast for an understeering car. If you slow down the front tires will last as long as the rears. I've got near 30K on a set now and they still look good enough for many more miles, but I never push it in the corners because scrubbing off the rubber from your tires is also wasting mileage and range and I've got better things to spend my money on

I'm pretty sure the 3 cylinder gas version of the car was a good bit lighter than our expanded size EV version, so if Mitsu had seen fit to put the same size front tires on the EV version as the back tires it would have understeered much less and given much better tire wear too, but we have a pretty heavy car to use 145 series front tires, IMO

Anyway, when you feel it 'getting scary' on the ramps, just understand that's where your tire wear is going - The front end is sliding sideways and the tiny tires are doing their best in a losing battle to get the car to turn in the direction you want to go

Don

 

[Carsten]

Don,
Thanks.
The skinny front tires have bothered me from day one. I am not an aggressive driver and return a healthy 4.5 - 5.5mi/kWh on my commutes with half of it in the HOV-lanes around DC.
I have these scary moments, when driving with everybody else in rush hour traffic - it shouldn't be like that. I also have no issue when driving our ICE the same route.
If it wouldn't be for the front tire issue and my failing pack and Mitsu's ****** attitude towards it, I wouldn't look at a different 2nd hand EV.
I have currently 75,000mi on it and get maybe 50mi/charge out of it, when I'm lucky. That is in the current mild weather around DC. Last year I had 80-90mi around this time of year. I just hope to get 36mi per trip out of it this winter to be able to "feather" it to/from work. I don't really have any particular cell failing (according to caniON).
Here is me, hoping that my pack fails totally before 100,000mi.
Regards,

 

[TobyGadd]

My newest i-miev just had a (apparently) minor crash when a driver ran a red light. Looks to be mostly plastic bumper damage. Lights and everything work fine. Still drive-able. But of course we're taking it in for repairs. Our dealer doesn't have a body shop, so we're taking it to a body shop that claims that they can handle it. The question that I have for Joe (or anyone else who can help), is whether they have a copy of the service manual that discusses alignment that they can share. From what I can tell from this thread and other, the i-miev's alignment is unusual. I'd like to bring a copy of the page from the manual when I visit with the body shop just to make sure that they check it properly.

Thanks!

Cheers,
Toby

 

[kiev]

There is a whole manual just for body repair with frame dimensions for alignment:

http://mmc-manuals.ru/manuals/i-miev/online/Service_Manual/2012/index_M4.htm


The Factory Service Manual (FSM) aka workshop manual is here:
http://mmc-manuals.ru/manuals/i-miev/online/Service_Manual/2012/index_M1.htm

 

[TobyGadd]

There is a whole manual just for body repair with frame dimensions for alignment:
http://mmc-manuals.ru/manuals/i-miev/online/Service_Manual/2012/index_M4.htm
The Factory Service Manual (FSM) aka workshop manual is here:
http://mmc-manuals.ru/manuals/i-miev/online/Service_Manual/2012/index_M1.htm

Thanks so much, kiev!

Cheers,
Toby