by "FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
Published 12/30/2017 at 21:05
by "FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
Published 12/30/2017 at 21:05
Tags: SUBARU
STARS: 1
On December 11th, I was an idiot and hit a curb head-on at somewhere between 30 and 40 MPH causing one of my wheels to bend beyond repair . I’ve finally gotten everything as resolved as it will be so, here is a summary of what happened. First, here is the wheel as it currently sits on my deck:
Looks worse without the tire there than it did with the tire still there. I had the dealer’s wheel shop look at it. When they saw a picture with the tire on they thought it was fixable, but after pulling the tire they changed their mind. I asked y’all what I should do with it , and I’m thinking I’ll turn it into a hose reel come spring. So my first order of business was finding a matching wheel. The 18" wheels that I have on my base Forester are from a Forester XT that I bought from a guy on CL who was an awesomely crazy person that was actually downsizing his XT to 16" wheels and fitting big A/T tires. Fortunately, I actually kept my original steel wheels with the tires mounted, so I had a full-size spare and some time to search.
I responded to a CL ad for 4 XT wheels for $600, figuring that I could sell the other 3 over time on eBay and come out in good shape. But I never heard anything back. Eventually I went to eBay. At some point, I realized that I could sort by distance. I found a few used XT wheels listed at $150 up in Austin and contacted the seller to ask about local pickup. It turns out that he runs a small chain of wheel/tire shops and actually has a warehouse here in San Antonio. Each day one of his guys makes a run between the SA and Austin warehouses. So the next day I was able to pick it up in a sketchy part of town, but much closer than Austin. Since we went outside of the auction, we got the price down to $125 over PayPal. It does have some curb rash, unfortunately, but it is round which is most important right now.
At this point the dealer (this thing is still under warranty and I’m still making payments, so I wanted a Subaru tech to take a look at it) was closed until after Christmas. I dropped off my Bridgestone, which somehow escaped the ordeal unharmed to be mounted and balanced on the new wheel on the 26th. I told them no rush and that I’d like to have the thing installed and get an alignment done when it was ready. On the 29th, they called to say the tire was ready and asked if I could come in for an alignment. I balked a little, because I was at work. Then they offered a loaner for the afternoon before I even asked.
So, here is the alignment sheet:
Basically, the curb encounter knocked the toe way out of alignment and not much else. Caster is non-adjustable on the Forester (the front caster is slightly out of spec on my Outback too). Apparently nothing else underneath looks like it was damaged. The mount/balance and alignment rung up at $155 with tax. So all in $280. And I got to drive a new Impreza for the afternoon and got back my Forester washed and with my old wheel/tire sitting nicely in the trunk. I wish this had never happened and down the road I may look for a pristine XT wheel that doesn’t have any scrapes, but overall I am very impressed with how well the Forester handled the whole thing. From the jolt that I got when I hit that curb, I expected way more damage than this. Good job, little Subaru. I will try to never repeat this.
"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy)
12/30/2017 at 21:20, STARS: 1
On my Legacy, when I took it to the shop to get it aligned, only the FR wheel couldn’t be adjusted.
The camber wasn’t able to be pulled back in because it was fixed.
So close.
"BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind" (briangriffinsprius)
12/30/2017 at 21:46, STARS: 1
I actually...would be annoyed if my car got damaged though this. Before I had a foz, I drove CVPIs, and got used to jumping up on curbs at speed. Anyway, glad your car is doing better.
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
12/30/2017 at 21:56, STARS: 8
Hah. Yeah I think P71 ownership might distort one’s standards for the amount of abuse a vehicle can take and be Ok.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
12/30/2017 at 22:00, STARS: 2
Not too bad, all things considered.
"sooper_burner12" (sooperburner12)
12/31/2017 at 01:40, STARS: 0
Actually, it’s your caster that way out of alignment. And it’s because you ran into a curb. You might actually have some front structural damage with your front wheels pushed in by almost 5 degrees. While it won’t affect tire wear, your car’s handling and steering will be affected. Hopefully, you went through the proper channels so that this shows up on a CarFax if you plan on selling it. Because I’d definitely want to know and I’d definitely pass on buying this car.
"Hansj3" (hansj3)
12/31/2017 at 06:55, STARS: 1
In reality the marginally high caster will make the steering try to find center, more, and reduce the light and eager steering response with something more laid back and resistant to turning. It’s something called caster jacking. The more you turn the wheel, the more the car climbs the caster “ramp”, But that’s just outside of spec, and I’ll bet it drives as it always did.
As a skilled allignment tech, with accreditation, what I’d address would be the right rear camber. They both bias left. And the 1.5° of total camber can cause issues, and a negative driving dynamic.
If there is a “warranty” on the allignment, get the rear cam bolts, and go in near the end of the period and get them to adjust
"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
12/31/2017 at 09:48, STARS: 3
0 degrees is not the caster spec on this car. The reference caster on these is the 5.4 and most leave the factory with more like 5.1. My measurements are only 0.1 and 0.3 degrees below spec, so they are close. Also, since they are below, that means that the wheels are out ahead of the factory position, not pushed in. I did this at the dealer, who knew that I hit a curb, specifically because I was worried about damage. So if there was anything wrong it would indeed show in th CarFax.
"MM54" (mm54mk2)
12/31/2017 at 13:35, STARS: 0
Have dailied/abused a p71 for years. Have jumped curbs. Can confirm excellence.
"His Stigness" (HisStigness)
12/31/2017 at 23:43, STARS: 0
Why and the effing hell is it so hard for “technicians” to get the toe right? Oh, wait, it’s not. It takes all of a few seconds to get the toe to match on each side. But god forbid these assholes spend that few extra seconds since the specs are “in the green.”
"sooper_burner12" (sooperburner12)
01/01/2018 at 01:59, STARS: 0
I think you have it backwards. You went from 5.4 degrees of positive caster to 4.6, which means you moved your caster in a negative direction. A higher positive caster value would mean that suspension has more rake. Thus, a lower (heading towards negative) caster would mean less rake. Since you said your toe was grossly out of whack at .46 degrees off, by telling me that manufacturer setting, your caster angle is much more off at 0.8 degrees. Either way, it’s been moved. Your steering will be affected. And suspension behavior altered. We fuss with settings like this on motorcycles to get them to handle a certain way. Changing caster angle by almost a degree isn’t insignificant. If I’m wrong about caster then I’ll eat my words but I’m certain you don’t hit a curb at 40 mph without damaging more than a wheel, but also a control arm, or a mounting point for the suspension, or something...
"Hansj3" (hansj3)
01/01/2018 at 02:16, STARS: 1
You’d be surprised as to how much abuse a suspension can take. He hit a curb, and it was never really discussed weather he hit on one side or two, and only managed to knock his caster out by two tenths of a degree. That could be the difference of a shop heater blowing on one side and not on the other. The soft rubber bushings on Subaru suspensions usually sag more than this.
You’d have to be the stig to even notice how 2/10 of a degree of caster would effect how it handles on a car. The rear camber is much more of an issue than the front caster
"Hansj3" (hansj3)
01/01/2018 at 02:32, STARS: 0
Soft bushings and lack of precision in the adjustment.
I could allign it numbers on, re roll it, and it would be off due to the minor changes of the suspension. It’s called stacked tolerances.
The rear (the one that really matters) is out by 2 hundredths of a degree.
The front, because it’s on a swivel will automatically balance out the toe to .055 degrees, and the steerhead will bias right .03 degrees. Nearly undetectable without electronic assistance. Its more than I’d like to see, but it isn’t worth worrying about.