Weird Imreza alignment

I have a 2001 Impreza 2.5RS, and it has been my daily driver for the last 7 years. Never had an issue with alignment, and tire wear has always been even. I usually have soft rubber on, which normally lasts me 12 to 18 months.

I changed the struts a few months ago, and got the car aligned. (As an aside, you cannot swap the struts without removing the brake lines. Who was the sadistic engineer that came up with this design???) I asked the shop to get as much front camber as possible, which they didn't seem to be too thrilled about. When I got the car back, it had positive camber (and the printout showed it to be outside the spec range).

The front settings after the first alignment (L/R): Total toe 0° Caster +3.05°/+2.95° Camber +0.25°/-0.30° Partial toe 0°/0° SAI +17°/+15.30° Curve toe-in 0°/+0.35°

I asked the shop for a do-over because of the camber. The second alignment had the following numbers for the front (L/R): Total toe 0° Caster +2.55°/+2.90° Camber -0.45°/-0.50° Partial toe 0°/0° SAI +16.6°/+15.50° Curve toe-in +1.40°/+1.70°

A month after the alignment, my front tires are bald on the outside. Front toe is fine on the printout, but the "curve toe-in" seems out of whack compared to the first alignment. I also noticed that the steering wheel steering "locks" into place when you go to full lock -- something it didn't used to do.

Two questions: what is "curve toe-in" and what is wrong with my alignment?

I think it is the toe, I've never noticed 'curve toe-in' used before, but in the absence of a 'toe-in' measurement, I'd assume it is the same thing.

It looks like they adjusted your camber on the second try, and forgot to readjust the toe.

In reply to xci_ed6:

Actually, the total toe is 0° in both cases, I updated the post.

Have to admit, I've never heard of curve toe-in either.

I wonder if it's the same as thrust angle.

I'm not sure I'd go back to that place. Also, I've not had to remove the brake lines either. They have clips that you pull out, and the line detaches from the strut.(I also have an RS that I did the front struts on this summer).

Curve toe in. Could it be related to Ackerman ? I have never heard the term either.

I'm thinking bump steer but I've never seen anything with toe curve either.

Sounds like bump steer, but toe-in tends to make the wheel snap back to center, while toe-out slows the self-centering or will even make it "stick" when at full lock, in extreme cases.

In reply to yurch:

Wanted to give a quick update on my alignment woes. I went back to another shop; when they put my car on the rack, it was showing 1.2 degrees of toe-in in the front.

I went back to the first shop and got my money back. I'm curious whether they've got other customers driving on completely messed up alignments.

Vitaly

In my experience, a qualified tire/alignment shop is the hardest thing in motorsport to find. Even harder if you want it local and convenient.