Toe in or toe out?

[OzFab]

Just looking to clarify something; I'm pretty sure I know the answer, just wanna see what others think/say...

On a slow moving vehicle, specifically a riding mower/lawn tractor, is it best for the front wheels to toe in or toe out? How is your tractor set up?

 

[landuse]

I don't have a tractor, but they generally have the front wheels set with toe in

 

[itsid]

live axle toe out, dead axle (diff) likely neutral or toe in..
(toe out fights understeering, to out oversteering)
with good steering geometry "neutral" in order to keep the treads in best possible condition
(rubbing is never too good)

In the end.. neutral at first and if the tires wear unevenly because its over or understeering than adjusted accordingly.
most mowers come with a differential, not?.. sooo IF toe in I'd assume.

'sid

 

[OzFab]

Thanks guys, that's pretty much what I was thinking...

I recently purchased a used mower & two things concern me:
- steering is extremely light; my old mowers steering is much heavier, indicating something isn't set correctly &
- the factory tie rod isn't long enough to allow for more than a degree or two of toe in but has way too much toe out...

With the wheels set close to parallel (just eyeballing, I haven't measured yet) & the toe rod disconnected at one end & the rose joints centered on the threads, there's 20mm between the knuckle bolt & the rose joint centres... I'm considering stretching the tie rod...

This is after I had to repair the steering mechanism; here's what the gears looked like...

...&, of course, dumb a$$ here didn't take "after" pics; let's just say there was some welding & a LOT of filing/grinding involved but, at least I won't have to worry about that ever again...

 

[OzFab]

After taking some measurements & setting everything to neutral toe, I found there was 35mm of exposed thread on the tie rod; coincidentally, each end of the tie rod has 35mm of thread & a 5mm lock nut, meaning there's 12-13mm of 3/8" (9.525mm) UNC thread on each end for the rod end to screw onto; if I add negative toe, this reduces the amount of attachment thread to dangerous amounts (I was taught that the length of thread you need should be at least the same as the diameter of the thread to be effective & safe)...

Guess what I'm doing today...