Alignment numbers

[jimithing]

What do you guys think of these alignment numbers?

Camber L/R- .4/.5

Caster L/R- 2.1/2.5

Toe L/R- .04/.03

Total Toe- .07

SAI L/R- 12.8/12.8

It tracks ok. If I let go of the wheel on a straight highway it'll stay straight for maybe 10 seconds or so before it wanders to the right. I can't tell if it's just from the crown of the road or if the alignment should be adjusted more.

 

[ClockWork]

I'd want double the caster.

 

[Doozi]

I agree... your caster angle is pretty low. How much lift do you have?

 

[Sungod]

Is that the before or the after? If it is after, take it back. Your caster is out of spec. The range is 2.5-4.0.

 

[jimithing]

I've got no lift - completely stock. These are supposedly the after values.

 

[ClockWork]

Moar caster.

 

[Sungod]

I've got no lift - completely stock. These are supposedly the after values.

You need to take it back. Someone was lazy. The toe is good which means your tires won't wear, but caster is out of spec. In reality, you probably won't notice a 1 degree difference, but you paid for quality work. Caster will tend to decrease as your ride height decreases. It may not be an issue now, but could be over time.

 

[Doozi]

With 2" of lift in the front, the most caster I could get was 2.8*... and that's equal on both sides. When you start increasing the amount of suspension lift, it tends to limit your caster range with stock components. After market upper control arms are often used with lifts to increase the caster range and allow you to get things back within spec. Some people like to be on the high side, some people like to be on the low side, and some people just don't notice or care. I'm used to my 2.8* now, but when I first did the lift and alignment, the reduction in caster angle was very noticeable to me.

Being that you are at stock ride height, they should be able to very easily get you within spec and probably even get close to 4.0. As mentioned, someone was lazy... it takes time to get things dialed in just right.

 

[jimithing]

The service adviser is trying to tell me that only the toe numbers are going to change whether the vehicle is drifting or not. From what I read on google that's not correct - the higher the caster the better straight line tracking. Am I wrong?

 

[ClockWork]

We're all telling you more caster.....whatcha think?

 

[Sungod]

The service adviser is trying to tell me that only the toe numbers are going to change whether the vehicle is drifting or not. From what I read on google that's not correct - the higher the caster the better straight line tracking. Am I wrong?

Your service advisor is trying to tell you that he is too lazy to do the correct work. Adjusting toe is simple. Turn the adjuster a few times and you are done. Adjusting caster is more complicated and he is lazy. It is very simple. It is out of spec. There shouldn't be any question. I could understand if it was in spec and you wanted more caster, but clearly that isn't the case.

 

[sonerick]

Yep, I agree with what's been said above. Tell your service adviser you want your toe at 0.04 (+/- 0.01 side-to-side), your camber at 0 (+/- 0.5 side-to-side), and your caster within the 3-4 range (+/- 0.1 side-to-side) and you won't accept anything less. You're the one paying, he has no right to tell you otherwise.