Alignment question

J

JV65

New member
Over the weekend installed Bilstein 5100's. Struts are set at .85. Had an alignment done last night. Here are the current measurements.

Camber
LF 0.2 RF -0.2
Caster
LF 2.1 RF 2.4
Toe
LF .03 RF .03
Total Toe
.06
Steer Ahead
.00

Looking at the before & current measurements the shop only adjusted the Toe. Are the Camber & Caster measurements within spec? Current setting has the LF .4 degree higher than the RF. Also LF caster seems a bit low.

Any insight & recommendations are appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
A lazy tech. He set the toe and let you go. Caster is 2.5-4.0 so he obviously didn't want to do his job. It isn't a huge deal. It won't cause tire wear as out of spec toe does so you won't need to worry that your tires are going to wear out. The biggest thing you will notice from low caster is that it may tend to wander and bump steer maybe be more of an issue. I would take it back and have them do it right.
 
Sungod said:
A lazy tech. He set the toe and let you go. Caster is 2.5-4.0 so he obviously didn't want to do his job. It isn't a huge deal. It won't cause tire wear as out of spec toe does so you won't need to worry that your tires are going to wear out. The biggest thing you will notice from low caster is that it may tend to wander and bump steer maybe be more of an issue. I would take it back and have them do it right.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking.

I have not had a chance to test drive it, which I will do today.

Is there any reason, because of the slight Bilstein lift, the Caster adjustment will be a problem?

Should the camber be set to 0? Are the current measurements any concern?

Thanks for your help!
 
Last edited:
The classic toe-n-go... Here are my thoughts:

Toe
Bilstein recommends toe be set at 0.04. Your numbers are pretty damn close, and do not vary side-to-side. Looks good.

Camber
Bilstein recommends camber be set to 0.0 (+/- 0.5 is generally considered acceptable). Your numbers are close and technically within spec, but there is a variance of 0.4 side to side. Personally I think that camber should not vary more than 0.1 side-to-side.

Caster
The Toyota-specified range for caster, as mentioned above, is 2.5 - 4. With a lift and larger tires, you want to be in the upper end of that range (3.0 - 4.0 or higher) to reduce wandering at speed. Also, you don't really want more than 0.1 of a difference side-to-side, much like camber. So not only are your caster numbers out-of-spec, but there is too much variance side-to-side. Since you don't have too much lift, you should be able to get the caster where you want it without aftermarket UCA's.

As mentioned above, the out of spec caster will cause no tire wear issues. Since toe and camber are technically within spec, they probably won't cause any problems either.

How does it handle? Does it track straight? Does it seem to require more force to turn in one direction than the other?

You could probably get away with leaving it as-is, but if it doesn't handle well, take it back and be very specific about your specs. Most shops are willing to hit the numbers if you give them numbers to hit.
 
If the car feels good when driving, dont worry about it, your settings are fine.

More caster on the right is to account for road crown. .3 of a degree more caster on the right is fairly normal.

I wouldn't worry about the camber. When you are in the car the camber on the left front will go more negative anyway bringing the settings close to even.

Setting camber up evenly without you or something of your weight in the car is a waste of time in an SUV because the suspension is so soft.
 
Last edited:
LargeOrangeFont said:
More caster on the right is to account for road crown. .3 of a degree is fine.

I wouldn't worry about it. When you are in the car the camber on the left will go more negative anyway.

Setting camber up even without you in the car is a waste of time.
Click to expand...

Road crown varies a lot, I don't think suspensions should be set up to assume any road crown. The OP's caster numbers are way low regardless. Higher caster will result in less wandering.

Camber that varies too much side to side causes pulling. If it drives fine, leave it. If it pulls to one side, bring it back in.
 
Last edited:
sonerick said:
Road crown varies a lot, I don't think suspensions should be set up to assume any road crown. The OP's caster numbers are way low regardless. Higher caster will result in less wandering.

Camber that varies too much side to side causes pulling. If it drives fine, leave it. If it pulls to one side, bring it back in.
Click to expand...

I agree with if it is not pulling it is fine, but the camber won't vary much at all with a person in the driver seat.

Few roads are perfect and most have some crown. Setting the car up for some road crown will make the car track straigher under most conditions.

It is not a race car, it is a tall, softly suspended SUV.
 
All of the info is much appreciated! I will give the 4runner a good test drive tonight. Part of me thinks that even if it's driving fine why not have the mechanic get everything within spec. Isnt that what I payed for? Again thanks!
 
After doing a good test drive I decided I would take my 4runner back to the shop. Didn't handle bad but noticed lighter steering and slight wander. No significant pulling.

The mechanic didn't seem too happy. He said he would get measurements to factory spec but it wouldn't drive right do to the lift. I only have a .85 lift from the Bilsteins.:lookout:

Should get it back in a couple hours.
 
Last edited:
New Measurement

Camber
LF 0.0 RF -0.1
Caster
LF 3.1 RF 3.0
Toe
LF .05 RF .05
Total Toe
.09
Steer Ahead
.00

I find this setup drives better. No wander & the steering feels more stable. Thanks for all the help!
 
JV65 said:
After doing a good test drive I decided I would take my 4runner back to the shop. Didn't handle bad but noticed lighter steering and slight wander. No significant pulling.

The mechanic didn't seem too happy. He said he would get measurements to factory spec but it wouldn't drive right do to the lift. I only have a .85 lift from the Bilsteins.:lookout:

Should get it back in a couple hours.
Click to expand...

That is nonsense. He was just too lazy to do his job. Adjusting caster is a little more effort than taking loose a jam nut and cranking an adjusting rod a few turns. He should have checked the specs in the first place.
 
Sungod said:
That is nonsense. He was just too lazy to do his job. Adjusting caster is a little more effort than taking loose a jam nut and cranking an adjusting rod a few turns. He should have checked the specs in the first place.
Click to expand...
I feel the same way. The best thing that came of the whole ordeal is I learned a bit about alignment. Happy with the end result. Really like the Bilsteins!
 
FWIW I have my Bilsteins set at 1.75 and was able to get mine aligned no problem. After my earlier post I pulled out my alignment sheet and my numbers are very similar to your 2nd numbers.

Your car feels less "wandery" because of the added toe. Enjoy the Bilsteins!
 
LargeOrangeFont said:
FWIW I have my Bilsteins set at 1.75 and was able to get mine aligned no problem. After my earlier post I pulled out my alignment sheet and my numbers are very similar to your 2nd numbers.

Your car feels less "wandery" because of the added toe. Enjoy the Bilsteins!
Click to expand...
I do like the Bilsteins very much. Down the road I may bump them up to 1.75 or do a FJ spring swap. Probably will wait for larger tires before I go that route. Thanks for your help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 397 (members: 5, guests: 392)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,304
Messages
3,554,040
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top