Wheel alignment specs

[DJKOR]

TOYOTA HAS PROBLEM. THIS PART kit - SPF2904K, IS FROM Fulcrum. AS THIS SAME PART IS FITTED IN MY CAR BY Fulcrum AND MY CAR IS 100% OK AS THEY ALSO DID A W/A. TOYOTA IS NOW USEING THIS PART BUT THEY DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO A CORRECT W/A.

EVEY ONE MUST E-MAIL TO TOYOTA ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HOPE THEY WILL FIX THIS PROBLEM.

WHEN I GOT MY CAR IN 2007 I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND TOYOTA SAID THIS IS NORMAL. SO I TOOK MY CAR TO RACQ AND THEY SAID THERE IS A W/A PROBLEM CAUSING IT TO PULL TO THE LEFT. I TOOK THIS LETTER TO TOYOTA AND THEY SAID YOU CAR IS OK.

SO I TOOK MY CAR BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE I BOUGHT THE CAR, THEY WHERE VERY HELP FULL AND THEY PAID Fulcrum TO GET MY CAR FIXED. TOYOTA WAS NOT HELP FULL AT ALL.

Are you saying that Toyota now stock the appropriate part to correct the problem? Even if it does involve going elsewhere for a true wheel alignment, I wouldn't mind if it meant that I got the corrected part under warranty. Would something like that be covered under warranty?

[Speedz]

Yeah if there is INDEED a problem and the dealer is fixing the issue let us know how czo I want to fix the issue too when in my next service...

[2008ZR6]

Your Toyota dealer will only fix this problem if you keep going back to them. Tell them what part number to put in - see my previous post. The only problem is that they don't know the proper wheel alignment specs. I would recommend going to Fulcrum for this.

[DJKOR]

2008ZR6; so I gather that you got your kit fitted by Fulcrum, but you're saying that Toyota should now have it as well right? After thinking about it however, I'd rather have it fitted by Fulcrum since I would trust them more given they are more knowledgeable about suspension.

If you don't mind me asking; what price range would I be looking at to get Fulcrum to fit the SPF2904K kit?

[2008ZR6]

2008ZR6; so I gather that you got your kit fitted by Fulcrum, but you're saying that Toyota should now have it as well right? After thinking about it however, I'd rather have it fitted by Fulcrum since I would trust them more given they are more knowledgeable about suspension.

If you don't mind me asking; what price range would I be looking at to get Fulcrum to fit the SPF2904K kit?

Hi Mate,

I had my kit installed by Toyota dealer but they must have got the kit from Fulcrum. I am taking my car to Fulcrum for wheel alignment. Toyota covered it under warranty.

[DJKOR]

2008ZR6; so I gather that you got your kit fitted by Fulcrum, but you're saying that Toyota should now have it as well right? After thinking about it however, I'd rather have it fitted by Fulcrum since I would trust them more given they are more knowledgeable about suspension.

If you don't mind me asking; what price range would I be looking at to get Fulcrum to fit the SPF2904K kit?

Hi Mate,

I had my kit installed by Toyota dealer but they must have got the kit from Fulcrum. I am taking my car to Fulcrum for wheel alignment. Toyota covered it under warranty.

I guess I'll see how much of a run-around my local Toyota service department is going to give me. The whole warranty thing is the only reason why I will rather have them fit the part (considering TEIN USA quote the part cost at USD$157, I wouldn't think the the SuperPro one at Fulcrum would be that far off). I do have my limits of patience, and I'm not going to keep running back and forward having them do jack all to the car and trying to convince me that everything has been fixed and is fine. If that happens, I will just go to Fulcrum and let the "professionals" do it. For the amount of hours Toyota can waste on me, I'd rather work some overtime and pay for Fulcrum to do it. I'll see how I go.

[2008ZR6]

2008ZR6; so I gather that you got your kit fitted by Fulcrum, but you're saying that Toyota should now have it as well right? After thinking about it however, I'd rather have it fitted by Fulcrum since I would trust them more given they are more knowledgeable about suspension.

If you don't mind me asking; what price range would I be looking at to get Fulcrum to fit the SPF2904K kit?

Hi Mate,

I had my kit installed by Toyota dealer but they must have got the kit from Fulcrum. I am taking my car to Fulcrum for wheel alignment. Toyota covered it under warranty.

I guess I'll see how much of a run-around my local Toyota service department is going to give me. The whole warranty thing is the only reason why I will rather have them fit the part (considering TEIN USA quote the part cost at USD$157, I wouldn't think the the SuperPro one at Fulcrum would be that far off). I do have my limits of patience, and I'm not going to keep running back and forward having them do jack all to the car and trying to convince me that everything has been fixed and is fine. If that happens, I will just go to Fulcrum and let the "professionals" do it. For the amount of hours Toyota can waste on me, I'd rather work some overtime and pay for Fulcrum to do it. I'll see how I go.

Good Luck mate - let me know how it turns out.

[daxta]

I've been having the same problem with my Presara and will be taking it in for the first service (at 3500 kms) next Tuesday. After reading this thread, I plan on mentioning the problem and seeing what happens.

Will let you know the result.

[dannywss]

I've been having the same problem with my Presara and will be taking it in for the first service (at 3500 kms) next Tuesday. After reading this thread, I plan on mentioning the problem and seeing what happens.

Will let you know the result.

do u seriously think they will say, "Oh yea, toyota had this problem, and yea, we are lame at making cars.. dont worry, giv me few more decades to build a proper car!"

but they will "PROFESSIONALLY"(or should i say, the bullsh!t way) says, "Sorry, when you do face this problem in future, THEN book in your car.. coz we do build quality cars" :o my *****

[daxta]

I've been having the same problem with my Presara and will be taking it in for the first service (at 3500 kms) next Tuesday. After reading this thread, I plan on mentioning the problem and seeing what happens.

Will let you know the result.

do u seriously think they will say, "Oh yea, toyota had this problem, and yea, we are lame at making cars.. dont worry, giv me few more decades to build a proper car!"

but they will "PROFESSIONALLY"(or should i say, the bullsh!t way) says, "Sorry, when you do face this problem in future, THEN book in your car.. coz we do build quality cars" :o my *****

I'm really not to fussed what they say! Overall, I am really enjoying my car, it is very well built, comes with everything I could want and drives a treat! The issue of pulling left is a small one, and whether it gets fixed or not, will not make the car any less enjoyable.

I guess you must have had a different opinion / experience which makes me wonder why you have stuck with Toyota.

[vuju]

I am also having problem with 2007-Prodigy. Informed dealership of car putting left on flat road, and twice in last 8 months, it went for wheel alignment. I think its toyota's responsibility to fix, or alternately it should be taken to Media

[2008ZR6]

I've been having the same problem with my Presara and will be taking it in for the first service (at 3500 kms) next Tuesday. After reading this thread, I plan on mentioning the problem and seeing what happens.

Will let you know the result.

do u seriously think they will say, "Oh yea, toyota had this problem, and yea, we are lame at making cars.. dont worry, giv me few more decades to build a proper car!"

but they will "PROFESSIONALLY"(or should i say, the bullsh!t way) says, "Sorry, when you do face this problem in future, THEN book in your car.. coz we do build quality cars" :o my *****

I'm really not to fussed what they say! Overall, I am really enjoying my car, it is very well built, comes with everything I could want and drives a treat! The issue of pulling left is a small one, and whether it gets fixed or not, will not make the car any less enjoyable.

I guess you must have had a different opinion / experience which makes me wonder why you have stuck with Toyota.

This pulling left issue will result in increased fuel consumption and an increase in tyre wear. Make sure you get it fixed ASAP.

[DJKOR]

Well I dropped my Aurion off this morning for its 30,000km service. I mentioned the pulling to the left issue to them, and they said that as part of the 30,000km service, they will do a full wheel balance and rotation followed by a road test. If they find that it is pulling to the left after that, they will do a wheel alignment. I mentioned to them to not to worry about it if they think they need to do a wheel alignment since I am aware of an issue that I have discussed with other owners. As I expected, the guy was trying to convince me otherwise and said not to believe what other people are saying about the suspension components causing the issue. He then started to go on about what will be done during the alignment, in which caster was mentioned in the process. Im pretty sure you can't just adjust the caster without additional components right? So to me, this sounds like rubbish.

I ended up just telling him to go ahead with the alignment, which is an extra $55, and if the problem still exists (which I'm pretty sure it will by the sounds of things) I will keep going back to them until they fix it like they said they will. The problem is not to the extent that I am in a rush to get it fixed (it's something that I have adjusted to because of the way I hold the wheel), I'm just concerned about any extra wear that it is causing on my tires. Let's see how long this is going to take to get my local Toyota dealer to fix it.

[DJKOR]

Okay then, just got my car back from it's service. As I expected, the problem wasn't fully corrected. It has improved, but I have definitely seen cars stay in a straight line much better. It's always so hard to tell though as the roads aren't always the best. When I picked my car up though, I saw their internal service records and noticed that it had written on it "warranty limited - written off due to flooding". Doesn't really surprise me too much considering the car was, but I though they may not have known about it (my Dad has a flood damaged written off vehicle and still had warranty since Hyundai wasn't informed about the status change).

With that in mind now, it probably may not be worth the trouble for me to keep chasing them up about it. I'll probably just take it into Fulcrum after I get a new set of tires.

[daxta]

I've been having the same problem with my Presara and will be taking it in for the first service (at 3500 kms) next Tuesday. After reading this thread, I plan on mentioning the problem and seeing what happens.

Will let you know the result.

Just to update that I took it in and mentioned the problem. The guy said he would take a look but as it was booked for the 1000k checkup they would not be doing a full service.

I haven't been able to take it for a good run, and maybe it is just my imagination, but it does seem to be a bit better. I told them I would monitor it and raise the issue again at the next service if there is still a problem.

[2007ZR6]

I bought a camber/caster gauge for about $400 and measured the wheel alignment on my 2007 ZR6.

After going to Toyota for 3 wheel alignment within 1 yr and they did not fix the problem.

FRONT (old setting)

LEFT RIGHT

Caster = +3.50 DEG Caster = +3.50 DEG

Camber = -1.50 DEG Camber = -1.50 DEG

Did not measure toe

REAR

LEFT RIGHT

Camber = -2.00 DEG Camber = -2.00 DEG

Did not measure toe.

The measurement I took was good if the car was travelling on a dead flat road then the car will not pull to either side. However the roads in Australia are sloped down to the left to allow rain to drain. It’s this slop (road camber) that causes the aurion to pull to the left. To compensate for the slop of the road, you can adjust camber using camber bolts or caster using the part from Fulcrum as mention by other in this forum (both of these methods have been implemented since the invention of independent suspension). I decided to use 17mm camber bolts as it was easy to install (bolts cost me $110) to reduce the camber on the front right by 0.50 DEG.

FRONT (new setting)

LEFT RIGHT

Caster = +3.50 DEG Caster = +3.50 DEG

Camber = -1.50 DEG Camber = -1.00 DEG

Did not measure toe (left as factory spec) range should be within -0.10 to -0.250 DEG.

REAR (the same as old)

Since there is more negative camber on the left it pushed the car up the slop of the road counteracting the pull to the left resulting in the car travelling straight.

Using offset bushing to offset caster your wheel alignment spec will be:

FRONT (new setting)

LEFT RIGHT

Caster = +4.00 DEG Caster = +3.00 DEG

Camber = -1.50 DEG Camber = -1.50 DEG

Since there is positive caster on the left it pushed the car up the slop of the road counteracting the pull to the left resulting in the car travelling straight.

Caster adjustment require a toe adjustment when finish, while camber does not.

Now, why Toyota did not do this in the first place I will never know. Since the aurion is sold worldwide (badge as Camry V6 in the US) the setting I have used on my car will not work as they drive on the wrong, oops I mean on the right side of the road will cause the car to pull to the right and since the road is sloped to the right. Right hand drive cars need adjustment to compensate a left slop in the road and a left hand drive car need adjustment to compensate for a right slop in the road. Toyota must have seen that it was cheaper to design one car for the world use rather then a left hand model and a right hand model. It also up to the wheel alignment technician, a skilled person will know how to adjust the car right. Even a Toyota technician can be a bad one.

HOPE THIS WILL HELP - I HAVE FIXED MY CAR PULL ISSUE AND IM GETTING 9.6L/100km FUEL ECONOMY. BEFORE THE FIX I WAS USING 11L/100km. CITY FREEWAY COMBINED

Edited June 17, 2008 by 2007ZR6

[2008ZR6]

Thank you 2007ZR6, I will take your specs to Toyota and see if they can fix mine. They changed the bolts but it has made very little difference. Once again - THANK YOU.

[Aurion ZR6]

SPF2904K FRONT LOWER CONTORL ARM INNER R OFFSET $157.00

From this web site: TEIN

[dharsh]

Hello all - this seems like a fairly important thread - if indeed the pull to the left can cause increased tyre wear/decreased fuel efficency as mentioned earlier.

My 11/06 ZR6 originally had this pulling issue when I bought the car 2nd hand in Jan 08 (22,000Ks) - I got the dealer to do a wheel alignment and I don't think it did anything at all.

However since I was happy with the car in every other respect I obviously still bought it.

I continued to notice the pull as I drive between Brisbane and Gold Coast for work - however around the 26,000K mark as I noticed a lot of vibration through the steering column I got another alignment and all wheels balanced. This was done at Kmart which I honestly think made the vibration a bit worse.

At my 30,000K service toyota balanced the front 2 wheels as part of the "Advantage" capped services - which I think made a huge difference in that I felt no vibration through the steering after that.

I didn't mention the left pull issue as I had thought this was only a prob with my car - and I hadn't joined the TOCAu then.

Since reading this thread - I organised a drive with toyota to address the pulling issue (today 34Ks) - and they admitted there was a prob - but wanted an alignment done first to clarify what was causing it. They did mention that if all the specs came up within factory limits they wouldn't do anything at all - and even after I mentioned the offset bushing kit from Fulcrum which someone here said Toyota was now offering under warranty - the boss of the service centre said I'd have to go off there to get it.

Now sorry for the long post - but I have a couple of questions?

1 - Does anyone know for sure if toyota really offers the SPF2904K offset bushes under warranty?

Secondly - from what I've read in this thread, it may be possible to adjust the pulling issue with either offset bushes or camber pin kits. Fulcrum quoted me $189.90 for the bushes, $220 for labour and $55 for an alignment ($464.90 Total), whereas Pedders are selling a 17mm camber pin kit for $125. I am hoping to eventually put new rims on so...

2 - To obtain the best setup for least tyre wear/better fuel efficency would it be best just to go with Fulcrum and the bushes, or get my rims and lower the car with front/rear camber kits, or get bushes and camber pins?

Any help will be appreciated - as I have been racking my brains trying to figure out which would be best long term...

[argie]

Hi Guys: just came back from my local wheel alignment shop. ZR6 does not come with any kind of camber or caster adjustment, only toe.

my car pulls to the left too. front right wheel is slightly fwd to the LHS wheel (caster issue). also RHS wheels has more -% angle than the RJS wheel (camber issue) causing the vehicle to clearly pull to the left.

we ordered front and rear offset camber bolts and hoping to install them early next week. we will play around with the settings hoping to get it corrected before spending more $$ on the caster bushes kit.

i'll keep you informed.

cheers

Argie

[Speedz]

I wonder how much additional tyre wear we have with the issue?

Maybe taking it to Pedder to get it fix all in one go?

[Danos]

I've been in contact with Toyota in regards to the issues encountered with the steering alignment pulling left issue. I will keep you all updated on the progress.

[boxerboy]

Interesting thread.

Hello, new owner here.

I have noticed at 110kph, my ATX will vibrate a little at the steering wheel, but I'm yet to notice the left drift. I'll take more notice in the following week.

Thanks for the forum and the info.

[Speedz]

Vibrate little?

Thats wheel alignment issue, get it done asap so you dont get any premature tyre wear...

Cheers

[boxerboy]

Vibrate little?

Thats wheel alignment issue, get it done asap so you dont get any premature tyre wear...

Cheers

Yep, but it's very slight. The steering wheel oscillates very mildly.

I was out this arvo, and my car does move to the left, but it took about 100ms to get half way across the lane. I'd put that down to the road camber...or should I?

I'll need to get on a freeway and see how it goes there.