It was driving me crazy. I kept walking up the driveway lookin at my FJ thinking "why the hell does it look like it's tilted left??" I just thought I was going nutz but it kept bothering me. So I'm glad you straightened this out for me. Thanks
Is this due to Road CrossSlope or something to do with the drivers side siting 1/2" lower than the paserger side... or something I am not thinking of...
Thanks...
Leroy...
Caster does not make a car lean, or sit lower on any side. It is an alignment spec, or more technically the amount of "tilt" the center line of the A arms have to either side off of center.
That's it. It doesn't affect ride height.
__________________
I enjoy my Second Amendment right everywhere I go....
Caster does not make a car lean, or sit lower on any side. It is an alignment spec, or more technically the amount of "tilt" the center line of the A arms have to either side off of center.
That's it. It doesn't affect ride height.
Thank You for your response, I do know what caster is... But... My Question Is tho, Why is the right set differently than the left ??? See below....
TY...
Quote:
Toyotatech1 previously said:
...and have the right front caster be .40-.50* greater than the left side this will insure that the vehicle tracks straight and will have no tire wear issues as long as tires are rotated properlly...
After lifting but before the new tires and alignment, it felt fine.
After new tires, it was 'floaty' on the freeway.
After alignment, it was back to fine.
For Camber, that is all the could get with the lift...
--Bill
Thanks guys for posting your alignment specs. We get a lot of questions relating to alignment. The camber & toe are the most critical, and honestly we see a lot of alignment specs where it is obvious nothing was adjusted, these are usually associated with complaints of wandering, and pulling.
If the alignment tech will take the time to do it right, the camber should be set at ZERO. If it is there the caster will be within spec. Toe should be .04 degrees.
Thank You for your response, I do know what caster is... But... My Question Is tho, Why is the right set differently than the left ??? See below....
TY...
Because most roads are "crowned". Caster can affect wandering and "bump steer". In other words for a crowned road, and a bump, at higher speeds, the vehicle can pull or veer towards the lower caster side. Since crowned roads naturally pull you toward the right, a higher setting on the passenger side will result in less wandering to that side.
Just make sure you get the proper setting and specs, and you won't have to worry about it.
__________________
I enjoy my Second Amendment right everywhere I go....
This is what I wound up with after installing Light Racing coil-overs and leveling (no rear lift).
Caster Left 2.4
Caster Right 2.7
Camber Left 0.7
Camber Right 0.1
Toe Left 0.05
Toe Right 0.05
Toe Total 0.10
SAI Left 10.9
SAI Right 12.1
The left camber kinda bugs me, the guy who did the alighment said he couldn't get it any closer without throwing other things off. I might go back when someon else is working and see if they can get the left camber closer. It does seem to drive fine the way it is - I don't want uneven tire wear. Anyone have a picture of how you adjust the camber and caster in our FJs?
EDIT: Update; with Toytec's (Doug's) info below I was able to go back to the alignment shop. Here are the results (this is this the front lifted about 1.5"):
Caster Left 2.4
Caster Right 2.0
Camber Left 0.1
Camber Right 0.0
Toe Left 0.05
Toe Right 0.05
Toe Total 0.10
SAI Left 11.1
SAI Right 12.0
Last edited by FJ_Kayaker : 10-06-2006 at 02:26 PM.
This is what I wound up with after installing Light Racing coil-overs and leveling (no rear lift).
Caster Left 2.4
Caster Right 2.7
Camber Left 0.7
Camber Right 0.1
Toe Left 0.05
Toe Right 0.05
Toe Total 0.10
SAI Left 10.9
SAI Right 12.1
The left camber kinda bugs me, the guy who did the alighment said he couldn't get it any closer without throwing other things off. I might go back when someon else is working and see if they can get the left camber closer. It does seem to drive fine the way it is - I don't want uneven tire wear. Anyone have a picture of how you adjust the camber and caster in our FJs?
They should be able to adjust the camber closer to zero. I have never seen where that is not able to adjust to zero. .07 is within spec but you may get some uneven tire wear because that is almost a degree positive, and the other side is over .5 degrees less.
The camber and caster are adjusted by the four excentric's on the lower control arms, it takes a balance of having the front and rear at the proper position to get it adjusted properly. Everything else looks great.
If they loose a little caster in order to get the camber closer it wont hurt the driveability, or tire wear if that is a little less.
Hey Guys, the Toyota alignment specs are VERY wide general ranges. which most of the alignment guys just get it in the window. The FJ is super sensitive to alignment changes as it is to wheel balancing. Instead of giving them the Toyota specs, give them the EXACT specs you want. i have my FJ setup perfectly. it's alignment is spot on. here are my current specs.
Camber at 0.0 and 0.0. Caster left 2.7, Caster right 2.9 (This compensates for road crown). Toe left 0.05, Toe right 0.05. between adding the positive toe (toe in) and positive caster (lengthening the wheel base) the FJ is much more stable and drives straighter on the highway with less darting. I noticed a BIG difference on small changes, so the FJ is definitely very sensitive.
If the alignment tech will take the time to do it right, the camber should be set at ZERO.
So....with 3" taller than stock, camber should be adjustable to zero? I ask this because the guy who did my last alignment said he could not get the camber to spec. Both left and right are slightly out of tolerance.
So....with 3" taller than stock, camber should be adjustable to zero? I ask this because the guy who did my last alignment said he could not get the camber to spec. Both left and right are slightly out of tolerance.
Linear Mode
