Weird alignment numbers

Hello TW members,

I recently got Fox 2.5 performance elite front coilovers and rear shocks, polyperforance UCA and RXT leaf pack in option 2 installed on my 2021 Tacoma OR. Overall I ended up with about 2 inches of lift front and rear. I finally got my wheels aligned today but I’m a bit confused by the numbers showing up. Is it normal that two of the numbers after the alignment are red and not symmetric? Thanks for the help!

 

Post alignment sheet.

 

I wouldn't mind that castor but it's not close to symmetrical so I would expect a bit of a pull

 

Agree. It is going to pull. I’d try another alignment shop.

 

Yeah that sucks. I figured something was wrong since it pulls a bit to the right. What exactly should I expect for the castor? As long as It’s symmetric and around the 3 degree range I should be fine?

 

Mine is around 2.5 but I would rather 3. Some people like 4 but I haven't been able to get anyone willing to go that far off specs for me

 

I’m surprised it pulls being 0.1 degree different.

Mine is 7.2 and 6.5 and baaaarely pulls to the right.

 

I wonder if my Snorkel is the real reason why the truck pulls slightly to the right. But that would only make sense when on the highway or at higher speeds. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

That was initial. Post was 4.6 and 3.4

 

I’m blind.

Yeah it pulls because of the alignment. Unless it pulled before?

 

The side with greater caster will toe-in more when driven, causing a pull to the side with lesser caster.

Find a different shop...one where SAI and included angle are measured. These can cause a pull if unequal as well; it causes unequal scrub radius, which causes unequal toe when driven. Usually on lifts compensating for taco lean or have a bent spindle(s).

 

Yes, maybe a little lower angle on the left to compensate for road crown. Like 3.2 on the right and 2.7 on the left. It's somewhat odd that the cross-caster (difference from side to side) is pretty large but the cross-camber is much closer. Both these angles are adjusted by the same cam and will usually create similar readings from one side to the other when the cams are close or the same position. This usually signifies something bent. But I am guessing that the target or wheel sensor mounted on the wheel was not mounted correctly or a turnplate is binding not allowing the suspension to properly flex to get reliable readings.

 

What exactly are SAI and included angle? My lift does have a little more preload in the front driver side so this could be the reason why.

 

By turn plate you mean the preload adjuster? Is there a simple way for me to tell if It’s binding? As for something being bent I think this highly unlikely but is there anything I can do to check?

 

SAI(steering axis inclination) is the degrees from your upper ball joint to your lower balljoint, inboard-to-outboard. Included angle is basically SAI minus camber.
It might only affect you if they are unequal...if you put a spacer or more preliad on on the driver's side to even out taco lean or have a bent spindle.

 

No, the turnplate is on the alignment rack/lift. They allow the front suspension to free float and turn during various points of the alignment process. If these plates bind, readings might not be correct. For instance, when preforming toe correction, if the plate doesn't move freely when the tie rod adjuster is turned, the turnplate doesn't turn and instead the tire has to turn on top of the plate and you may be adjusting and not seeing any movement then all the sudden the tire jumps abruptly on top of the plate instead of the plate moving on the ball bearings. Will also cause the wheel to not settle out camber if the front end is lifted up on the rack for any reason. Like when you lift the front end of our trucks off the ground, the camber goes more positive (top of the wheel pointing away from the truck) then when you put it down on the solid ground the front end doesn't completely go back to it's rolling position until you start rolling. That is what a binding turn plate does. A quick and dirty DIY turnplate at home is to take 2 floor tiles on top of each other and put a little grease between them and put them under the wheels to allow the suspension to settle without rolling. I threw that last part in to illustrate what the turnplate is and does.

Sorry for the long explanation. I think if more people understood the alignment process, it might provide reasonable expectations when getting an alignment and illustrate all the operator error that can be involved in doing a proper alignment. A "good" alignment tech is very hard to find.

 

No need to apologize, I appreciate the explanation. I thought the alignment process was much more standardized but it seems like there’s a lot of potential for user error. I think the key takeaway here is that I should go to an alignment shop specialized in offroad vehicles. I kinda knew this ahead off time but didn’t want to wait several weeks to get appointment. It sucks to have wasted $160 but oh well.