Alignment Question 2017 Tundra

Just had my 2017 Tundra aligned, rotated and balanced for a long road trip. Truck tracked smooth, wheels nicely balanced.

Vehicle setup: 4" rough country, UCA, shocks, shackles, TRD sway bars front and rear, 20" factory wheels with Toyo RT's 275/65/20.

My question is the steering after the alignment seems lighter if that makes sense. It tracked perfectly straight without holding the wheel but when you hit imperfections on the road the steering has a slight wobble and feels light. I saw the alignment specs and it appears that it was just slightly out of spec, no major corrections.

Is there a setup the tire & alignment shop can adjust that would "plant" the front more?

 

Not an expert by any means, but here's my shot:
What's your caster compared to last time? The less caster you have the lighter the steering will feel.

 

Shops often use factory specs to align lifted vehicles which isn't quite right. When lifted they should try to get as much caster as possible.

 

My truck feels like a limo since I lifted it. Just part of the deal. Things crack and squeak when fully turned.

 

Had a friend recommend looking into Caster. I don't have the specs from the previous alignment right after I had the tires and lift installed.

So having positive caster added is the way to go?

 

I was wondering the same thing, the factory alignment specs would be off once the vehicle is lifted.

 

I'll grab it and post

 

Tag, im curious also.

 

Looks like caster is 3 right front and 2.9 left front. Im thinking I'll have the shop add more caster if possible.

Whats else should I have adjusted based on my specs?

On another note, I contacted Toyo tires today for a tire PSI for on my tire size Front 35 / Rear 37 checked psi tires were set from shop
@ 38 all around.

 

IMO the numbers aren't bad. Ideally you'd wanna see closer to 0* camber but that's kinda splitting hairs. Toe is acceptable .24 being combined max. The one thing is generally you want +.3 to +.5 more caster on the right side. If it's possible to get more caster, I would. @Vizsla knows this stuff far better than I. Maybe he'll chime in.

 

Interesting, thank you for the input. From my limited knowledge of alignment, it didn't jump out at me either especially the before and afters. The shop that did my lift and tires is more of a specialty shop and it felt great.

Why do you want more caster on the right side?

This may not be related but my Toyota RT's (had several sets on Tundras) really seem to round off on the outside edges very quickly. I don't drive quick or hard usually so Im not pushing the Tundras hard.

Would that be a camber adjustment to even out the front tire wear?

 

I think the additional caster on the right is to compensate for the crown in the road, ie the road in sloped to the shoulders.
The camber you have is +. If you're consistently wearing the outside you may want to go SLIGHTLY negative, like -.1 and reduce the toe a little maybe .6 ea. side.
The problem is that the shops are very seldom willing to spend the time to really dial it in. Close enough is good. These are pretty minute adjustments but a 35" tire does just shy of 600 revs per mile, X 20k that 12 million revs. So, it adds up.

 

You got a toe and go, it is what it is. You would benefit from a proper alignment, in your case I would start at -.1 camber even on both sides, and say like 2.6 left, and 3.0 right caster. The caster accounts for road crown, and there is a torque pull on the chassis as well(but that’s deep dark stuff). Toe as low as you can go, and even. I like .07 per side for a total of .14. There is a great misconception that the tundra goes negative on toe at highway speeds, and it is not true. At speed tire, spindle, tie rod end, etc., all pull back, the steering rack does not. Toe can only stay equal, or increase positive.

 

Hey guys, I was wondering if you see anything off with my alignment numbers? My truck goes to the right when I take my hands off the wheel. I have a 7in BDS lift on it . Thanks !

 

Thank you very much!!! I’ll relay that to the aliement guy !

 

Wanted to thank all for their input on my alignment issue, that has helped me out quite a bit. I have other vehicles that will most likely benefit from alignment tweaks based on the input from this form too.

Cheers!