4 Wheel Laser alignment

[Anonymous]

Have just been told by my garage that i have uneven tyre wear on my 2 And that it could do with a laser alignment check, not just the tracking. Does anybody know if this is worthwhile, ie can anything be adjusted on the steering/suspension other than trackrods or would i be wasting my money.

[darrenjuggins]

Hi,

Yes it's worth it..... should be approx £40 - £50 depending on location.

The Toyota Dealer has all the right tools and will be able to do a lovely picture of Before and After.

Be aware that the MR2 has a camber on the front wheels (i.e. it runs on the inner edges all the time, thus when cornering you have a larger footprint, most cars run little or no camber thus have lower cornering ability).

You need to remember if you have curbed it, knocked it, etc.... the tracking is pretty robust on speed bumps etc.


Even if you have them done and there is little or no change required, at least yo will know if it was right or wrong from new.

I personally have only had it done twice and both time, they said there was little or no adjustment required.

hope this helps.

Cheers

Darren J

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that, dealership i use is quoting £70+vat.

[mrsmr2]

Mine was around £80 from Toyota Leicester.

Jason

[darrenjuggins]

I Obviously got a good deal at Lincoln   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Screw them down, it don't take them that long to do it.

Cheers

Darren J

[Maxx]

Hi, mines booked in for next Tuesday with Ron Brooks of Ilkeston. Quoted me £50+vat for 4-wheel laser alignment and also are providing me with a coutesy car so I don't have to hang around (they say it takes 2 hours).

I've only recently "discovered" the MR2 (Mk3 2001) and am very new to the forums but I think I read that the dealers ofen work to quite broad tolerances, if so, what can I do to make sure it's as close as possible to spec? I also think I read that there is a page somewhere? with the actual figures on it, can anyone point me in the right direction?

Also, above it mentions getting a printout? before and after? is this standard or is it something I need to specifically ask for?

TIA

Maxx

[darrenjuggins]

Hi Max,

THe print out should be standard, I'd just remind them that you would like a Before and After..... as they do sometime to forget to print them out.

As for tolerences - you will see these on the print out, don't get to worried, as long as they are within them, no worries, the tech will normally go for as near dead centre as possible.

Other than that, be amazed at how acurate they already are, unless someone has been bashing into curbs before you got it.

Anyway, welcome to the club and let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Darren J

[Maxx]

Darren,

Thanks for the quick response and the welcome.

My introduction to the MR2 Roadster has been somewhat tainted. I didn't really reserach the car before buying but got the chance of one at a really good price so I bought it. I got it through a family member in the trade but it came to me direct from the previous, private owner.

I checked it over and all seemed well apart from, on dipping for oil NOTHING appeared on the dipstick, I just put this down to neglect by the previous owner. I filled it up and a few days later it went in for a full service inc oil change etc.

Over the next couple of weeks I only did 2 or 3 journeys in it, about 200miles total and on one of these return journeys it developed quite a loud knocking from the engine. Now, it may well have been making some noise for a while before that but, having had the roof down (of course) and plugged into my ipod (headphones) I probably wouldn't have heard it.

I stopped asap at a local garage and checked the oil. Empty again. So I topped it up fully, let it all cool down a bit and started her up. Still making a noise so spoke to the mechanic and we agreed to try and limp it home. Made it about 4-5 more miles before all hell let loose and it sounded like a tumble dryer full of nuts & bolts.

To cut a long story short we ended up replacing the engine with a salvage one from a reputable source and all is now back running and initial tests of oil usage (none) seem fine. However, the once rock solid and well balanced handling is now gone and i'm left with a car that wanders a little at high speeds (80+) and is very oversteery (great turn-in though).

So, I suspect the engine change has left the back geometry well out. It has had basic tracking but I suspect it is more of a camber & poss toe issue.

Had I read this forum first I may well have picked up on the excessive oil usage issue (although, if true, mine was very excessive) and checked it more regularly. It has ended up costing me about as much as i'd pay off the forecourt but i'm still pleased with the car.

The thing that still impresses is the lack of buffeting and excessive noise with the top down. I've driven loads of other soft-tops and this beats the lot hands down. Being a big fan of the Elise on track it was always a bit too hardcore for me to consider on the road but I now consider the MR2 a "civilised" Elise and that suits me just fine.

Hopefully, once the alignment is done it will be back to it's well balanced self, I'll report back on that and on the level of service and final cost of the alignment.

Maxx

[darrenjuggins]

Ah.... Maxx, seems you have suffered the Bore failure which has blighted quite a few vehicles on here, including mine.

Strange the geometry is out, but could be due to the engine change and parts being knocked etc.

As for the vehicle it's cracking, the top down experience is very good, improved even more by either/both Bama increased size deflector and the Side Mogo's which act like mini quarter lights in the front corner of the windows.

a quick search for Bama or Mogo will point you in the right direction.

Once your car is re-setup, you should have lots of fun.... check out the event's section.... you have onyl just missed JAE which was a cracking weekend.

Best of look with the alignment.

Cheers

Darren J

[aaronjb]

So, I suspect the engine change has left the back geometry well out. It has had basic tracking but I suspect it is more of a camber & poss toe issue.

These cars are very sensitive to alignment changes, tyre pressures and tyre balancing (because they are very light, in the main), so a setup at a good alignment shop with proper laser alignment gear is essential.

If anyone offers you a "normal" alignment that doesn't give you a nice printout of all the angles (camber, castor, toe, thrust for front and rear) then don't bother - they're probably using old machinery and methods, which are fine for a shopping trolley, but not our cars..

[Maxx]

If anyone offers you a "normal" alignment that doesn't give you a nice printout of all the angles (camber, castor, toe, thrust for front and rear) then don't bother - they're probably using old machinery and methods, which are fine for a shopping trolley, but not our cars..

 s:) s:)  thanks for the reply Aaron. I'm assuming i'll get the proper job from the Toyota dealer? should I check? i'd hate to wait a week to find that they don't have the right gear etc.

Maxx

[darrenjuggins]

Hi Maxx,

If it's a franchised Toyota Dealer, you should be fine.

Cheers

Darren J

[Maxx]

OK, reporting back as promised. Had the Alignment done this morning. Car is totally transformed. I've only driven it a few miles back from the dealership but steering feels raser-sharpe (and also has a lot more "feel").

I drove the car back from work on Saturday down the country lanes in the wet and it was a real handful, wandering all over the place and holding any lock for any amount of time (even on balanced throttle) would kick the car into oversteer.

The service was good, I made particular request for before and after stats and that they ensure the steering wheel was centralised (before it was slightly angled left whilst driving straight). The before and after appear to be standard on their rig, and the wheel is dead centre now. I was provided with a coutesy Yaris and the car was ready about 3 hours after i dropped it off

As you can see, the alignment was way off in parts :-



Now looking forward to my next country lane drive  s:) s:)

Maxx

PS.. Mv = Before, Av = After

[darrenjuggins]

Excellent - Glad it has transformed your car.  

My printout had lovely little pictures on, but the results where the same, a transformed car. Glad you have it sorted now, money well spent.

Cheers

Darren J