Me again, forgot to ask something... s:oops: :oops: s:oops:
When I'm driving in a straight line, the steering wheel is out of centre, a few degrees to the left.
Apart from it being VERY irritating, does it mean that the geometry is out?
The car does however not pull significantly left or right when let to its own.
Should, and can, I do something about it? Or just live with it?
(My mechanic isn't to keen on removing the steering wheel to straighten it (airbag stuff etc) )
Thanx in advance
Mine's the same, and until I get my new steering wheel in there's much I can do about it.
It is hugely annoying though... s:evil: :evil: s:evil:
when the alignment is done they can straighten this, it is caused by lazy tracking and only adjusting one side to track and not both so the wheel is centred
A "proper" set up will eradicate this. A technician should centre both the steering wheel and the steering rack, before adjusting the toe and camber settings at each of the front wheels. This ensures that when you have the same amount of lock both left and right. Helpful when parking. Also worth noting is the fact that a slight misalignment in the rear axle can also cause (wholly or only as a contributing factor) this off-centre wheel phenomonon, so it pays to set up all four wheels at the same time. They're a team after all...
In my opinion (so take it with a pinch of salt if you like), a decent 4 wheel alignment and set up is a must have. You can throw all the trick springs, expensive shocks, strut braces, sticky tyres and funny plastic bushes you like at the car, but none of it will make the blindest bit of difference if the wheels arent pointing the right way...
A good alignment will make the car less twitchy at the limit, less prone to tramlining, and it makes the car feel so much better to drive. Oh, and your steering wheel will be straight too... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Quote from: "GSB"In my opinion (so take it with a pinch of salt if you like), a decent 4 wheel alignment and set up is a must have. You can throw all the trick springs, expensive shocks, strut braces, sticky tyres and funny plastic bushes you like at the car, but none of it will make the blindest bit of difference if the wheels arent pointing the right way...
A good alignment will make the car less twitchy at the limit, less prone to tramlining, and it makes the car feel so much better to drive. Oh, and your steering wheel will be straight too... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Grant, what are your views on the factory set up? When would you reckon a full alignment needs to be done, assuming no mods or other factors that would require it "as a matter of course".
Take mine, 12 months old (last weekend), still OK?? Nothing that makes me feel its needed, but.......
I think the 4 wheel alignment check is part of the 20k service, on my service docket it says '4 wheel alignment (extra charge for adjustment)' or words to that effect
Quote from: "roger"Quote from: "GSB"In my opinion (so take it with a pinch of salt if you like), a decent 4 wheel alignment and set up is a must have. You can throw all the trick springs, expensive shocks, strut braces, sticky tyres and funny plastic bushes you like at the car, but none of it will make the blindest bit of difference if the wheels arent pointing the right way...
A good alignment will make the car less twitchy at the limit, less prone to tramlining, and it makes the car feel so much better to drive. Oh, and your steering wheel will be straight too... s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Grant, what are your views on the factory set up? When would you reckon a full alignment needs to be done, assuming no mods or other factors that would require it "as a matter of course".
Take mine, 12 months old (last weekend), still OK?? Nothing that makes me feel its needed, but.......
The factory setup is very good in my opinion. There are very few areas where I have felt the need to improve upon what Toyota supplied, and handling isnt one of them. The MR2 has an excellent chassis, and I think the stock settings are very good. However, Toyota dealers seem to use a far wider band of tolerance on those settings than the local company I use, so it pays to make sure you're getting what you're paying for. Its all very well saying "its within spec", but if that spec is a mile wide, then the alignments not worth a great deal.
The MR2 is notoriously sensitive to small changes, but I dont have the qualifications or experience of the chassis dynamics engineers who settled on the stock settings, so I prefer to leave well alone and just have it checked at least once a year, and whenever I fit new tyres.
My steering wheel was also offset slightly to the left from new and even after taking it back into Toyota it came back the same so have just lived with it s:? :? s:?
This may have no relevance at all, but my first 300zx had the wheel offset quite a bit while driving. It bugged the hell out of me.
One day I noticed that at some point in the past the wheels had been rotated at the 10" wide wheels had been put on the front and the 9" ones on the back!! s:shock: :shock: s:shock: Swapped them round and the wheel was straight as a dart. The there was a miss matched set of tyres on the wider wheels. It may well have been that making all the difference!
David