Alignment/4x4 shop reco requested - San Jose, CA

Title says it all.

Can anyone recommend an alignment shop that takes more care than having stoned ex-McDonalds register jockeys slap the truck on a rack for 20m and print out a sheet whilst posting on Insta and having a smoke? (there's a story here, but i'll spare you)

I'm putting a lift in tomorrow and want to take it for alignment after.

I'm in San Jose, CA.

Thanks,
Jason

 

Auto Innovations is who has done the alignments on my wife’s 4runner and my Tacoma for the last 6 years. Very happy with them. They are located in milpitas next to the police station.

There’s also Vex Motorsports in San Jose and The Driveway in San Jose.

 

I’ve never used them, but I saw this reco:

Eserini in Santa Clara

https://www.4runners.com/threads/the-lonely-bay-area-thread.156/page-6#post-254239

 

Thanks for your suggestions, all.

The Driveway is right around the corner from me so I'll check them out.

Jason

 

Finished installing the lift yesterday. Easy enough. 6112 front / 5160 rear. 2"/1" lift. Took about six hours. Stock UCAs.

Took it in for an alignment today and couldn't get the castor in spec. Was only able to get it to 2.3/2.5 without moving camber out of spec.

I've read in many places that it is possible to get castor in spec on stock UCAs but . . .

Debating whether to leave it or chase in-spec numbers.

Results below.

Jason

p.s. - The Driveway in San Jose doesn't touch lifted trucks.

 

I’ve brought my 4runner and Tacoma in to the driveway. But that was nearly 8 months ago. Maybe they decided not to touch them anymore. Sorry for the bad recommendation.

 

I had a 3/2 Readylift (spacer) dealer installed with stock UCA’s. I don’t know how they did it, but they nailed the alignment. It drove great. Having said that, I wasn’t provided an alignment sheet so I don’t know if it was in spec. But it drove nice.

Recently I had the lift and 285’s removed, it took a couple of trips to the dealership to get the alignment right. It drives well, but the 265’s seem to be more affected by the road and especially the crown of the road.

 

Only cost me a phone call.

Thank you for making the time to help me.

Jason

 

@jasonmcelroy I installed 5100s set at 1.75" in the front with 1" Bilstein lift springs in the rear.

I ended up with very similar alignment results. Toe and camber are perfect but caster is 2.0/2.4. Caster started out at 1.6/1.8 so although they are improved, it is not in the green. I can tell it wanders slightly on the highway

I've also been heavily considering UCAs to get caster in the green. Since I am working thru front and rear trim packers to get the ride height leveled, it may be the right time to do this as I am headed back in for an alignment shortly.

I'm thinking ironman UCAs for NVH and OEM ball joints. If they add 2.0 degrees of caster, then I should easily get it to 3.5 degrees total.

My only concern is if I end up rubbing at full lock. Running stock size Falken Wildpeaks on TRD Pro wheels so I'm guessing it won't be an issue

 

You should be able to get pretty close to 3.5 degrees of caster with the stock UCA's and a 1.75" front lift.

 

Sounds like they didn't increase your caster enough. You need to specify that they move your caster up to the higher end of spec. Most shops will just get it into the green (minimum) and leave it there.

 

He said he was completely maxed out and showed me where we are at the end of their range.. Any more and he would have to mess with camber.

Also, the guy I use is the go to guy around here. Only does alignments and is well known in the hot rod / lifted truck community

If there is a way to get more caster out of this thing without wrecking camber or toe, I'd love to hear what needs to be adjusted to get there.

 

To my thinking (based on owning a past high-dollar SUV with steering shake, and having dealt with shops that DGAF about proper techs and alignment work), it's probably cheaper to buy UCAs than to pay for four or five alignments.

I'm thinking of way to get the alignment close in my driveway then taking it to a shop for fine tuning. Toe and camber are easy enough. Doing a steering sweep to get caster is going to be a tough one.

My goal with this is to get the SPCs, setup the adjustable caster myself at +2deg and take it to a shop afterward and tell them to not touch the UCA joint.

Jason

 

@jasonmcelroy - the reason I am back in a 4runner is for that exact reason. High dollar pickup with the shakes. Mine were due to driveline issues that couldnt be fixed without extensive work but either way, I want the 4runner to drive as nice as a BOF vehicle can.

Fortunately the shop I use has a 6 month "we fix it for free" warranty on alignments. They also have an awesome reputation.

I do the basic alignment on my 99 Jeep in my garage and then they fine tune. But that is a much simpler beast. For the 4runner, the shop can do the whole thing since it is one of the few mechanics I actually trust.

I agree 100% that it is cheaper to get the UCAs and have him dial in the alignment, rather than max it out to get to a compromise of camber vs caster. Beyond the cost of multiple alignments, I also don't want to sacrifice camber and wear out tires prematurely.

 

Is he adjusting both the front and the rear cam bolts on the LCA or just one cam bolt?

This vid shows a guy getting similar caster numbers as you but he has a 3" lift.

With your 1.75" lift, you should be able to get waaaaay more caster out of it while camber and toe stay where they should.

I have a 1.6" lift with 3.6 degrees of caster using stock UCA's. Camber and toe are perfect.

https://youtu.be/cVtW41c0q3w

 

@nimby He definitely worked on both cams and showed me. I could take pictures of where the cams are set and post them here to see if anyone has more input.

Based on my very limited knowledge, lifting the rear will have an impact on caster as well. Cant imagine its much though. Do you have a lift in the rear or just 1.6 in the front

I am totally willing to go to another shop around here. There are a few others with good reputations.

 

Just 1.6" in the front.

I would go to a different shop. Ask if they are familiar with aligning lifted 4Runners. Tell them you're interested in pushing the caster as high as it will go while keeping camber and toe in check. I would tell them you're looking for something around +3.4 or +3.5.

If they know what they're doing, they should be able to get pretty close to that.

 

Thanks @nimby. I'm all for trying to get it dialed in without adding UCAs.

Anyone know of an alignment shop north of Houston ( The Woodlands, Conroe, Spring, Tomball, Magnolia) that knows what they are doing with our trucks?

 

I've got some pics of my cam bolts. Gonna start a new thread as I realized I have completely hijacked this thread from @jasonmcelroy

Jason - I hope you were able to get your answer to a shop near you.

However, I would love if you could post some pics like I will in the new thread.

 

@TrueTexas

I'm not feeling hijacked. Feel free to take this where it goes to avoid thread proliferation.

I'm not gonna chase mine down further. Drives fine at +2.5 caster.

Jason

 

Thanks Jason. I'd be good at 2.5 as well. At 2.0 it seems to want to wander a bit on the highway.

I got the new thread up before you posted this.