About a year ago, someone posted a different set of wheel alignment settings which was claimed to work better...reduced tread wear, lower rolling resistance, and greater mpgs. Does anyone have those values? A link to the original thread would be helpful. Has anyone used those settings over an extended period? What were the results, long term? I just got some new tires, and will be having an alignment done very soon. I want to know what to tell the tech doing the work...
Somehow, I think Toyota has more insights, design knowledge, experience, and resources to provide an optimum alignment specification for their car than "someone who claimed on the internet"! Be careful about what you read on the internet. It might just be worth what you pay for it!
They obviously don't provide optimum alignment specifications for their cars. Take a look at the tolerances on their specifications. They are as big as a barn door. 1. They use loose specs to reduce the precision their parts have to be made with and the amount of adjustment time at assembly, the number of items that need to be made adjustable and the amount of warranty work they have to do because of the suspension being out of adjustment. 2. There is no one optimum suspension alignment for any car, optimum is what is best for an individual driver, driving conditions and the drivers preferences. Factory specs are a sloppy compromise that aren't exactly right for anyone. 3. The factory specs are optimized for low production cost and low warranty claims so are the sloppiest the large majority of drivers will put up with. That said, any internet alignment specs should be reviewed by someone who knows suspension systems and wheel alignment before being used. Fortunately, most internet alignment specs state what their objective is and except for racing specs they are also usually within the factory specs, just a lot tighter and sometimes biased towards one end of the spec.
You want the best alignments specs? Camber: set it at outer negative limit (-1.5 and -2.0). It'll wear the insides of your tire slightly faster but will give you the best handling/cornering and best mileage. Toe: -0.01 - reduced tire wear It's really not worth the cost though. Alignments are incredibly fickle. They'll come out different every time, even with the same mechanic. Just be happy if all your alignments are in spec.
