trd springs - did I intall the front incorrectly?

[ramrat1]

I brought my xd to the dealership today to get an alignment. I had brought it to another place before and that shop did nothing. Car feels good and solidly planted after the alignment but I had one angle that was off. It was the right front camber. it was -.096 where as trd specs is -0.18 +- .75 so the value is -.93 max. I am very close so I do not mind this . What they did find was a height difference between the left front and right front. The right front being 1/4 inch higher and I confirmed this with a tape measure.

I have trd springs on stock shocks. Mileage on shocks are 5k. I am wondering if perhaps I had installed the right front shock incorrectly and should attempt to dissemble it or should I leave things alone as 1/4" is not noticeable. Dealer though it could be due to manufacturing tolerances.
I would hate to pull things apart if others have the same variation as I would have to pay for another alignment.

[Cylon_xD]

Well, I don't have TRD springs, I'm running Progress springs (although I had read somewhere Progress makes the xD springs for TRD) and I've noticed my left front sits almost 1/2" lower than my right front on level ground. I've had my springs on the 'D for about a year. I just assumed the difference was caused by the extra weight of the driver on the left side (in my case, about 300 lbs, lol!), causing the left spring to settle further... :)

[TexXBox]

I wouldn't worry about the minor camber discrepancy either. Too little to make a difference IMO.

Few, if any street cars sit exactly level. Even bone stock. Too many variables as far as the inherent weight distribution of the empty vehicle vs. loaded with one or more persons. Then add sub woofer boxes, custom interior work and other show type stuff and it just gets potentially worse.

Your car might be 1/4 high on the right front or 1/4 low on the left front or could have a diagonal variation as well. It may also be a settling issue with the springs themselves. If you usually have a lot more weight on the drivers side and the passenger side runs empty it may take longer for the right side springs to settle in.

Suspension guys will jack a car up on the center line of one end until the wheels just come off the ground and then measure the side to side balance at the other. Then repeat the procedure to check the other end. By jacking on the center line you make a triangle point for the car to pivot from using the jack so only the suspension on the ground is carrying any load and any imbalance from the raised end is taken out of the measurements.

This is a good way to tell if a cars frame is "tweaked" since it will measure pretty even when only one end of the car is on the ground, but not when both ends are loaded.

I once worked on a 911 Porsche that would measure dead flat on both the front and rear suspensions when they were isolated, but ended up with a little over 3/4 of and inch of twist when all four wheels were on the ground.

If your car drives straight, doesn't have any weird brake pulls, the tires don't wear in any odd patterns, then I personally wouldn't worry about it.

[ramrat1]

excellent thank you both TexXBox and Cylone_xD for your replies. I was debating pulling things apart this weekend second guessing my install but you have put my mind at ease... And yes - most of the time its just me in the car so the right side spring wouldn't get to much of a workout in that situation.

thanks again both for your quick replies.

[JDMJim]

i have the TRD and the left sits lower as well. bugs the crap outta me. I figured it was the compression of carving the interchanges...

[ramrat1]

interesting all cars are little lower on the left and higher on the right side.

Dealer wanted to install camber bolts but for a tune of 243 which they said includes another alignment but the bolts were not available (cost of the bolts were 4.53 each from the dealer). I told them not to do this and plan to install them myself the next time I am ready for another alignment.

Part number i was given for my camber bolts I needed was
Toyota Part 90109-15003

they also listed bolts below - i am guessing different degrees of camber but the one listed above was to put my car in "trd" alignment specs.
Toyota Part 90109-15002
Toyota Part 90109-15004