Nissan 350Z How To Adjust Toe Alignment On Wheels

When going straight, I felt that the steering was slightly off to the right. However, most roads are built with a slope to the left. Considering that, I thought this was fine. However, compared to the other two cars in my home, the Prius and the Wagon R, the 350Z still has a strong sense of rightward orientation. So I made fine adjustments with a tie rod.

First, the current toe-in measurement. Measure the groove pitch between the left and right tires with a tape measure. I’m worried that this will be not so helpful because the measurement accuracy is low, but I measured it for the time being. As a result of measuring several times, the toe-in was about 0 to 1 mm. In this case, if only the tie rod on the left side is slightly lengthened, it may good. This will increase toe-in, but it is generally said that the larger the toe-in, the better the straightness. My 350Z seems to have a slightly poor straightness, so I’m lucky if this improves even a little.

Jack up. Lift the car body so that you can work.

I think you can also work by raising it with a scissors jack and fiddling from above without sneaking in, but considering the time and effort to remove the tires, this is much easier.

Loosen the lock nut on the left tie rod and turn it counterclockwise so that the tie rod becomes longer.

Mark it before adjustment.

This is after adjustment. I turned it about 1/8 turn (45 °). It may seem like a slight difference, but I think the pitch of the screws is 1.25 or 1.5mm, so one rotation will change the length by more than 1mm. If the length of the tie rod changes by 1 mm, how many mm the toe-in will move? Should move considerably. Tighten the lock nut firmly to complete.

After the adjustment, I measured the toe-in with a tape measure, but I could hardly tell the difference, probably because it was too finely adjusted, or because of the measurement accuracy problem. However, when I actually drove it, the straightness improved.