I am planning on installing TRD lowering springs, when I called TRD they told me that after the install, I should have the front end re-aligned. Have any of you done this, or if not, has anyone experienced any problems

It's not needed. I lowered my car over 2 inches in the front and 2 inches in the rear and I didn't need to get my car re-aligned

One reason that the dealer might have told you that there is no alignment necessary is that the specs for the xB have not been put into their alignment computer yet. At least that was the case three weeks ago. They have to do everything manually at the dealership that I took mine to (as in take the specs from the xB service manual and manually enter them into the computer). I have no idea if this is a pain in the ___ for them or not. Anyway, at first the service guy was like we can't do an alignment for the xB yet, but his manager told him to do it the manual way. It seems weird to me that Toyota wouldn't have these specs for their dealers to put into the alignment computer. I tried taking it to Discount Tire first and they said it would be a month before they had the specs for the 04 xB.

don't know if it was just luck or not but my friend lowered his car and did not realign the car (it ran straight)
next week he put the sway bars in but did not realign the car.

then last week he put on the strut brace, by dropping the struts.

still no alignment and runs straight.

might be luck, but it might not.

nope, no luck involved. the xb does NOT need an alignment after lowering. :shock:

Well it seems as if you guys had a good experience. When I dropped mine it needed an alignment. There was a little pull before the install, then it was a lot more noticeable afterwards.

So I would say if you are good before, I wouldn't worry. If you were a little off before, it may get worse. Pretty much drive the car and the steering wheel will tell you.

Dude. I need an alignment bad. Lowered the car twice and had two negative camber adjustments. :shock:

Peace,
m@

Dude. I need an alignment bad. Lowered the car twice and had two negative camber adjustments. :shock:

Peace,
m@

nahh, you just need this suspension.
http://www.autotrend.com/pic/9982.jpg
:D :D
sid

or you have to use the wheel on this MB
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/news/concept.car/mercedes.benz.f400.carving/mb.f400.wheels.500.jpg
sid

Yeah... the active camber control technology is pretty rad.

Peace,
m@

technically, u need to re-align the car whenever u move the suspension parts...
e.g. spring installs, sway bars installs...etc.

sometimes its just hard to tell ...

Sometimes an improper installation might lead to an alignment problem, and getting an alignment will only mask the real, underlying problem. It's quite easy, and common, for people to not seat the front strut top hats properly when installing springs, so that is always one major culprit to look into..

Just a little added info. Just because a car doesn't pull does not mean it's aligned properly. Speaking as a ASE certified Master Tech if you remove the struts to replace the springs you need to have the alignment checked. When I lowered mine (DF210's) three wheels were within specs. One was out and needed adjustment. The car ran straight before the alignment as well as after. However now I won't destroy one tire and have three good ones left.