Front Caster Nightmare - Useless Lotus Dealerships & Misinformation Galore

[kitkat]

I’m honestly not super surprised that you’re on this forum. Poh told me the kind of caster adjustment I was looking for required the purchase of aftermarket suspension and cited you as the source of that info. That’s when I knew the dealership was really trying to pull one over on me.

Yeah you definitely don’t need that, I’m able to dial in 2 degrees of camber with suspension and camber is right in the middle of spec. I’d have them check the hardware, control arms and then subframe in that order. I think if you make it about warranty work it would be a good approach.

 

[Honcho]

Yeah, your milage may vary though. I paid also £80 for a `well-known tyre shop` in the UK to "fix" it too on their Hunter. They never took off the undertrays as that would take too long for £85, hence I knew it hadn't been done properly. In reality, they just set the toe and called it `done`.
I took it to a Lotus independent I trusted. I spent over 2 hours with him doing the geometry correctly, it was way out from Lotus and the tyre shop. Two hours as the undertrays take a while to get on and off and the adjustment is fiddly, you have to "chase" it in as changes in one area affect the others.

I should mention the geometry is something really worth having checked, it can make a real difference to the feeling of the Emira. One of the most cost-effective improvements you can do.

I've been told that the geometry of new Emiras has been seen to be quite badly set-up straight from the factory on many cars.

You don't need to take the undertrays off. There are removable access panels on the rear under-tray and cut-outs in the front chassis parts so you can reach a socket extension through

 

[geoffbland]

You don't need to take the undertrays off. There are removable access panels on the rear under-tray and cut-outs in the front chassis parts so you can reach a socket extension through

When we did it you could just about adjust the toe through the cut outs. If I am remembering it the correct way around, changing the camber was difficult with the undertrays on & a socket extension and adjusting the camber impossible. I would suspect if your shop did not take the undertrays off that the geometry has not been fully done and one setting can change the other settings.

 

[Honcho]

When we did it you could just about adjust the toe through the cut outs. If I am remembering it the correct way around, changing the camber was difficult with the undertrays on & a socket extension and adjusting the camber impossible. I would suspect if your shop did not take the undertrays off that the geometry has not been fully done and one setting can change the other settings.

The front and rear toe can definitely be adjusted with no under-tray or panel removal front and rear as I've done it myself. Rear camber requires panel removal, not under-tray. The front requires a socket extension of the correct length for camber and castor. I'd agree with you that it takes quite a while as one setting adjusts another and the cams are difficult to get at a precise position.

 

[jp129]

You don't need to take the undertrays off. There are removable access panels on the rear under-tray and cut-outs in the front chassis parts so you can reach a socket extension through

The front undertray must come off otherwise you do not have full access to both eccentrics.

The front cut out only provides access to the frontward eccentric on the front lower control arm, but that does not give you enough caster range/adjustment if the specs are way out of alignment.

In addition to the undertray coming off, you have to remove the 2 sway bar mounting plates and pivot them down to get a socket & extension to the rearward eccentric on the front lower control arm.

 

[jp129]

The front and rear toe can definitely be adjusted with no under-tray or panel removal front and rear as I've done it myself. Rear camber requires panel removal, not under-tray. The front requires a socket extension of the correct length for camber and castor. I'd agree with you that it takes quite a while as one setting adjusts another and the cams are difficult to get at a precise position.

You're able to access both eccentrics with the front tray on?

 

[Honcho]

You're able to access both eccentrics with the front tray on?

yep. There’s holes near the sway bar mount specifically there so you can get an extension to the rearmost mount.

 

[jp129]

If you were successful in getting to that rearward eccentric, I need to revisit this. When I tried to access it through that cut out, none of my sockets and extensions would work, so we just took it off to access.

Do you recall the specific socket & extension combination you used for the rear eccentric?

 

[Honcho]

I can’t recall the exact length, but if it is not quite a specific length there will be no room to connect the extension to the ratchet as it will hit off another part of the chassis. …but you could measure this yourself - the distance from the hole to the rearward lower control arm bolt.

 

[geoffbland]

yep. There’s holes near the sway bar mount specifically there so you can get an extension to the rearmost mount.

You can reach the front and back of each wishbone arm through there? How?!? I'm going to have to really take another look at this next time the car is up on the ramp then as I had a good look and didn't think it was possible.

 

[Honcho]

You can reach the front and back of each wishbone arm through there? How?!? I'm going to have to really take another look at this next time the car is up on the ramp then as I had a good look and didn't think it was possible.

I do remember it being quite fiddly. It was a few months ago so I can't remember if I used a universal joint or not on the socket, but I think not. Once you've done it once it's quite easy, and much easier than undertray removal. Again, the correct extension length is required. Sorry, I don't know what this is.

 

[gwman]

Here's a copy of my alignment after 4000 miles and one track day. Before alignment it was pretty awful, especially if it left the factory like this as others have said. Different caster left to right, bad steer ahead, bad thrust angle.
My mechanic is a part time race engineer and he likes to dial in a little more caster than recommended. He had no trouble adjusting everything once he found the extension that worked for the front. Panels were already off in the rear for an oil change. Charged under $300, took less than an hour.
Car feels MUCH better after alignment, even on boring highways.

 

[Ceej]

Just want to echo that you CAN adjust both eccentric bolts on the front control arms without panel removal. I believe I used a deep socket with a mid size extension to access one of them. It was tight though. Yes there is some chasing with the alignment process.

 

[Liz]

Hello everyone - I'm having an absolute nightmare of a time with the alignment on my Emira. I've had the car since new when I took delivery in May 2024.

Right away I noted a significant pull to the right. It takes a good amount of pressure and about 5 degrees of steering angle to keep the car in a neutral, straight line. I took it to Boardwalk Lotus in Redwood City, CA with the complaint. They checked the steering rack but didn't check the alignment and send me on my way.

I then took it to an independent alignment shop in Monterey, CA (Bay Brakes and Automotive) $242 for a custom setup and they adjusted the settings so the car mostly drove straight. It was vastly better than before I took it in. They informed me that the front right caster is a FULL 2.0 DEGREES off from the left. Yep, that will do it. They recommend I take it to a Lotus dealership and have them install shims to correct the caster issue.

This time, I decided to take it to two Lotus dealerships to get an opinion. First, I went to Lotus Los Gatos. $900 for a basic alignment, $340 an hour to install shims if necessary. Estimated total: $2500ish. WHAT. Second, I went back to Boardwalk Lotus. $700 for a basic alignment, TBD with shim installation.

I left the car with Boardwalk Lotus for the alignment. They perform an alignment and then promptly tell me that a caster adjustment isn't possible on a Lotus Emira. $700 and the car handles worse than ever.

Now I've contacted Lotus customer service directly detailing the issue. They responded quickly at first, but now I'm a week plus some into waiting for a response from their engineering department.

Here's the last alignment printout from Boardwalk Lotus and a video of driving the car from Boardwalk immediately after the "alignment" under no acceleration in a straight line on a flat highway.

I'm feeling incredibly scammed by this entire endeavor. Is it true there's no caster adjustment for the front suspension?? That seems insane.

Quick update - after communicating with Boardwalk Lotus, I am getting a refund for the alignment service. Now only the task of properly aligning the car remains! I really appreciate everyone's help here!

 

[StopLoss]

I'm in the Bay Area and strongly considering buying a new Emira. But these anecdotes have me questioning the cost and competence of these Lotus dealers. Hmm. Good dealer support is really important for something like a Lotus. I wonder how good Lotus SF (Land Rover Marin) is?

 

[Liz]

I'm in the Bay Area and strongly considering buying a new Emira. But these anecdotes have me questioning the cost and competence of these Lotus dealers. Hmm. Good dealer support is really important for something like a Lotus. I wonder how good Lotus SF (Land Rover Marin) is?

I haven't interacted with the SF/Marin dealership yet. So far, my experience on the maintenance side with Los Gatos and Boardwalk has been harrowing. Boardwalk did just fine with an oil change ($400) and a warranty repair, but the experience with the huge miss on the caster and alignment discourages me...

 

[OppositeLock]

I'm sorry that you've had all these troubles.

The dealers, sadly, aren't good at diagnosing uncommon things. if you can read a code, and replace a part, they're just fine.

I would start asking questions about whether something is bent, or mis-shapen for some reason. As @kitkat mentioned, Trackspec is _the_ Lotus shop to use for more complex issues, now that Suspension Performance is gone (this was the best before the owner retired).

Custom Alignment in Mountain View is also known as an excellent specialist in suspensions and alignments, but I have no personal experience with them in my Emira (yet).

 

[BoardwalkLotus]

Hi everyone, Boardwalk chiming in. We're a member of the forum here, and want to let everyone know that they can message us here if needs arise. As Liz mentions, we have issued a refund for her alignment service. It's important to us that if we don't get it right, we make it right.

 

[jp129]

Hi everyone, Boardwalk chiming in. We're a member of the forum here, and want to let everyone know that they can message us here if needs arise. As Liz mentions, we have issued a refund for her alignment service. It's important to us that if we don't get it right, we make it right.

It's great to see a dealer engage and interact with the community. On top of making the situation right. Kudos!

 

[Beachbum]

It's great to see a dealer engage and interact with the community. On top of making the situation right. Kudos!

If only Lotus themselves could follow the example