I just got a wheel alignment done. I thought they we're meant to make the ride smoother? Mine is anything but smoother...it's feels the same or even worse...bumpy, steering wheel vibrating...feels like the front is wobblyish. Don't know if its just me being paranoid though :S
I also got them to check 'front suspension, top & bottom ball joints and bottom arm brushes'. Does that involve dismantling the car? If so, could the bumpy ride be cause by loose bolts etc? I know i'm being a bit paranoid...sorry.

Lastly....does my front wheel/s appear alright too you? To me it seems like it's about to scrape the caliper?
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8171/dsc00082xze.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5739/dsc00083q.jpg
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/115/dsc00084r.jpg


Thanks in advance for your help :)

A wheel alignment would not have changed the clearance between the wheel and caliper.

my clearence is the same mate , dont worry its normal :P
toyota just fitted the biggest possible brake callipers they could and left no room lol
as for the juddering, i used to get that before my toyo t1r's above about 100kms i wuld get steering column judder (increased with faster i went) and it felt like the tyres werent perfectly round or sumthing.
soon as i got my t1r's on, it was all fixed and has been fine ever since.
i had previously GT Radials on front and firestones on the back. terrible. lol
id bet your problem is very much the same as mine was.
wat tires u got on your car at the moment ? and how old?
do you get the same judder above 90+kms? and it increases with speed?

Caliper clearance looks fine, a AS200 I assume looking at the caliper?

Where are you located? Might pay to get another member to jump in the car and see if everything is ok.

Checking movement or "play" is quite simple, jack the vehicle up, and just move the wheel around, up and down for the balljoint and top arm, inward and outward for the balljoint and bushes, and with the steering locked, left and right to check bushes in suspension arms

Yep, AS200...so thats all good...
I'm located in Wellington...so if there's anyone in Welly that can spare 5 mins, let me know :)

Also, tyres are all Toyo T1R. Tread on them is real good, basically brand new according to a couple of shops...
I notice the vibrating/shaking when driving on normal roads, basically around 50k/h maybe less...

check the insides of the tyres near the rim - if the car has been sitting for a long time (in Japan !!) they may have become cracked & may even have started to 'unzip' - check by rubbing hand around inside close to rim.

Wheel alignments affect the way the car tracks down the road and goes around corners, but shouldn't alter the smoothness or harshness of the ride.

Wheel balancing affects the shaking and vibration through the suspension/steering, and while a wheel is being spun on the machine you can see if the tyres are out of round (bumping up and down) or if the rim is buckled (moving back & forth sideways)

You can check yourself if you jack up a wheel & turn it slowly with a brick or tin beside it and a screwdriver. Just watch the clearance from the blade to the tyre and then to the rim as it turns. I've got a couple that are 4 or 5mm out, but you can't see that by looking at them or feel it on the road.

The modern style of wheel that has the centre disc at the outside edge leaves the inside unsupported and they buckle easily on the inside rim. (Need more dish! :D )

Your problem sounds like a wheel balance or bent rim, more than an alignment problem.

By the way, what figures did you start and end up with?

You have checked to see if your wheel nuts are tight?

I would suggest you pm Distrb and go see him. I'm sure he would sparee you five miniute's

I'm not too sure. I got it done by the Toyota service centre on Friday. When i see them again on Tuesday, do you think they'll have the figures available for me? Or is it too late? Also, i asked for a wheel alignment + balance but it may have appeared they only done the alignment? I was charged $69ish and on the receipt it says wheel alignment, but before i agreed to having it done, they confirmed that the alignment included the balance aswell? :o

Yep...well kinda...i just went around each nut with my fingers to check if i could turn any of them and they all seem pretty tight.