On Wed, 10 Aug 2016 20:21:33 -0700 (PDT), dsi1 >
wrote:

>On Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 5:06:51 PM UTC-10, Bill Vanek wrote:
>> On Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:55:50 -0700 (PDT), dsi1 <dsi1yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 2:31:23 PM UTC-10, Bill Vanek wrote:
>> >> On Wed, 10 Aug 2016 15:01:08 -0700 (PDT), dsi1 <dsi1yahoo.com>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >On Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 1:49:28 PM UTC-10, wrote:
>> >> >> dsi1:
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Look up online "2011 Hyundai Sonata wandering" and you'll
>> >> >> understand why the concern. Although most of the issues
>> >> >> were resolved by the third model year of the YF body Sonata,
>> >> >> it is still good to havr alignment checked, especially on a
>> >> >> used one with 30,000 miles.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Another contributor to the wandering was the electric power
>> >> >> steering and what mode it was set in at the factory. Mine was
>> >> >> set to 'Soft'(maximum boost, minimum driver effort). I had my
>> >> >> dealer set it to 'Sport'(minimum boost, most driver effort needed
>> >> >> to steer car). In soft, even slight changes to the road angle, or
>> >> >> a mild cross wind, would wrest the wheel from drivers' hands!
>> >> >> It was reminiscent of the 70s 'one fingered' steering on
>> >> >> full size models.
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Sport mode was a huge step in normalizing the handling/road
>> >> >> feel of my Sonata, but I figured finding a way to maximize
>> >> >> caster - within specs - would really ice the cake.
>> >> >
>> >> >Just tell the alignment guy your problem and he'll probably just change the toe-im. I don't know if they'll be in spec but that should improve straight line stability. The young alignment guy might not want to do it so find the oldest, most ornery-looking coot in the shop and ask him. The price you pay will be increased tire wear.
>> >>
>> >> Changing the toe will help only if it's so far off right now that the
>> >> car is wandering back and forth. The only things that affect steering
>> >> return to center are camber, caster, and kingpin inclination.
>> >
>> >I believe that the OP is experiencing wandering back and forth.
>>
>> He is, but in a subsequent post we can see that the toe is okay. He
>> does have a thrust angle issue - it's non-zero, but I don't know how
>> far off is too far off.
>
>If it wanders, doesn't that mean that the toe is not OK?

Not if it measures okay. Crappy tires, road surface, loose/worn parts
- including in the rear, probably other things I'm forgetting, those
will cause it. Also, it it's the toe, the car will tend to jump around
side to side, and in small amounts, as opposed to just slowly drifting
back and forth.

> You have to get an experienced alignment guy to adjust the toe-in based on the problem. The toe-in might not be to spec. If this is a common problem with these cars, then you'll have to go out of spec. Well that's my opinion anyway. If you're saying that he has to get the rear end squared away first well, yes, of course.