Snoopy1

I read plenty of previous and archived posts about alignments but just wanted to make sure of what everyone's thoughts are before I had it done. Now, before I read that people had different views on what caused uneven tire wear. Some said it was camber, others said it was toe and others were saying that no matter the amount of negative camber you had, if your toe was set at zero, then you would have no camber wear. Is this correct, to have the alignment shop set my toe at zero and then set camber, caster as close to normal as they can? Sorry, kinda confused at this point from the different views, just need some clarification thanks guys

kommon_sense

If either camber or toe is off, then you will get uneven tire wear. If toe is set to zero, but you still have excessive camber, you will still get uneven tire wear.

qcoffey

I'll try to give you a hand. All the specs should be set within the manufacturesr specified settings. Toe wear will wear tires the fastest. If your toe is way off then you might get 1000-2000 miles before those tires are shot.

Camber will also wear tires. They wear at a slower rate so the problem can be lessened if you rotate the tires more often. If camber is too extreme then the tires can become choppy on the inside causing not only minor vibration in the steering wheel, but increased tire noise.

Finally, the only alignment angle that is typically adjustable on FWD vehicles is toe. Without a proper camber kit camber is not adjustable. Without a caster kit this angle is not adjustable and is rarely out of alignment, unless the car has been hit. I hope this helps a little.

Snoopy1

oh, so basically when I get an alignment, all they adjust is the toe angle? I never knew that before. Also, my camber won't be that bad as I am only lowered about 1.75-2" on sprint springs, I am just concerned with getting the most even tire wear I can get. Had a bad experience with tires going bald and wearing down one layer of wire after one trip down to SLC from Poc, ID. that's only about 180 miles each way. That was on skunk 2 coils, not all the way down either, but they are hard to get even and can throw alignment off easily. Have new tires now and want them to last. So, should I just have them set it like normal, as if I weren't lowered?

akeldama

I am lowered about 1.8" w/ H&R Sports and I just had them adjust toe back to stock. I believe it was 0 in the rear and .08 in the front. They should know. I also, am not running a camber kit. I shimmed the rear with 2 washers and that brought me into spec for camber. In the front my camber was about -1 to -1.3.

qcoffey

Yes, the camber should be set to within the factory specs. At under 2" of lowering the camber shouldn't be too extreme to warrant a camber kit.

Snoopy1

ok, thanks guys