i have a 99 civic coupe on h&r race springs its about 2.5 in drop all around...
i searched on here before about getting a camber kit and the majority told me not to bother getting one, just set my toe to 0

so i go to the alignment shop and tell them to set my toe to 0 they gave me the father son lecture about getting a complete camber kit yadda yadda...whatever set my toe to 0

a couple months later my freaking tires are showing belts on the inside of the tire! I get brand new tires, get a front camber kit and a rear shim kit...i go back to the alignment shop "i got the stupid camber kit" align my whip! ...they tell me they can't align my whip because they need to mess with the rear settings before they can mess with the front...so they can't work with the rear shim kit.

so i left, and just drove my car as is, during a routine oil change my friend notices that my front tires are in bad shape from the inside! but the rear tires were in good shape, i said enough is enough i'll get the rear camber arms...

i get the rear camber arms, install them go to the alignment shop once again hoping to get my alignment right .....ANNNNND nope they can't do it i'm way to dumped. they adjusted the front near factory but they wouldn't touch the rear because if they did adjust it then i would be rubbing! their solution now is to raise the car back up...

now my question is what do you guys suggest? should i get different springs that would drop the car about 1.5 inches or is there other mods i can do like rolling the fenders, or getting smaller tires right now i have 205/50/15r. i've just about had enough of all this tire trouble i just want to put my stock springs back on and ride off in the sunset BAJA style!

PLEASE HELP!

 

suggest you find an alignment shop that doesn't suck so bad

 

don't take your **** to les schwab or any other major wheel shop.

take it to a smaller shop n they will do the work without the bullshit.

i took my car to les schwab n got dicked around as well.

finally got fed up n tried out All American Tire Co. n they did the work, no bs.

 

Why do alignment shops get so **** about getting a camber kit? So we can spend more? If toe is actually set to 0, camber shouldn't be an issue with tire wear right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ssm hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why do alignment shops get so **** about getting a camber kit? So we can spend more? If toe is actually set to 0, camber shouldn't be an issue with tire wear right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah if your toe and caster is within spec, you should be good to go. camber isn't really the issue with tire wear.

shops just dick you around so you have to spend more.

 

How much camber did you have? I have -4.6 front and -2.6 rear on my dc5 with zero toe at the front and 3mm total toe in at the rear, and I have driven 6k kms on these settings with fairly minimal camber wear.

 

Go to a better shop. I have had a few tell me that can't do certain things like set toe at whatever spec I want.

 

thanks guys, i think i'll try another shop seeing that they contradicted themselves when they said they have to mess with the rear settings before they can mess with the front...but when i took it last time they messed with the front settings and then began to mess with the rear!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chargeR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How much camber did you have? I have -4.6 front and -2.6 rear on my dc5 with zero toe at the front and 3mm total toe in at the rear, and I have driven 6k kms on these settings with fairly minimal camber wear.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow, someone with more negative camber than me.
00 GSR, -4*/-1.3* camber
0 front toe, slight rear toe in (whatever factory rear toe spec is)
No signs of "camber wear" in 1.5 years (within 1/32" wear difference across entire tread)

However, my auto-x tires show massive wear on the inside from me spinning the inside front on corner exit, and partially locking them up trail braking.

I suppose the new rule should be "camber doesn't wear tires abnormally, as long as you don't drive like an asshat".

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by funkdocivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks guys, i think i'll try another shop seeing that they contradicted themselves when they said they have to mess with the rear settings before they can mess with the front...but when i took it last time they messed with the front settings and then began to mess with the rear!! </TD></TR></TABLE>

I had to call 5 different shops before I found one that would
1) align the lowered car
2) align to non-factory specs
3) be willing to adjust my SPC UCAs, since its a single nut that requires being torqued to 120 ft-lbs (been told "we won't touch that because of liability")

When you call different shops, ask if they align race cars, and if not, to recommend a shop that does. Those are generally the better places to take cars with a non-stock suspension.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TunerN00b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
When you call different shops, ask if they align race cars, and if not, to recommend a shop that does. Those are generally the better places to take cars with a non-stock suspension.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is a very good idea. I only ever take my car to places that are known for aligning race cars, as these guys have seen it all and actually know what they are doing.

 

haha nice i was about to ask what exactly to ask them! thanks guys , i'm assuming nobody here has need to roll their fenders or get smaller tires right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by funkdocivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">haha nice i was about to ask what exactly to ask them! thanks guys , i'm assuming nobody here has need to roll their fenders or get smaller tires right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Don't get smaller tires. Keep your speedometer and odometer accurate.

Rolling fenders is very common. In fact, you can probably find a howto using a baseball bat by searching on here.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TunerN00b &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Don't get smaller tires. Keep your speedometer and odometer accurate.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

right now he is rolling on 205/50/15 tires so if he were to get the stock tire size which is 195/55/15 it should'nt mess with his speedometer and odometer.

 

Well they're right about your car being dumped. That's just stupid. If you think that's cool, then you'll just have to live with all the negative side effects that go along with it. A reasonably dropped car handles better, rides better, brakes and accelerates better, and DOESN'T NEED A CAMBER KIT. A 1.5 inch drop gives you roughly -1.5 degrees camber in the front, less in the rear, and that's just barely outside spec.

On the other hand, I know exactly what you're talking about with snobby alignment techs. They think they know everything about every single car and they wont hear a word otherwise. But they don't realize our cars are double wishbone suspension. And if they did, they wouldn't know the implications.

Never take a lowered car to a shop that has a $30,000 alignment machine. Take it to a place that does alignments with strings, rulers, and camber plates.

About your tires, yeah HT is going to tell you that camber wear is a myth. So just read their posts and shut your eyes to the fact that your tires wear prematurely on the insides even when your toe is centered. The truth is that there are a number of situations where one car will experience camber wear, and another car wont show signs of it.

Here are some situations where you WILL IN FACT experience camber wear

cheap or touring tires
lots of highway miles
"dumped" cars. (I put "dumped" in quotes cuz it just occurred to me that it's a fitting description for a car of which whose owner has defecated on.)


Here are some situations where you wont seem to experience camber wear

you drive the crap out of your tires and replace them frequently
you drive the crap out of your tires and wear the outside edges from taking turns too fast
your car does double duty as a daily driver and weekend racer in sanctioned events
you have some quality performance tires (sport tires are MADE for negative camber, and they have reinforced inner edges.)


Camber wear is not as prominent on our cars as other models that have mcpherson struts. But it is a reality for a lot of people.

 

roll fenders and find a better shop. Also it probably is a good idea to raise it up a an inch or so.

 

my man suspendedhatch! thanks for breaking it down

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by funkdocivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my man suspendedhatch! thanks for breaking it down </TD></TR></TABLE>

remember that free advice is worth what you payed for it.

 

suspendedHatch

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suspendedHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Never take a lowered car to a shop that has a $30,000 alignment machine. Take it to a place that does alignments with strings, rulers, and camber plates.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Profound statement. Technology has gone a long way to take the thinking out of things like alignments, and it shows in the understanding that (a lot of) the "technicians" still have.