I recently purchased a '94 Civic DX with a B16A swap. I noticed yesterday when I was plugging one of the tires that they were all wearing unevenly (heavy on the inside). The car is lowered with adjustable coil-overs and KYB struts. Should I get a camber kit or what would be the best way to straighten it out before purchasing new tires?

 

It probably needs an alignment or tie rod ends. Heavy wear on the inside is from incorrect toe.

I ran 2.25 deg neg camber on my first civic for years and the tire wear was even.

 

Would I take it to a regular mechanic if it needs aligned, like a Honda dealer? What about a camber kit?

 

i had the same problem with my coupe you defiantly need a camber kit if you never want to worry bout it and defiantly an alignment done

 

yes camber kit and a tire alignment should resolve this problem

 

Is installing a camber kit someone can do a home with beginner/novice skills? Obviously I can't do the alignment.

 

No.

No.

No.

How long have you been dropped on these tires? If the answer is a few months or a year, your problem is toe.

1. Within 90% certain that his problem is toe. Camber does not eat tires quickly. You will get a little extra wear over the life of the tire, but it doesn't significantly shorten the life... maybe a few weeks or months less, but not years.

2. I've been running 2.5 degrees negative camber for going on 6 months now, with no noticeable camber wear. So have thousands of other people, considering that lots of cars run a little camber from the factory.

3. Either way, he needs an alignment first. Ask to see the alignment sheets before and after. That will tell you exactly what's wrong. I guarantee it's toe.

4. The alignment guy will want to zero out your camber, and will tell you that you need a camber kit. This is not usually true - he's telling you that because Honda says that the factory camber spec on a Civic is 0 degrees. A few degrees of camber will positively affect cornering performance while not significantly affect tire life. It will cause a little bit of extra wear, but your tires should still last years.

5. Just because everyone on honda-tech says you need a camber kit doesn't mean it's true. Visit the suspension forum and talk to people who have actually tried lots of different suspension setups and know what works and what doesn't.

6. I make this exact same post about every 3.5 days, that being the frequency of people asking this question and getting bad information.

 

^ x2 You don't need a camber kit, it's the toe being out of wack that's eating your tires.

I was lowered 2in without a camber kit, my tires wore perfect because I got an alignment.

When you get your alignment they'll tell you you need a camber kit blah blah blah, just tell them to set the toe to 0 and not worry about the camber

 

Thanks everyone for your generous input. I'm going to be taking it to a shop to get it aligned.

 

Check for worn tie rod ends too. The alignment shop "should" do that but it's not always the case. I have stories about this >

 

To clarify my earlier statement a little bit.

Yes, camber is a factor in overall tire wear, but it's a very minor factor compared to toe wear. Toe WILL tear up tires faster than you can buy them.

I really think that the reason most people on h-t say that their tire wear problem was fixed by a camber kit is because they go get it aligned right after they get the camber kit... which fixes the toe problem.

Alternatively, it could be because their toe problem is made worse by a little bit of camber.... Because a little camber DOES make a toe problem dramatically worse.

Either way, the camber is not the root cause of the problem, the toe is. And toe is the root cause of almost all tire wear problems.

 

This single fact makes it very hard to get what you want with an alignment. The shop wants to get it back to factory spec and thinks that that is the only way to go. The last time I had my civic aligned, they moved all of my camber to zero (I run camber kits to play with my alignment for racing FYI). It took them three tries to understand what I wanted. <sigh> Needless to say, they won't be getting my business any longer.

0* toe is was is important for tire wear. That is the key factor that everyone needs to remember.

 

I agree.. I'm on stock suspension right now and have weird tire wear because my car needs an alignment...

in order to avoid civicgsr's problems, I say, screw the honda dealer, take it to sears or something, it's cheaper, and they're more likely to do what you ask without fighting you on it

 

my favourite link regarding camber kits https://honda-tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes-54/no-you-do-not-need-camber-kits-2614449/

 

Ok - my next question... I have 16" wheels right now and am due for tires since the tires are wearing unevenly and are showing the steel braids on the inside. Should I get the alignment then purchase my new 17" wheels or get the wheels before the alignment?

 

alignment bra!

 

I'm gonna do the alignment tomorrow at a local NTB and then hopefully find a 17" wheel/tire package for around $600. I remember seeing packages from DiscountTireDirect.com for around $500 including s/h, mounted, balanced, etc. Nothing now though...

 

is the tire wearing evenly or is it feathered on the edges

 

Tires are wearing unevenly. They're wearing very fast on the inside and barely anything on the outside. I need to get all new tires now. Should I get it aligned or replace the tires first?

 

Short answer: Get it aligned.


Longer answer, get it aligned and make sure the tie rod ends are good.

 

new tires and align at the same time

 

Well yeah, there's that too