Hey everyone, I looked through some of the "Camber kit" threads and I am totally confused, especially after reading " No, you DO NOT need camber kits!". Here's my story I purchased this 97 Honda Civic for 2500. Car turned out to be a wreck of "small" problems. Now, I was changing the oil a couple days ago and noticed my tires were a wreck on the insides(wires showing). Check them out:





I went ahead and blew $400 on new tires and had them mounted the other day (205/40/17). The Sears tech told me to get a "Camber Kit" my friends told me to get a "Camber Kit". So now here is my question. Summer semester just killed my pocket lol and I need to drive my car and the cheapest solution would be the most ideal. Do I buy this new camber kit (Skunk $400) or go with what the threat says and get an alignment if so Sears told me they couldn't align my car because it was to low and couldn't ride onto the ramp (What do I tell the shop to fix?) and have them fix the toe? (Can someone explain what that is?). Or would it be cheaper to try to liquidate my new tires for 350 and get some small junk yard rims with old tires or some how get the car back to its original hight? Your advice is very appreciated.
Here is what I know about the car:
Lowered on Nuespeed Suspension
Springs not coilovers
Tires 205/40/17
Additional Pics:

 

You need to have the car aligned, and the toe set as close to 0 in front as possible.

The car not fitting on there rack is very possible. Some shops just can't align lowered cars for that reason. Find another shop.

Camber, does wear tires. However, it does so very very slowly. What killed your tires was a toe out condition in the front.

Also, in my expereince tires with a smaller side wall DO wear a little faster then others.

 

my question is: why in the hell are you taking it to sears? take it to an actual suspension and alignment shop. any legit shop will have at least one person there who knows how to work on lowered cars. p.s. your car cant be much lower than mine, if any. and i dont have any trouble driving up ramps anywhere, and if i do the shop puts down 2x4's right before the ramp. im pretty sure the sears "tech" just didnt want to admit he had no idea how the hell to work on your car and fed you that bullshit about the ramps. seriously, suspension/alignment shop.. go.

 

That is definitely an aligning issue. As for the skunk camber kit, I would just get a cheaper one, IMO they all do the same thing, just more options on some. As for not being able to get on the ramp, they obviously didn't want to do it bad enough. You can use 2 pieces of wood, use those as a ramp to get on the ramp. Same for getting off of it.

Toe is the in or out direction of the tires. Here is a picture.

 

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

 

Thanks guys, I'll be going to another shop recommended by a friend of mine to get my car aligned tomorrow! Thanks so much for the advice, I'll let you guys know how it goes! Oh by the way how often do you guys rotate your tires? Every other oil change?

 

5000 to 7000 miles.

 

If I'm bored and have nothing do, I'll do mine every oil change. If not, every other.

 

ur best bet is alignment.... camber kit may help(most time dont need it) ...check if your tires are properly inflated ....i think for EK's its 30 psi all around?.. may be wrong... and also make sure your shocks are still good

 

good stuff man. nice illustrations. makes noobs like me understand more about these things

 

Had the same problem. I took my car to PepBoys and they told me they just had to toe my front out. They also had a special ramp here made for lowered cars haha, guess i got lucky !

 

I was going to say the same PepBoys is pretty good but just depends who's working sometimes they'll tell u that they don't want to be liable for lowered cars and they'll only do it as long as it has a camber kit..but they did mine without a problem

 

Do it at Honda or any other dealership. You may need a camber kit to have more toe adjustment but that SHOULD be able to be solved with stock stuff.

You obviously don't seem to care about a proper suspension set up so an alignment within stock specs for toe is all you need.

 

you can always go to a local shop that does alignment just show up with no bumpers (so they dont have any excuse not to get onto the ramp!)

 

if you do want to get camber kits get them from a company called SPC its specialty parts company the make all types of parts for alignment adjustments that arent there from the factory ie adjustable ball joints for lowered hondas im and alignment tech and i use them all the time there not cheap but there less than 400.

 

You do not need camber kits. I didn't see you mention getting the car aligned.

Get the toe set in the front to .03 toe out. and the rear set to .05 toe in

This is how I have my car set for daily/autocross dual duty and the car handles great.

The toe in in the rear makes the car more stable at high speeds. The toe out up from keeps the steering smooth and turn in better.

 

assuming you have some mechanical and common sense...string and tape measure/ruler method would be the cheapest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjcP07VKVZM (skip to 6:22 to get the idea of what you will be doing) This should hold you over at least until you save up some money for a professional alignment...if you think you need it later.
If you decide to try it take your time with it. Check your steering wheel position each time you make an adjustment. Once done check your toe every so often and check your tread to see if it has changed over time.