So I've posted about needing upper ball joints in the past, couldn't find upper ball joints by themselves for the Function and Form Type 1's due to the company stating they don't sell any of it on it's own.

I wasn't about to buy a brand new coilover set up for something like that and read that camber doesn't necessarily negatively effect tire wear. I'm cool with that, but when I got the car aligned the fronts with brand new stock control arms and ball joints have an uneven camber.

On the front I have -2.7 (left) and -3.2(right). From what i've read without a camber kit it cannot be adjusted. I was looking into buying the Skunk2 camber kit that from what i've read is priced anywhere from 40ish to 60 bucks. I've ready mixed reviews on that.

On the rear which still has a rear camber kit has a -0.5 (left) and -1.5 (right)....They couldn't get the rear even due to one of the bolts supposedly being rusted. I sprayed that down with PB Blast, but in all honesty being that the camber in the rear isn't dramatic and if the bolt doesn't come undone i'm thinking on just making the left match the right and calling it a day.

My question is though when the camber is uneven basically on all four tires how does the effect the cars suspension overall?

I'm not too worried about the rear due to being able to make that even, but the fronts are off by .5. As of now i'm stuck with what it gives me, but i'm half tempted to get a camber kit just to make the tires look straight instead of having "that look".

bottom line question is how does the camber being the way it is effect the suspension...

the other measurements on the car is: left front caster 0.5, right front caster 0.8, toe left front is -0.01 and toe right front is 0.00

left toe rear is 0.08 and same with the right.


Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

uneven camber will just wear the wheels down faster. it will affect the tire wear more than it will your suspension if im not mistaken.

and if you want to get really technical, when turning negative camber helps the front wheels grip. but this only concerns you if youre racing. if your camber is uneven then the contact patch at full lock wont be the same and you wont achieve maximum grip. but it really doesnt matter if this is your daily. thats the only way i know that would affect your suspension.

 

As long as your toe is in spec your tires will wear just fine. Rotate them like normal.

And the contact patch at 3* camber and at 0* camber will be virtually identical.

There is a sticky at the top of the forum explaining this.

The fact that the camber is different is irrelevant. You simply have some worn bushings or a bent camber arm, not a big deal. Both tires will wear just fine.

Your front toe ideally needs to be a hair out, I run ~.05 out in the front and .03 in in the rear. You need to find a shop with a really solid laser alignment rack like a newer Hunter or the like. Goodyear usually has good equipment, but they charge hefty. That's where I have been going for years.

I've not ever had uneven tire wear. Not ever. I almost get into an argument with whoever the new guy is at the desk every freakin' time about how I have to have camber kits to get my camber back to OEM and how my tires will wear, blah blah blah. The same guy has been doing alignments at this Goodyear for over a decade at least, use to race cars. Once I get past the counter guy it's all good

Long story short, just keep your toe in check.

 

Most Firestone shops run the newer Hunter HawkEye systems which are very good. Firestone will usually run a promo once a year for lifetime alignment at around $100-120.

I agree with Libertariat's assessment but I imagine the car will pull a hair to the left at highway speeds. Also, contact patch is highly dependent on sidewall height, compound and tire width. You may notice a slight variance in wear depending on whether your tires are an asymmetrical design and can be rotated on all four corners.

The photo below is a good assessment of the limited effect camber alone has on wear (taken from the camber kit thread and reflects my own experience as well). Very little indication of scrub anywhere along the surface:

 

also note if you were sitting in the car or if you had a weight ballast in the drivers seat. when you sit down, i bet the left (driver) side lowers slightly which could give you a tad more camber on the left anyway.