BADFNZ

iTrader: (19)

A few months ago the outside of my left front tire starting wearing pretty heavily. So before it got too bad, I took it to get aligned. The before specs on that wheel were (camber: -0.5, toe: -1/16) and after they were 0's on both.

Well that tire still was wearing bad so I put newer tires on the front to see if these would develop the same pattern. Well about 3000 miles later they're almost just as bad as the originals. The tire pressure was at 34 on the left and 33 on the right so this wouldn't explain it. I haven't wrecked it recently or anything so I'm out of ideas on why this is happening on only one side.

Only thing I can think of to fix it would to max out the camber on the 2 fronts. Any ideas what could be causing this and what could solve it?

TooSlow02

The front camber setting is the problem. Stock setting on 4th-gen F-cars is far too positive, especially considering the design of the front suspension inhibits most camber change during supension movement. The car ends up riding on the outside shoulder of the tire more often then not, especially if the car is driven hard. After my first set of tires wore out, I replaced them and set the front camber to -0.85 degrees on both fronts. They've worn evenly ever since, even without rotating them ( I have wider tires in the rear). What were the before and after settings of the right front? What are the caster settings? Some alignment shops attempt to compensate for road crown using more negative camber on the right, which may explain why the right isn't wearing as quickly on the outside shoulder. If compensation is really necessary, the caster setting should be used, since it isn't a factor in tire wear.

camarokid94

iTrader: (2)

too slow 02 whats your toe set at? also caster does effect tire wear only when turning. really high caster will wear the outer edges fast. helps cornering though.
i set my car at -.10 camber and 5.6 caster left and -.35 camber and 6.05 caster right, and toes +.05 each. tires wear great and its hadles great too corners nicely with almost no push. getting these was hard since i lowered it but it drives strait still. i set it up for a little road crown cause i drive intersates alot.
camaros come with alot of caster and camber, both wear the edges bad.
what were the settings before the alignment?? toe in (positive toe IE +.20) wears the outer edges too.

TooSlow02

Stock, F-bodies actually come with very little camber, around +0.4. Tires on a street car will wear on the outside shoulder because of this. The caster setting itself has absolutley no affect on tire wear. Camber change when turning (camber roll) is what may cause wear. The caster setting does influence this, as does steering angle of inclination, but to say that caster causes tire wear isn't quite right. It all comes down to static and dynamic camber (camber changes while driving) readings. Static camber has the most influence over dynamic camber, while both cause tire wear. On a street driven car, I would set the camber between -0.50 to -0.75 to make the tires wear as evenly as possible. Track time, the camber goes to -1.25 to -1.50 (or more, depending on the track conditions and tire usage) for higher cornering grip. I try to get the toe settings around +0.01 on both sides(incorrect toe settings will feather the entire tread face, not just one shoulder or the other). For street driving I set caster around +4.2 degrees both sides. The only time I change it is for road course events, where speed are really high. Then I go to +5.75 to +6.0 for stability.

BADFNZ

iTrader: (19)

Anyone else?

NiteProwler

What about a funky Thrust angle? I recently had a 4 wheel alignment and can't understand why the -.2* thrust. What is acceptable? I thought you always started by zeroing this measurement. Here's entire report. Would really appreciate some coaching!

TooSlow02

The rear thrust angle isn't adjustable on a stock car. I swapped on BMR double adjustable rear lower control arms and a double adjustable panhard rod and used PHB to center the rear axle and then got the thrust angle to zero using the arms.

12stones

iTrader: (2)

Balance them.