front camber help

[GPReyes]

So I'm at the shop having a routine check of the car's underbelly when I'm suddenly alarmed by the severe treadwear on the insides of my front tires (the right more than the left)

and I remembered it's been a year since my last tire change and because of my lowered stance (eibachs with bilstein sports) the severe negative camber has once again unevenly eaten up the tire...and my wallet is quivering in fear as punch these keys cause it looks like I'm goin to have to fork up a couple hundred for a new set of dunlops...

have we found a solution to fix the front camber yet?

I asked the store owner and his only reco was to avoid uni-directional tires and just rotate them more often for even treadwear OR ...TO PUT THE RIDE BACK TO STOCK (noooo) ...anyone have another answer to camber problem?

[manny]

I run the same set-up as you ( Eibach Pro-Kit & Bilstein Sports ), without a problem.
Negative camber is one reason for inside tire wear, but another reason could be too much toe-out.
After you get new tires, I would recommend letting an M-B shop do the alignement.
I agree with the uni-directional tires limiting you to a front/rear swap.
Of course, if you run a staggered set-up as well, you are totally screwed, as far as ANY rotation goes.
You may want to have a look at some bi-directional tires next time, of course you still need to determine the exact cause of your tirewear. ;)

[crazy00c230k]

this same thing has happened to me every year since ive lowered my car too, im running the same set up, and its deffinately the camber because i had my car alligned at the dealership after i installed my springs.

[manny]

Originally posted by crazy00c230k
i had my car alligned at the dealership after i installed my springs.

Then I would go back & ask them to DO IT RIGHT.
Ask them if they used a " spreader-bar " during alignment. ;)

[KWiK]

I have been through 4 sets of tires since lowering my car and I can't remember once having the inside wear out first. My tire wear is fairly even every time.

Maybe you need to have a little more fun with your car... go find some twisties :cool:

[alphanumeric]

Originally posted by crazy00c230k
this same thing has happened to me every year since ive lowered my car too, im running the same set up, and its deffinately the camber because i had my car alligned at the dealership after i installed my springs.

so did having your alligned at the dealer fix the problem or not?

[GPReyes]

I've had my car aligned a couple times and they've said they really can't do anything about tire wear because lowering the car really produces negative camber... / \... which makes sense to me...

I'm surprised there are some of you who have even tire wear...and I really wonder who you can accomplish that when it seems logical that the only way is to get the tires straight like this | | ...and 202's don't have camber adjustment...

how exactly will alignment help? what do I tell the aligner guy if he insists that the negative camber will cause uneven wear? is there any special technique or procedure?

[crazy00c230k]

Originally posted by manny
Then I would go back & ask them to DO IT RIGHT.
Ask them if they used a " spreader-bar " during alignment. ;)

well my dad happens to be the shop foreman at caliber motors in anahiem hills, so im pretty damn sure its done right. and sorry if it caused some confusion, but i had it alligned right when it was dropped, and ever since the drop, ive had the problem w/the insides wearing out, so i am assuming, as stated by GP, that the negative camber caused by the drop would be the cause of the insides wearing faster

[GPReyes]

bro ask your dad what he recommends we do to fix the hole in the wallet problem we got..

cause I'm gonna get two new fronts (bi-drectional now haha) but I'd like to keep these things lasting a bit longer

[benzfan]

You can get the camber bolt kit from the dealer, but it allows only minimal adjustment. I have been toying with the idea of a replacement upper suspension arm with an adjustable ball joint for a while now. The problem is the axis of adjustment must only accomplish camber correction and not affect any other alignmnent parameter. I don't expect to have a lot of time to work on it until my exams at work finish in mid January, but I will be enlisting the help of my father, a PhD materials engineer, to ensure strength and safety, even though the originals aren't overly confidence-inspiring to look at. I am currently just playing with drawings using spare upper arms that I have kicking around and will begin the search for suitable urethane bushings and a replacable ball joint as soon as I get some time free. The goal is to have it tested by sometime next summer and to know what it will cost to produce in low numbers. Watch this space....

[manny]

benzfan

Have you looked into the Liability issues on this?
Re-engineered suspension = accident = lawsuit1 :(
I still don't understand how some people can have this wearproblem & others ( me ) don't.
Furthermore, while I'm not an alignment expert, I would still look at the toe-in adjustment and possibly experiment with it.

[benzfan]

The stumbling block to selling any is the independent destructive testing required by a certified testing lab at a frequency determined by them. It's not cheap to have that done to satisfy liability insurance. There's nothing however preventing me from posting a ball joint part # along with a design for an arm, to be made up by a competent machine shop if anyone is adventurous enough to have a set made. I'll see how it goes on my own car first. (or maybe my wife's car. Hehe, yeah, that's the ticket...have to check her life insurance first);)

[manny]

I know all about Liability Insurance.
Can you say : " BEND OVER " !! ;)

[crazy00c230k]

Originally posted by GPReyes
bro ask your dad what he recommends we do to fix the hole in the wallet problem we got..

cause I'm gonna get two new fronts (bi-drectional now haha) but I'd like to keep these things lasting a bit longer

my dad just tells me to keep my tire pressures up and rotate my tires around every oil change time, my first set of michelin pilots got screwed up real fast, so i changed over to continental conti sport contact II's, they lasted a little longer, but doin the rotation and pressure check on my tires seem to be lasting longer everytime, im lookin for a full year on the set i just put on last week!~haha

[GPReyes]

benzfan: I already have the camber bolt =) adjustment is too minimal to make a diff

manny: how low is your car...and do you not use it? haha I think anytime you lower a car you get negative camber / \ which is actually better for handling. how do you not get uneven treadwear? wow actually don't even ask yourself that. just be happy

crazy: I guess I'll do that. what are the best longest lasting 18 225 40 tires...

ideas guys?