MarcusMIA

Yeah, I was wondering to what degree would your tires wear unevenly due to negative camber when lowering the car?

I want to lower the SC400 down some 2.5", but could not possibly afford to have to replace my tires much earlier than usual. I really like those Bridgestone Potenza Sports and would have to throw quite a few pennies to get them.

I have no experience with camber and lowered cars as well as the effects on the tires, so I am totally open to any input as I'm totally out of it.

I've said it before, the Owner's Club ain't got nothing on this place.

GS FONZy

iTrader: (6)

Dude, it's camber, not camper

Just flip your tires every few thousand miles and you can prolong the life of your tires.

QwkSC

iTrader: (1)

Your is what will cause your car to wear through tires really fast. Camber will add wear on the inside, but more slowly. -1.5*or less of camber and your tires will still last for quite a while. And even when my car was slammed i was till able to get it under 1.5* all around

ziptied

Camber does NOT decrease life of tires, Caster does. Don't listen to what anyone else says, camber DOES NOT cause any more wear on a tire than normal. It just wears one side down instead of both sides down equally. Just keep them rotated, and you'll be fine.

MarcusMIA

Isn't camber something you can adjust through an alignment or something? Now I'm more confused.

So you're telling me a 2.5" inch drop will wear my tires out more in comparison to what?

tromly

+1 ziptied, just rotating the tires solves the problem

MarcusMIA

And what if the tires are what they call... "directional"? What's the name?

I've seen some pretty insane looking pictures of worn out tires and they look super worn out.

ConSynX

iTrader: (1)

...mmmk

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...e.jsp?techid=4
Toe is most important for tire wear, then camber, then caster.
just read the article and you'll be able to decipher what's critical yourself.

and what someone was trying to tell you is that you can lower your vehicle A LOT, and still be able to get it aligned pretty close to spec. Search the forums and you'll see some people's ride heights and how they post having OEM spec alignments.

ziptied

a ****, it was late and I forgot about toe. lol and Tire Rack is saying that camber will wear tires, just unevenly. They dont wear out pre-maturely due to camber. and if the tires are directional, you have to do a dismount and remount rotation, if you run a staggered set up. if same size all around, you cross rotate.

SH_JZZ30

iTrader: (1)

I just finished dismounting and flipping my rear tires. I'm running -4 degrees of camber but my toe is set as close to 0 as possible. My car is pretty low. I'm running 265/35/18 on a 10.5 +24 wheel. Tires don't really last too long but since I flipped them it should last alot longer.

If your car has an open diff then check which tire has more wear. Make sure you put the tire with more tread at that position. I wouldn't recommend expensive tires if you are running alot of negative camber and you daily your car. But if you have the money then go for it.

MarcusMIA

So with my drop, all I need is a good tire alignment?

ziptied

yep, and keep your tires rotated, if your camber is more than 2 degrees negative, rotate every oil change.

scfocus

iTrader: (3)

But if your running staggered wheels.. there is no such thing as rotating tires. Unless you want to get them unmounted, remounted and rebalanced.. $$

ziptied

umm, duh. Ive said it above already....

GS FONZy

iTrader: (6)

Why do you guys keep saying rotate, the camber will almost be equal all around. Whether front or back the inner section of the tire is going to wear faster. Flip the inside to the outside,so you can get even wear and get the most out of your tires.