I just got an alignment today after purchasing 4 new Michelin MXM4 17s. All 4 of my replaced tires were somewhat worn on the insides.Rotations every 5,000 miles. Treads were good with 4/32nds left. I didn't have any pulling issues and the car steered relatively straight. I checked my my final alignment specs on today's alignment and noticed that the front camber specs were -.1 on the left front and .1 on the right front. The toe was set to the maximum positive setting ( to offset the inside wear) at .13 and .15 The rear camber as with most of our cars can not be adjusted within spec on one side (due to no further adjustment on that side). My left rear is -1.9 with the max setting being -l.8....Here is my question........................Is is acceptable for my front camber to be set at -.1 on the left front and .1 on the right side? Shouldn't they both be either negative camber or positive camber? Will the difference of the 2/10s between both fronts make a difference in handling or wear? I was always under the assumption that the readings should be close to each other and both being the same of either positive or negative... Any help would greatly be appreciated. PS... I test drove the car after the alignment and it seems to steer straight other than the crown on the road allowing it to veer very slowly in the direction of the grade. Thanks all.....

 

The front camber on both is fine, very close to 0.0 on both. I believe the issue with your tires wearing on the inside is because of the rear camber being -1.9.

You can get a shorter rear control arm that should bring that -1.9 camber closer to -1.2. Beck Arnley now offers it, I had to get an OEM for $175.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...426092&jsn=367

 

if you’re going to the trouble of replacing the arms, in the interest of better alignment numbers, get the OE parts from Lexus. The ball joint on the BA arm will prob last a year if you’re lucky 👍

 

I agree totally about OEM Parts......However, considering the cost for parts and labor + alignment to replace the control arms.....It would probably be more cost effective to just replace the tires every 3-4 years.

 

Buy megan adjustable camber arms

 

On a side note......For those out there that might be concerned about their car's handling characteristics......My alignment tech maxed out the positive toe on front and rear tires (within specs), but most noticeably from my last alignment, the front tire's positive toe has improved the handling of my car considerably. Going onto ramps and steering response has really improved. Of course tires make a difference as well. I am driving on a brand new set of MXM4 Michelin Primacys which I've had since purchasing my car over a decade ago. However, I never noticed the improved handling characteristics until the new alignment with maxed out positive toe was implemented.

 

Positive toe, which is the same as toe-in, is what you want. It allows the vehicle to track evenly, not wondering or anything like that. Though too much toe-in can be a bad thing as well.

How much positive toe are you referring to? You only want a couple of degrees at most. More than that you're going to start "scrubbing" the outer shoulders and "feathering" the tread contact patch and possibly cause the steering to be darty or twitchy. Neither are desirable.

 

The toe range for the front tires is -0.05 to + 0.15 degrees. My final alignment readings for the front tires are 0.13 left and 0.15 right. These are within the specs and fairly maxed out. The rears are 0.19 and 0.23 The specs for the rear are 0.05-0.25 also within the spec range. I agree that the steering feels much more precise than it did previously. Yes... I'm watching the outside scrubbing affect which I've already noticed as beginning slightly. . I'll keep on eye on it.

 

That may be too much positive toe in the front. The tires will be scrubbing and fighting each other will wear out quickly. You want front toe to be close to zero so steering input is linear and predictable. The front toe specs are supposed to be 0.05 degrees of toe in for a total of 0.10 degrees of toe in. Rear toe is supposed to be 0.15 of toe in on each wheel. Rear toe is where you will get the responsiveness.

You want the front tires to look like the first row. The rear tires to look like the second row, although not as dramatic of an angle.

 

[QUOTE=pmesfun;10983617]That may be too much positive toe in the front. The tires will be scrubbing and fighting each other will wear out quickly. You want front toe to be close to zero so steering input is linear and predictable. The front toe specs are supposed to be 0.05 degrees of toe in for a total of 0.10 degrees of toe in. Rear toe is supposed to be 0.15 of toe in on each wheel. Rear toe is where you will get the responsiveness.

You want the front tires to look like the first row. The rear tires to look like the second row, although not as dramatic of an angle.


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My previous settings for my last set of the same Primacy tires were .04 and .05 for the fronts and .22 and .20 for the rears. After 21,000 miles, all my tires were worn on the insides. I told the alignment tech about this and I believe he compensated by setting the toe to the maximum. If I find to much scrubbing and/or outer wear within the next few hundred miles on the fronts, I'll return to the alignment to shop to reset the alignment.and bring the toe back to my original settings. However, it sure makes my car handle great at the most positive toe. To be continued.... I put less than 100 miles on the car since the alignment and I do feel the outer edges of the fronts somewhat uneven. The rears are fine.

 

By uneven wear already on the front outer edge do you mean increased wear or a slight cupping?
Another thing to consider as far as toe alignment goes is that toe out increases when the car is driven. Any wear in the system, and you will have some in the inner and outer tie rods due to age/mileage, will allow the tires to toe out as you drive to take up the "slack" in the system. I've seen alignment techs increase static toe-in to compensate for this wear.

 

Yes, I understand that the toe in is dynamic and as the car accelerates it changes somewhat to less positive due to the momentum. The wear I've noticed in a very short time (under 100 miles) is an uneven outer shoulder. It does not go past the outer shoulder. The treads are not affected. Cupping might not be the correct description. possibly slight feathering? I don't want it to get too far on as to ruin my tires. The front right is slightly more noticeable than the front left. FYI.... The rear tires are completely smooth on the outer shoulders. Should I be asking my Tech to pull back the positive toe to .05 from .15 or should I watch it for another few days or week?