Alignment settings...

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Jun 11, 2003 | 01:52 PM

Vlad_Stein

Thread Starter

Lead Lap

Joined: Jan 2002

Posts: 456

Likes: 0

From: northern ca

Alignment settings...

Hello, there!

I was wondering if some people found alignment settings for the GS that minimize tire wear, so that the car could be driven aggressively through corners with more or less even wear.

For example, on my car the camber settings for the rears are -1.5 and 1.4 for the left and right wheels, but the reason is to "tuck" those 275s under the blister fender when the suspension is compressed (although it doesn't hurt in the handling department either).

But my fronts are 0 camber and I've noticed that my left front tire has significan wear on the outside portion (mostly from the times when I couldn't find the VSC button in the middle of an overcooked turn).

I am considering setting ~ -1.0 camber on the fronts, or just on the left front.

Have any people set negative camber to the fronts?
If so, could you share how much? How has that impacted the wear / handling?

Any info is appreciated.

Jun 12, 2003 | 06:22 PM

MRC

Driver School Candidate

Joined: May 2003

Posts: 27

Likes: 0

From: California

Re: Alignment settings...

Quote:

Originally posted by Vlad_Stein
Hello, there!

I was wondering if some people found alignment settings for the GS that minimize tire wear, so that the car could be driven aggressively through corners with more or less even wear.

For example, on my car the camber settings for the rears are -1.5 and 1.4 for the left and right wheels, but the reason is to "tuck" those 275s under the blister fender when the suspension is compressed (although it doesn't hurt in the handling department either).

But my fronts are 0 camber and I've noticed that my left front tire has significan wear on the outside portion (mostly from the times when I couldn't find the VSC button in the middle of an overcooked turn).

I am considering setting ~ -1.0 camber on the fronts, or just on the left front.

Have any people set negative camber to the fronts?
If so, could you share how much? How has that impacted the wear / handling?

Any info is appreciated.

Most cars work pretty well with F and R set to the same -camber setting. -1.5 is closer to an autox or road racing setting, quite a bit for the street. It's good for cornering but it's going to wear out the inside edges of your tires if you do a lot of straight line freeway driving. Any more than -1.5 and you might start to degrade braking performance.

For a car that is mostly run on the street, anything between -1 and -1.5 seems a decent compromise between cornering, braking and freeway driving. But the real test is to get the tire wear pattern you want which depends on your tires and how you drive.

But the short answer to your question is, YES, you should be able to run that -camber on the front with no problems.

Jun 13, 2003 | 01:59 PM

Vlad_Stein

Thread Starter

Lead Lap

Joined: Jan 2002

Posts: 456

Likes: 0

From: northern ca

Thanks, MRC!

I will give it a try and report when I have some info.
My primary motivator is even tire wear and avoiding rim scratches, which will invariably (sigh...) show up when re-mounting tires to compensate for the outer edge wear.

One of my wheels already got dinged by an idiot in Costco's tire department, after I got an unexpected flat.
Life is a compromise, man...
You want the performance stuff, then you gotta baby it (or not give a crap).

I am not complaining, though