Bad camber wear on the inner tire edge

So I'm lowered on prodrive springs and my tires are wearing the front tires inside edges down like a mofo, I got an alignment int he spring after I installed the prodrives and got the toe set at zero and the negative camber set at about -1.3 in the front. Whats causing this problem? I had my prelude slammed and never has issues with camber wear this bad. I got -1.4 in the rear and haven't had any problems with inner edge wear. It was aligned on a hunter lazer rack, the most expensive and best machine in town and I've known the mechanic for 15 years and he even gave me a print out so I know the toe is at zero.

I've got new hankook ipikes on the way and don't wanna trash them with their first winter, should I get the camber set to zero all the way around? Or maybe something more consertive like -.5 degrees. I don't auto-x at all so I'm not too concerned with wicked fast cornvering prowness.

 

alignment might have gotten out of whack since you had it done, mine did.

 

^^both sides equally??? kinda tough to believe.

 

no, both got off whack tho, drivers side were WAY worse.

 

-1.3 negative front? That will cause some premature wear. I've ran -.8 to
-1.2 in the front and have the same issue. What are the ratings of the tires youre using? Depends on the tire, but some will wear out quicker than others. The zero toe is good.

BTW- winter tires...less camber. -.6 area is good

 

thanks to the sweet road in the great state of warm and cold and not enough snow.

 

both tires have the same wear pattern. I never really looked at how they were wearing before the alignment so I'm not sure if this is front the stock setup or the lowered post-alignment set-up. Pretty sure its front the lowering and agressive camber settings I requested.

 

I've got bf goodrich traction t/a on there right now, with a speed rating of V and 32-33 psi in the tires all the way around.

 

How often do you rotate your tires? How many miles on your tires? What kind of tires are they?

 

I forgot who told me when I had my traction ta's that you need to rotate them regularly other wise they cup really easy...

 

I haven't rotated them yet (cowers in shame). I'm not sure if I should take it in before I get the new tires and get the camber turned down a bit.

and "cupping" is??? Like cupping bewbies??

 

Also -1.3 is going to wear the tires out unevenly. Thats what you get with a lower car. Also why not run less camber? I am looking at my alignment specs right now. My car is lowered 2 inches in the front and I only have -.5 camber.

 

Cupping is when the tire get lumps in it. But when tires are cupped they make noise. You can feel cupping by running your hand over the tread. If its cupped it will feel uneven.

 

not quite, because cupping boobies is good and a cupped tire is bad. just poor wear on the inside edge of the tire where the tread lugs will wear towards the front of the lug faster then the back of the lug so when you run your hand over it they feel like steps

 

Rotating tires is a must. I do it ever other oil change. Also part of the reason the rear is not showing signs of inner wear like the front is because you don't turn with the rear tires. Hence rotating them regularly would wear the insides out more evenly.

 

ok so I'll rotate and get the camber set at -.5 all around?? What are the factory specs on a 2003 wrx wagon for camber?? I've got spc adjustable bolts in the rear so I can play around a bit there.


edit: wow 2 pages in under 30 minuites:biggrin:

 

The specs for subarus are broad. Front camber is between -1.2 And .3 Rear is between -2.3 and -.8. Its not so much what spec is. You just want less camber. Straight up is going to be zero. With -.5 in the front and -1.7 in the rear. Also being anal and rotating my tires ever other oil change my tires are worn vary evenly. They are starting to show some inside wear but not much.
Oh and those specs are for a sedan. Not sure if wagons are different.

 

here ya go

 

The settings from the factory can be completely out of whack. If the toe was off and you were driving that way for x,xxx miles that could certainly cause some odd wear patterns.

Typically they print "before" and "after" specs when they do an alignment; did you get those?

 

personally I'd do this for the winter....

Front -.3 to -.4 (range)
rear 0 to -.2 (range)

 

I understand going low Neg Camber in the front because of the narrower tire = good for snow fact. Neg Camber creates a greater contact patch during cornering and therefore taking it out in the front has some sense (of course, maybe my reasoning is wrong.) However, -0.3 to -0.4 is standard to slightly greater than standard recommendation according to the manual (page you posted).

But why would you remove over 1 degree Neg Camber in the rear from the recommended setting? This would make a smaller tire contact patch (good for snow) but as I understand it, also makes the rear end less prone to understeer - good for summer fun driving but not when putting new snow tires on to increase traction in the winter.

Please correct me if I am wrong here.

 

Maybe I'm reading your post wrong so let me explain in a bit more detail.

90% of my winter driving concerns are while I'm driving straight line...so I want more contact patch during normal driving conditions. Normal driving in a straight line (stop and go traffic on highway or city streets) I want as much of my winter tires cutting into the surface and making traction. that equals less camber in the rear. More camber equals less traction in the straight line. Less camber equals more.

Furthermore, I've personally noticed that our beloved subaru wrx's have massive understeer in the winter. Again, less camber in the rear in the winter has helped me offset the understeer by making the car a bit more prone to slide sideways in a sharp turn. I can deal better with a sideways slide (extreme example) that I can with the front end plowing straight off the preferred line through a corner....due to understeer.

I have never agreed with the huge negative camber in the rear on my car. Through proper throttle and braking I can get my car to respond favorably when the rear end is sliding sideways. I have not mastered it when the front end is has a mind of it's own and plows straight forward towards a curb or ditch.

 

I think you answered the question I was asking. I will review it again later at a little more awake time of the day. Thanks!

 

Well, the rear settings are a fairly moot point.
Rear camber is not adjustable stock on the impreza.
you just get what you get unless you have a camber bolt or lat links.

as for OP's tire wear issue, your camber seems tolerable, but what is your toe set at?
toe is the #1 destroyer of tires, not camber. i have mine set to 0* on all four wheels, pretty much all the time.

 

^ I am with Shane. I REALLY doubt that camber is going to cause much wear (shouldn't see issues until >2 degrees from my experience). Most likely scenario is toe.

Shane, camber is adjustable as there is slop in the suspension. I can vary it by almost .5deg by yanking and pulling (hmm, that doesn't sound good ). Another possibility is to slot the struts like I did on the V5 suspension I used to have on the RS.

 

BINGO!!!!

 

I agree with you 110%. you're right about the toe. it will kill a tire pretty darn quick whereas you can run a fair amount of negative camber before you will see any wear....but it will eventually wear out the tires.

 

toe is set at zero

 

^^I think some people that responded didn't read the whole thread. You have camber bolts in the rear, go ahead and lessen the camber if you wish.
(If it was me I'd be on that)

I did a quick search and found that even though your traction t/a have a decent tread wear rating a lot of users have witnessed the those tires wearing out real quick....much quicker than expected. With that said, and running negative camber in the -1.3 range up front will wear out your tires over time...especially if your haven't rotated them as you should've. I don't know about comparing this to your honda (the other car). More weight in the front of the wrx will wear out those tires quicker. just a thought

 

thanks for the help steve, I never heard about the traction t/a's wearing fast. They are a fairly sticky tire for all seasons, I'll get the camber readjusted, do you think -.5 all around is reasonable??

 

How often will I need to rotate them?

 

Every 6k miles or so.

 

Thanks.

 

You mentioned that it WAS set at zero... Is there any evidence that it still is?

 

I was thinking the same thing. Hit a couple of good bumps and your toe is off.